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Valley Dental Services is a specialized dental practice whose only service is fi

ID: 2369405 • Letter: V

Question

Valley Dental Services is a specialized dental practice whose only service is filling cavities. Valley has identified the following monthly costs.

 

 

Use the high-low method to estimate the cost formula. Using this formula, calculate Valley's total cost for filling 490 cavities. (Round intermediate calculations to 2 decimal places and final answer to the nearest dollar amount. Due to rounding of Variable cost per unit the answer obtained for Fixed cost per month in High and Low method varies. Omit the "$" sign in your response.)

 

  Month Number of
Cavities Filled Total Cost   January 619 $2,640     February 702 2,980   March 504 2,080   April 433 1,930   May 451 2,290   June 294 1,510   July 373 1,810   August 560 2,390   September 574 2,690

Explanation / Answer

Month                No. of Cavaties        Total Cost
February High           702                     $2,980
June Low                  294                     $1,510
Difference                408                     $1,470

Variable cost
per cavity                       $1,470 / 408 = $3.60

Fixed costs = $2,980 - (702 x $3.60) = $453

Alternatively
Fixed costs = $1,510 - (294 x $3.60) = $452

Total cost for 490 cavities
$453 + (490 x $3.60) = $2,217

  Valley's total cost   $