Cookie Mining: Ore Production & Cost-Benefit Analysis
Students act as mining engineers and simulate ore mining production by using chocolate chip cookies. They focus on the cost-benefit analysis of the chocolate ore production throughout the simulation, which helps them understand the cost of production. As students “mine” with tools such as paperclips and toothpicks, they keep records of their costs—land (cookie), equipment used, cookie size before and after production, and time spent. While the goal is to make as much profit as possible, other costs and goals are taken into consideration—as in real-world mining engineering. For example, mining engineers also consider the resulting amount of destruction to the lithosphere when deciding the best method to obtain ore. Thus, a line item for land reclamation cost is included from the beginning. A provided worksheet serves as a profit and loss statement.
The cookie mining activity tends to engage all students, even those who often don’t participate in class activities.Copyright 2014 University of North Carolina at Charlotte
A wide range of costs and goals need to be considered when planning engineering projects. Engineers focus on benefiting society while balancing the exploration and exploitation economic factors involved in their designs. The primary method of gaining insights while considering these two design aspects is through cost-benefit analysis (CBA). For example, using sonar to locate below-ground fossil fuel deposits or applying R&D funds to determine the best circuit board design both generate huge “exploration” costs. Similarly, extracting fossil fuels such as coal or oil, or mass-producing circuit boards both require huge exploitation costs. In all engineering fields, considerations like these and more are taken into account for every production project. Mining is a good example of this type of evaluation because it typically entails substantial environmental concerns related to the geological processes as well as economic factors in the exploration vs. exploitation CBA.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain what is meant by the “cost of production.”
- Complete a profit and loss statement.