Acme Gears produces gear boxes. The company has projected sales of 45,000 gear boxes for the month. Each gear box requires five gears. The company has projected beginning inventory of 22,000 gears and it plans to have 5% less than that in ending inventory. Production of one gear takes 0.5 pounds of raw material. What are the standard pounds of raw material needed for the month to meet production and achieve the desired inventory reduction?

a. 113,050 pounds

b. 117,842 pounds

c. 112,500 pounds

d. 111,950 pounds