Question

Tom and Jerry have two tasks to do all day: make dishes and build fences. If Tom spends all day making dishes, he will make 16 dishes. If he instead devotes his day to building fences, Tom will build 4 fences. If Jerry spends his day making dishes, he will make 14 dishes; if he spends the day building fences, he will build 7 fences. For Jerry, the opportunity cost of building a fence is _________.

Answer 1

Answer:

For Jerry, the opportunity cost of building a fence is not making 2 dishes.

Explanation:

The opportunity cost refers to the benefit you lose when you choose one option over another one. In this case, the opportunity cost for Jerry when he decides to build fences is that he won't be able to make dishes. So, as he can build 7 fences or make 14 dishes in a day, the opportunity cost of building a fence is that he won't be able to make 2 dishes.