Dawson Toys, Ltd., produces a toy called the Maze. The company has recently established a standard cost system to help control costs and has established the following standards for the Maze toy:Direct materials: 6 microns per toy at $1.50 per micron Direct labor: 1.3 hours per toy at $21 per hourDuring July, the company produced 3,000 Maze toys. Production data for the month on the toy follow:Direct materials: 25,000 microns were purchased at a cost of $1.48 per micron. 5,000 of these microns were still in inventory at the end of the month. Direct labor: 4,000 direct labor-hours were worked at a cost of $88,000.Required: 1. Compute the following variances for July:a. The materials price and quantity variances. b. The labor rate and efficiency variances.

1. a. The materials price and quantity variances

Material price variance: Standard cost per micron is $1.50 and actual cost per micron is $1.48. So, price variance is 1.48 - 1.5 = $(0.02) per micron

Quantity variance: Based on standard bill of material, Dawson Toys need 3,000 x 6 = 18,000 microns to produce 3,000 Maze toys. Actual consumption volume is 25,000 - 5,000 = 20,000 microns. So, quantity variance is 20,000 - 18,000 = 2,000 microns.

1. b. The labor rate and efficiency variances

Actual labor rate  = Actual labor cost / Actual hour = 88,000/4,000 = $22 per hour.

Efficiency variance = Actual labor rate - Standard labor rate = 22 - 21 = $1 per hour.

2. Prepare a brief explanation of the possible causes of each variance.

Direct material cost variance: Total actual material cost is 20,000 x 1.48 = $29,600, higher than standard material cost of 18,000 x 1.5 = $27,000. This is mainly due to higher production waste as compared to standards.

Direct labor cost variance: Total actual labor cost is $88,000, higher than standard labor cost of 4,000 x 21 = $84,000. This is mainly due to lower labor rate per hour than expected.

Explanation:

answer: in the short-run firms will respond by raising the price of turkey.

explanation: initially the long-run equilibrium is at a price of $5 per pound of turkey and a quantity of 50 million pounds per year. now, when webmd claims that a protein found in turkey will increase your expected lifespan by 4 years. the consumers demand for turkey will increase at every price shifting the demand curve to the right from d1 to d2. while, there will be no change in the supply curve in the short-run as it is not possible for producers to adjust supply so quickly. as a result the new equilibrium will occur at a higher price and a higher quantity of turkey.

thus, in the short run firms will respond by increasing the price of turkey, selling more quantity at a higher price and earning economic profits.