Answer to Question #9449 in Math for steven

Question

on average, one-sixth of the total number of people who make dinner reservations fail to arrive. The manager also knows that he needs to fill as many tables as possible in order to make a profit. His restaurant has 20 tables and so he accepts bookings for 24 tables each night.Explain why the manager accepts 24 reservations per night. Include mathematical reasoning in you answer.

Answer 1

on average, one-sixth of the total number of people who make dinner reservations fail to arrive, so if
assepts 20 bookings, on average 3 or 4 of them will be free (20*1/6 = 3.33). But
if he takes 24 bookings, on average 24*1/6 = 4 tables will not be occupied but
all the rest 20 tables will be. In this case he fills all tables and has the
maximal profit.