After graduating from dental school two years ago, Dr. Lauren Farish  purchased the dental practice of a long-time dentist who was retiring. In January of this year she had to  replace the outdated autoclave equipment she inherited from the previous dentist. Now, as she is preparing her budget for next year, she is concerned about understanding how her cost for sterilizing her dental  instruments has changed. She has gathered the following information from her records:

Required

a. What is the variable cost of sterilizing an instrument using the new equipment?

b. What is the fixed cost of the autoclave equipment?

c. What is the cost formula that Dr. Farish should use for estimating autoclave sterilization costs for  next year’s budget?

d. If Dr. Farish estimates she will use 900 instruments next month, what cost should she include in her  budget for instrument sterilization?

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Number of Instruments Used Total Autoclave Cost $7,600 Month January February March 850 750 6,800 920 8,200 April May 950 8,600 1,150 900 9,900 June 8,100 July August 1,050 9,600 975 8,700