9.1 Power Goat Lawn Company uses two sizes of mowers to cut lawns. The smaller mowers have a 22-inch deck. The larger ones combine two of the 22-inch decks in a single mower. For each size of mower, Power Goat has a different production function, given by the rows of the following table.

Output per Hour

(square feet)

Capital Input

(# of 2200 mowers) Labor Input Small mowers 5000 1 1 Large mowers 8000 2 1

a. Graph the q ¼ 40,000 square feet isoquant for the first production function. How much k and l would be used if these factors were combined without waste?

b. Answer part

(a) for the second function.

c. How much k and l would be used without waste if half of the 40,000-square-foot lawn were cut by the method of the first production function and half by the method of the second? How much k and l would be used if one fourth of the lawn were cut by the first method and three fourths by the second? What does it mean to speak of fractions of k and l?

d. Based on your observations in part (c), draw a q ¼ 40,000 isoquant for the combined production functions.