Industries manufactures a silicone paste wax that goes through three processing departments: cracking, blending, and packing. All raw materials are introduced at the start of work in the cracking department, with conversion costs being incurred uniformly in each department. The cracking department for July contains the following information:

Balance, July 1 (35,000 pounds, 4/5 done) $ 63,700

Started 280,000 pounds: Direct materials $397,600

Conversion costs $189,700

Balance, July 31 (45,000 pounds, 2/3 done)

The beginning balance inventory includes $43,400 in materials cost. Malcom uses the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method to account for its operations. Required: Use 4 decimal places for computations.

a. What would be the Cracking Departments inventory balance on July 31?

b. What would be the cost transferred to the Blending Department in July?