Cari Colours is a manufacturer of specialized paint. All paint go through an identical manufacturing process. Every effort is made to ensure that all paint is identical and meet many demanding performance specifications. The product-costing system at the POS plant has a single direct-cost category (direct materials) and a single indirect-cost category (conversion costs). All paint passes through two departments the Mixing Department and the Testing Department. Direct materials are added to the beginning of the process in Mixing. Conversion costs are added evenly throughout the two departments. When Mixing Department finishes work on the paint, it is immediately transferred to Testing. Cari Colors uses the Weighted-average method of process costing. Data for the Mixing Department for October 2017 are.

	Physical Unit (Paint)	Direct Materials Costs	Conversion Costs
Work in process, October 1*	20	$460,000	$120,000
Started during October 2017	80
Completed during October 2017	90
Work in process, October 31	10
Costs added during October 2017		$2,000,000	$935,000

* Degree of completion: direct materials, ? % conversion costs, 60%.

Degree of completion: direct materials, ? % conversion costs, 70%.

REQUIRED

1. For each cost element, compute equivalent units of work done on October 2017 in the Mixing Department. Show physical units in the first column.

2. For each cost element, calculate cost per equivalent unit of beginning work in process and of work done in October 2017.

3. Summarize the total Mixing Department costs for October 2017, and assign these costs to units completed (and transferred out) and to units in ending work in process using the Weighted-average method.

4. Explain the concept of equivalent units by referring to the above data.

5. Explain how the cost per equivalent unit might be misleading to managers,

particularly when a significant change in production is anticipated.