176. Business problems. 1. A wholesale grocer bought 450 bags of coffee, each of which weighed 130 pounds, at 28 cents per pound. What was the cost of the whole order? 2. A salesman sold goods valued at $15,450 in one year. If his commission was 12% of the sales, how much did he earn? 3. Cloth damaged by water was sold at $4.10 a yard. Express the reduction in per cent, if the regular price had been $5.60. 4. Two men form a partnership, putting $3800 and $6000 into the business respectively. At the end of the year they made a profit of $3528. How should this be divided between them? 5. A wholesale house quotes the price on silk $2.25 a yard less discounts 25% and 5%. Another quotes the same silk $2.25 a yard less discounts 20% and 10% and an additional 1% for cash. Which is offering the better bargain? 6. An agent drove through the country and bought 7500 bushels of potatoes at $.90 a bushel. He received a commission of 21% for doing the buying, and $34.25 for expenses. How much money did he earn? 7. A boy supplied his neighbors with fresh eggs which were sent to him from his uncle's farm. He sold a 30-dozen crate a week with a profit of 8 cents a dozen, out of which he had to pay 70 cents express charges. What was his profit for the year (52 weeks)? 8. Two shoe stores advertise a sale on the same shoe which ordinarily sells at $5.50. One advertises a discount of 15%, the other a reduction to $4.50. Which is the better offer? 177. Rate of traveling. 1. An automobile traveled a distance of 144 miles in 42 hours. At what rate did it travel? 2. A train leaves Chicago at 7 A.M. and arrives at St. Louis at 2:45 P.M. If the distance from Chicago to St. Louis is 290 miles, what is the average rate of travel of the train? 3. How long does it take a train to go from San Francisco to New York City, a distance of about 3191 miles, if the train averages 25 miles per hour? 4. One of the big trans-Atlantic steamers traveled 676 knots in 24 hours. What was the average speed if a knot is counted as equal to 1.15 miles? 178. Shop problems. 1. When cooling to normal temperature a steel casting shrinks of the length. What must be the length of a red-hot casting which is to be 38 inches long when cooled? 2. A board is reduced from 21⁄2 inches in thickness to 17 inches by running it through a planer. How much is taken off on one side, if the board is planed on both sides? 3. If 75% of a casting is copper and the remainder tin, what is the weight of copper in a casting weighing 436 pounds? 4. If the cost of 6 drills is $7.62, what is the cost of 4 drills? 5. A steel plate is to be made as wide as long. If the length is to be 11.6 inches, what is the required width? 6. If one iron strip is inch thick and another inch thick, which has the greater thickness? TESTS IN THE FUNDAMENTAL OPERATIONS AND PROBLEMS 179. When to take these tests. The tests below are to help you test yourself as to speed and accuracy in computation. It is suggested that you take the tests at the beginning of the year and keep a record of the number of problems worked correctly within the time specified in each test. Take the tests again at the end of the semester and at the end of the year. Your records will show the progress made. Work all exercises in rows. In each test place a strip of paper under one row at a time, and write on it all work done and the results. The tests contain more exercises than you will be able to do in the time stated. |