36. A chief financial officer was informed by the purchasing department that they can get a significant discount if they order all the hospital beds, they plan to purchase for the next fiscal year on one order, but to do this, the hospital will not be able to purchase the new CT scanner it had planned on buying this month. In this case, the CT scanner is _____________ in relation to the purchase of the beds.

Question

36. A chief financial officer was informed by the purchasing department that they can get a significant discount if they order all the hospital beds, they plan to purchase for the next fiscal year on one order, but to do this, the hospital will not be able to purchase the new CT scanner it had planned on buying this month. In this case, the CT scanner is _____________ in relation to the purchase of the beds.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative that must be given up when a choice is made, so the CT scanner represents that foregone alternative.

1. Relevant concepts
- Scarcity and trade-offs: limited resources (budget, timing) force choices among competing uses.  
- Opportunity cost (economic concept): the benefit you sacrifice from the next best option not chosen.  
- Distinction from similar terms: sunk costs (already incurred, irrelevant to the decision), explicit/accounting costs (out-of-pocket expenditures), and marginal cost (cost of one additional unit).

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- The hospital must decide how to allocate resources this month/fiscal year.  
- Purchasing all beds in a single order yields a significant discount, making that choice more attractive financially.  
- To realize that discount, the hospital cannot purchase the planned CT scanner this month (resources/timing conflict).  
- The CT scanner was the next best alternative use of those funds/timing. Because choosing the beds prevents buying the scanner now, the scanner is the benefit forgone.

3. Calculations
- No numerical calculation is required. The situation is qualitative: choose between two mutually exclusive actions; the one not chosen is the opportunity cost.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- Opportunity cost captures exactly “what must be given up” when selecting one option over another. The CT scanner is the foregone alternative whose benefits are sacrificed to obtain the discounted beds.

5. Why other options would be incorrect
- Sunk cost would be incorrect because the CT scanner has not been purchased yet and no past expenditure is involved.  
- Marginal cost is incorrect because the decision isn’t about the extra cost of one more bed or scanner unit.  
- Accounting costs or explicit costs don’t capture the foregone benefit of the unchosen use of resources; opportunity cost does.

6. Conclusion
Therefore, the CT scanner is an opportunity cost in relation to purchasing the beds. This confirms the provided answer: an opportunity cost.

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