Question

Painting Company A has 20 people painting a mural that is 1000 square feet, and they can paint 50 square feet every hour. Painting Company B has 35 people painting a mural that is 1,500 square feet, and they can paint 75 square feet every hour. It turns out that both painting companies will complete painting their murals at the same time.

Answer 1

The marginal product of the third painter is 75 square feet.

Step-by-step explanation:

The marginal product of a worker is the additional output that is generated by adding one more worker to the production process.

In this case, we are given that two painters can paint 200 square feet in an hour, and three painters can paint 275 square feet in an hour.

To find the marginal product of the third painter, we need to calculate the difference in output between when there are two and three painters.

When there are two painters, they can paint 200 square feet. When there are three painters, they can paint 275 square feet. Therefore, the marginal product of the third painter is:

Marginal Product = Output with three painters - Output with two painters

Marginal Product = 275 square feet - 200 square feet
Marginal Product = 75 square feet