Question

What is the variable cost of sterilizing an instrument using the new equipment

After graduating from dental school two years ago, Dr. Lauren Farish purchased the dental practice of a long-time dentist who was retiring. In January of this year she had to replace the out-dated autoclave equipment she inherited from the previous dentist. Now as she is preparing her budget for next year, she is concerned about understanding how her cost for sterilizing her dental instruments has changed. She has gathered the following information from her records:
Month Number of instruments used Total autoclave cost
January 634 $7,466
February 534 6,526
March 734 7,148
April 934 9,028
May 834 7,744
June 1,034 8,596
July 1,234 10,009
August 1,134 9,924
What is the variable cost of sterilizing an instrument using the new equipment? (Round answer to 2 decimal places, e.g. 15.25.)
Variable cost _____ $ per instrument
What is the fixed cost of the autoclave equipment? (Round answer to 0 decimal places, e.g. 5,275.)
Fixed cost $ ________
What is the cost formula that Dr. Farish should use for estimating autoclave sterilization costs for next year

Answer 1

Results are below.

Step-by-step explanation:

Giving the following information:

Month Number of instruments used Total autoclave cost

January 634 $7,466

February 534 6,526

March 734 7,148

April 934 9,028

May 834 7,744

June 1,034 8,596

July 1,234 10,009

August 1,134 9,924

To determine the fixed and variable cost, we need to use the high-low method:

Variable cost per unit= (Highest activity cost - Lowest activity cost)/ (Highest activity units - Lowest activity units)

Variable cost per unit= (10,009 - 6,526) / (1,234 - 534 )

Variable cost per unit= $4.9757 per unit

Fixed costs= Highest activity cost - (Variable cost per unit * HAU)

Fixed costs= 10,009 - (4.9757*1,234)

Fixed costs= $3,869

Fixed costs= LAC - (Variable cost per unit* LAU)

Fixed costs= 6,526 - (4.9757*534)

Fixed costs= $3,869

Total cost= 3,869 + 4.9757x

x= number of instruments