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Real-Life Math

Ronda is the station manager of the area's biggest radio station. The station is famous for its on-air personalities. They are lively and fun. They also have a very loyal group of listeners.

Once a month, Ronda has to schedule their time. It is often quite an easy job because the station's programs don't change that much. This month, though, is different.

The station's owners want the morning show cut by one hour. This extra hour is going to be turned into a morning news show just before lunch. And Ronda has to accommodate the noon hour phone-in show's host, whose wife is in the hospital.

He wants to leave a half-hour early each day for a week. The news team is complaining. They want help from the morning show staff on their news broadcasts. (Especially since the morning show is an hour shorter now.)

For every hour the station is on the air, they receive money from their sponsors. Ronda must compute the advertising dollars for the whole month (31 days) in time for the next budget meeting. Before all the changes, this was Ronda's schedule and how much per hour each show earned in advertising:

  • Morning Show -- 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. -- $3,000/ hour
  • Brunch With Bill -- 9 a.m. to noon -- $2,700/ hour
  • The Next Caller is You -- noon to 2 p.m. -- $7,200/ hour
  • Afternoon Ramblings -- 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. -- $1,350/ hour
  • World News -- 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. -- $5,500 / hour
  • Local News -- 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. -- $4,000/ hour
  • From 7 p.m. until the following morning at 6 a.m., the station rebroadcasts syndicated music shows from around the country -- $1,250/ hour

What would be her budget totals for the following situations?

  1. She calculates the budget based on the above numbers, with no changes.
  2. She assumes the extra hour of morning news will earn what the 5 p.m. newscast earns. Remember to include the loss of half an hour of the noon show and an hour of the morning show.
  3. She calculates the cost of the extra hour of morning news based on an average between what Brunch With Bill earns and what the 5 p.m. newscast earns. Again, remember to include the loss of the half-hour of the noon show and the one hour of the morning show.

What would be your choice as the most realistic budget? A, B or C?

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