At Bubba's Moving Company, we provide options to save you money! Simply choose from the Economy Move, the Thrift Move, or the Integrated Move, and your goods will arrive at whatever destination you select.
On the Breaktime page of the 6/19/00 issue of DN, we posed
the following no-problem problem: What is the WORST way to store 50
objects—25 of which are solid lead 3×3×3-inch square and 25 of which are
Waterford crystal wine glasses—inside a truck during a 900-mile journey
over a mountain road?
Reader Ken Foote's Bubba's Moving Co.—experts in
chandeliers, glassware, heavy metals, and other stuff—offers a possible
solution.
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Head
Work
A Bubba Truck moving with a velocity of 50 mph on a level
road carries crates of Lead Cubes and Crystal Wine Glasses which are not
secured to the floor. The coefficient of friction between crates and floor
is 0.60. If the driver stops for a red light by decelerating uniformly,
the minimum time in seconds required to come to a complete halt without
having the crates slide is most nearly:
A) 2.4 B) 2.6 C) 3.8 D) 4.2 E)
5.2
—Answer bottom left
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The Economy Move
: Our packagers provide the lowest industry cost for moving your goods. Packing materials, crating, and handling are reduced per your specifications. It's a particularly good option when "getting the goods moved" is of paramount importance, and we guarantee same day delivery—guaranteed!
In the economy move, Bubba's provides only the truck and you provide the goods to be shipped. You also load the truck as this allows Bubba's moving to eliminate the liability charge for shipping your product.
In this case, the Crystal Wine Glasses and Lead Squares (cubes?) can be loaded loose into the truck. While our drivers have been trained to drive safely and carefully, there is some chance that the cubes and glasses may collide. Without our liability charge however, all liability is assumed by you, the customer.
The Thrift Move : Bubba's provides a general protection for shipping your product. Low cost is achieved through innovative packaging and shipping to protect your products.
As with normal installation of chandeliers (hung from the ceiling), Bubba's provides a series of hanging hooks inside our trucks. By hanging your Crystal Wine Glasses and Lead Cubes from the truck's ceiling, you are guaranteed that these things will not be free to roll around the floor and crash into each other.
Selection and length of the cords used to hang the glasses and lead cubes is at the customer's discretion. We do caution you that multiple objects hung from the truck's ceiling may function like a wind-chime, with each of the items swinging freely and colliding into each of the other suspended items. Bubba's liability with this packaging method is limited to guaranteeing the strength of the cord used to suspend your product.
The Integrated Move : Our packagers provide a combination cost for moving your goods along with, or integrated together with, the goods of another customer. Packing in this case is provided by assembly of the two products before loading them onto the truck for shipping.
This method would involve placing one Lead Cube inside each Crystal Wine Glass and then loading the glasses into the truck. The Integrated Move can be utilized with either the Economy Move or with the Thrift Move, depending upon the customer's wishes. The only constraint here is that with the combined Integrated Move/Thrift Move, the glasses would need to be hung from the ceiling with the glass held upright or the lead cube might fall out.
Truck Selection : The final option provided by Bubba's Moving is customer selection of the particular truck that will be used to transport their goods. The selection must be made between one of two trucks available: a 1956 flatbed without sides but with a suspension system totally rebuilt in 1973, or a 1981 fully enclosed semi with a corroded solid suspension system.
Why This Problem Can't Be Solved : The problem, and reason that this No-Problem Problem cannot be solved is that it is impossible to predict which packaging, shipping method, and truck will be selected by each potential customer to transport their products—the options are endless!
Answer: C Adapted from The Fundamentals of Engineering Examination, Eugene L. Boronow, Prentice Hall Press, 1986. Bonus Question : What is the mathematical equation used to describe the likelihood that the wine glasses will break if the driver slams on the brakes? E-mail your answer to kfield@cahners.com, and you may be the lucky recipient of a nifty Design News flashlight. |