An Inventor Tries to Sell You His New Heat Engine $40 \mathrm {~J}$

question 18

Short Answer

An inventor tries to sell you his new heat engine that takes in $40 \mathrm {~J}$ of heat at $87 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }$ on each cycle, expels $30 \mathrm {~J}$ at $27 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }$ , and does $10 \mathrm {~J}$ of work. Would it be wise to invest in this engine? Back up your conclusion with numerical calculations.

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Definitions:

Cost Drivers

Factors that cause a change in the cost of an activity, such as machine-hours, labor-hours, or quantity of materials.

Activity Variances

Differences between planned and actual costs arising from changes in activity levels in various cost centers within a business.

Cost Drivers

Factors that cause a change in the cost of an activity, used to assign overhead costs in activity-based costing systems.

Vocational School

An educational institution that provides specialized training and education targeted toward particular careers or trades.