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Full Download pdf of (eBook PDF) College Accounting: A Career Approach 12th Edition all chapter
Full Download pdf of (eBook PDF) College Accounting: A Career Approach 12th Edition all chapter
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
About the Author
Cathy J. Scott
Cathy J. Scott is currently an Associate Professor of Accounting and
the Accounting Program Coordinator at Navarro College. She is a
proud recipient of the American Accounting Association’s Two Year
Outstanding Educator of the Year Award and of Navarro College’s
Teaching of Excellence Award. Professor Scott received her bachelor’s
degree from Nazareth College, an MBA from Amberton University,
and a post-graduate Accounting degree from Keller Graduate School
of Management. She is currently ABD in her PhD program at Capella
vii
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Preface
College Accounting is a course for the times. The practical concepts and skills students take away from the College
Accounting course have the power to launch new careers and bright futures. Students of College Accounting have
many different goals: to train for accounting careers; to develop skills that lend themselves to technical, managerial,
and executive positions; or to go on and earn accounting or business degrees. College Accounting: A Career Approach, 12e
maintains its dedicated emphasis on the significance of the fundamentals of accounting from a career development
approach.
Accounting concepts and exercises are offered in a real-world context that encourages students to regard their
coursework as true groundwork for launching their career. This edition gives students the opportunity to learn the
fundamentals of accounting and then apply these concepts in QuickBooks. QuickBooks is the leading computerized
accounting software for small to medium-sized companies, and many companies specifically hire college graduates with
skills in QuickBooks. The QuickBooks material is introduced in a way that the instructor can use as little or as much of
the QuickBooks material as he/she deems necessary.
This edition builds student skills in the areas of accounting knowledge, technology, ethics, communication, and
critical thinking—providing students with skills needed to be successful in life and work.
LEARN IT
Proven Pedagogy
College Accounting: A Career Approach, 12e is built on the solid pedagogical foundation created by Douglas McQuaig
and appreciated by instructors and students through 11 editions. Author Cathy J. Scott recognized the need for a new
type of accounting text. Her understanding about the importance of QuickBooks to employers was the driving force
behind this approach. The 12th edition incorporates engaging student-centered skills in the following areas: student
success, real-world application, and teaching enhancements.
•
Learning Objectives appear at the beginning of each chapter to help students focus on key learning outcomes. They are
also highlighted in the margin alongside the related text discussion. A learning objective number serves as a reference to
the objectives in the chapter review, exercises, and problems.
• Key Terms appear in blue and are defined in the text and
repeated in the glossary at the end of each chapter. In ad-
dition, page numbers are included for each glossary term,
making it easy for students to refer to a term in the chapter.
This consistent emphasis on accounting terminology as the
language of business is found throughout the text.
• Remember margin notes provide learning hints or
summaries, often alerting students to common procedural
pitfalls to help them complete their work successfully.
•
FYI margin notes provide practical tips or information
about accounting and business.
• NEW! QuickBooks Tip margin notes provide useful tips
related to accounting that can be applied in QuickBooks.
ix
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
x Preface
• Color-Coding of Documents and Reports continues in the 12th edition. This tried and true visual system
helps students recognize and remember key points. This use of color also helps students understand the flow of ac-
counting data by clearly identifying the different documents and reports used in the accounting cycle. Students begin
to visualize how accountants transform data into useful information.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
1
Asset, Liability, Owner’s
Equity, Revenue, and
Preface
Expense Accounts xi
© iStockPhoto.com/klikk
PAYROLL DEPARTMENT
T
he payroll department is an important part of the ac-
counting and finance functions at companies. Payroll
personnel are responsible for ensuring that all com-
pany employees receive compensation and benefits
critical to maintaining a productive and motivated work-
force. Some payroll departments work closely with Infor-
mation Technology, Human Resources, and other depart-
ments to ensure that the company’s payroll is accurate, is
up-to-date, and is serving the company’s current business
objectives. For these reasons, it is important to understand
how payroll is determined, whether you are directly respon-
sible for processing payroll or you are employed in another
business department.
earnings are subject to both taxes. For Anderson’s Social Security tax, multiply $1,124.58
by 6.2 percent ($1,124.58 3 0.062 5 $69.72). For Anderson’s Medicare tax, multiply
$1,124.58 by 1.45 percent ($1,124.58 3 0.0145 5 $16.31).
Here’s another example. At the beginning of the pay period, Grace Wallace had
cumulative earnings of $110,800, which is $2,900 less than $113,700. During this pay
period, she earned $3,010.35, which is greater than $2,900. Thus, she must pay Social
Security tax of $179.80 ($2,900 3 0.062) on $2,900. However, because the Medicare tax
applies to all earnings, she is not exempt from any Medicare tax. Her Medicare tax is
$43.65 ($3,010.35 3 0.0145). Because Grace’s cumulative earnings after this pay period
are over $113,700, any remaining pay will not be subject to Social Security tax.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Insurance
1 2
Debit Credit
xii (i) 1,875
Preface
You Make the Call In transaction (j), Conner’s Whitewater Adventures received a bill for newspaper
advertising from The Times, $620.
These features sharpen critical-thinking and problem-solving skills by placing the student in a realistic accounting
dilemma. These exercises provide students
STep with the the
4. Write opportunity
transactionto
asapply
a debittheir knowledge
to one account (orofaccounts)
individual
and topics
a within the
credit to another account (or accounts).
chapter. Each scenario is followed by a detailed, clearly explained solution.
accounting from year to year, and the basis of accounting must clearly reflect the net
CHE-SCOTT_12E-13-0501-002.indd 68 and accrual basis 06/11/13 7:53 PM
accounting. income of the business.
Small Business Success Under the cash basis of accounting, revenue is recorded when it is received in
Appearing in select chapters, students will cash
findandthis a motivating
expenses feature
are recorded when they that emphasizes
are paid howbusinesses’
in cash. Many small accountingand knowledge and
individuals’ personal income taxes are recorded on the cash basis.
best practices are critical to the success of a small business in a competitive environment.
Do I Need an Accountant?
If you are not taking this class because you want to be • What software should I use for my accounting?
an accountant or a bookkeeper, you might be taking • How do I handle the payroll for employees?
the class because you plan on owning and operating • What are my requirements for filing taxes?
a small business. Many new small business owners • What expenses are deductible for tax purposes?
take on the responsibilities of being the accountant • How do I prepare financial statements when
for their business. However, at some point, your busi- applying for a loan?
ness will begin to grow, and you may need to consider
So how do you find an accountant? The best way
hiring someone to manage your accounting books so
is by referrals. Ask other businesses in your industry
that your time is free to run the business.
for references or visit your local Certified Public
An accountant can help you in many areas of your
Accounting Society website for more recommendations
small business, such as:
(www.aicpa.org/yellow/ypascpa.htm).
• What should my business structure be—sole
proprietorship, partnership, S corporation, or
corporation?
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Preface xiii
CHAPTER 5
Closing EntriEs and thE Post-Closing trial BalanCE 237
In the Real World
This feature appears in every chapter and provides real-world facts about companies with which students are familiar.
In this case, the accountant would prepare a work sheet at the end of each month. Next,
These features are related
based towork
on these the sheets,
chapter material
he or she wouldand bringand
journalize the real
post the world
adjustinginto theandclassroom.
entries
prepare the financial statements. However, the remaining steps—preparing closing entries
and the post-closing trial balance—would be performed only at the end of the year.
ACCOUNTINg wITh
problem-solvingInprocess.
QuickBooks, closing entries are completed automatically by the software. This saves
users time and helps prevent errors. When using a general ledger software package, such
as QuickBooks, it is important to prevent users from unintentionally posting to a prior Learning Objectives
accounting period. The QuickBooks administrator has two options to help prevent prior-
period posting errors: (1) the administrator can enter a closing date in the system, which After you have completed
prompts QuickBooks to alert users who are entering information into a prior accounting this section, you will be
REVIEW IT period, or (2) the administrator can further restrict user access by requiring a password able to do the following:
to gain access to a prior accounting period. The combination of both is recommended.
To close the fiscal period, follow the steps in Figures Q1, Q2, and Q3.
Chapter Review and Self Study
STEP 1. Click on the Company tab.
1 Close the fiscal period.
2 View and print the post-
closing trial balance. ®
•
Practice Exercises tiedSet
STEP 2. Select toUp
learning objectives,
Users and Passwords.with solutions provided, aid in student comprehension and study.
STEP 3. Select Set Up Users.
• Glossary terms are listed in alphabetical order in the chapter review section with page numbers for easy reference.
• Quiz Yourself provides a set of multiple-choice questions to be used as a self-quiz for students before they begin
the chapter assignments. This is a great way for students to determine quickly if they “get it”.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xiv Preface
• Before a Test Check is a comprehensive chapter review feature that provides questions and brief application
problems after every two to four chapters. The pre-test activities allow students to check their understanding of what
they have read and practiced in the preceding chapters prior to taking a test.
• NEW! Review It with QuickBooks tests student knowledge about QuickBooks concepts introduced within
each chapter.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Preface xv
APPLY IT
Chapter Assignments
A variety of homework assignments are provided at the end of each chapter and in CengageNOW. Unique assignable
content is also available within CengageNOW.
• Discussion Questions can be used for in-class discussion or for individual practice.
• Exercises are provided to help students learn and apply new concepts. Each exercise includes margin references
to the appropriate learning objective and Chapter Review practice exercises.
• Problems (A and B set) are found in every chapter. For those problems that have an Excel icon in the margin,
students have access to Excel templates found on the student website at CengageBrain.com. Some problems can be
completed using Cengage Learning’s Online General Ledger or QuickBooks. Each problem is designated with an
icon to direct students to the correct application. Check figures appear alongside every A and B problem.
• Accounting Cycle Review Problems A and B (Chapters 1–5) and the Comprehensive Review Problem
(Chapters 6–12) apply accounting procedures to help students understand the process they have just studied in a
series of chapters. Accounting Cycle Review Problem A, “Blast Off ” and B, “Wind in Your Sails” are both sole propri-
etorship service businesses that cover the full accounting cycle. The Comprehensive Review Problem covers the full
accounting cycle for “Fabulous Furnishings,” a sole proprietorship merchandising business. These problems can be
completed manually, with QuickBooks or Cengage Learning’s Online General Ledger within CengageNOW.
• Activities at the end of each chapter hone students’ problem-solving and communication skills. Why Does It
Matter?, What Would You Say?, What Do You Think?, What Would You Do?, What’s on the Internet?, and What’s
Wrong With This Picture? are a series of brief exercises at the end of each chapter that help students keep the business
perspective in mind.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xvi Preface
• NEW! Try It with QuickBooks provides various accounting activities that can be completed using QuickBooks
as well as suggested end-of-chapter problems that will enhance students’ QuickBooks and critical-thinking skills.
Some questions in this section can also be completed within CengageNOW.
• All About You Spa is designed to give students experience using computers to manage accounting transactions. This
continuous general ledger problem features a sole proprietorship business. The All About You Spa problem is readily avail-
able to be solved manually, with QuickBooks, or with Cengage Learning’s Online General Ledger within CengageNOW.
DEMONSTRATE IT
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes Reporting functionality within CengageNOW gives instructors the ability to analyze student end-
of-chapter work from the gradebook. Each problem is tagged by topic, learning objective, level of difficulty, Bloom’s
Taxonomy, AICPA, ACBSP, and other business program standards to allow greater guidance in developing assessments
and evaluating student progress.
Test Bank provides questions clearly identified by all outcomes to allow greater guidance in developing assessments. The
Test Bank also contains QuickBooks questions to analyze student understanding of the new QuickBooks content within
the 12th edition.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Preface xvii
Instructor Supplements
CengageNOW for College Accounting: A Career Approach, 12e contains the following:
• Auto-graded Homework (static and algorithmic varieties), test bank, Personalized Study
Plan, and eBook are all in one resource.
• Enhanced Feedback for additional guidance to help students complete an exercise or problem.
• Assignment Options are the most robust and flexible in the industry.
•
Smart Entry helps eliminate common data entry errors and prevents students from guessing their way through
homework.
•
Learning Outcomes Reporting and the ability to analyze student work from the gradebook. Each problem is
tagged by topic, learning objective, level of difficulty, Bloom’s Taxonomy, AICPA, ACBSP, and other business pro-
grams standards to allow greater guidance in developing assessments and evaluating student progress.
• New! Show Me How Videos narrated by the author, provide students with an illustrated example of
how to work basic exercises for each learning objective.
• New! QuickBooks Demonstration Videos provide students with step-by-step instructions for applying
accounting concepts using QuickBooks.
• New! Blueprint Problems present the fundamental accounting concepts and objectives for each chapter
through a series of learning activities which reinforce concepts and enhance critical thinking.
• Robust Study Tools include a vast array of quizzing, puzzles, tutorials, and chapter videos.
• Improved! Cengage Learning Online General Ledger is available within CengageNOW. Your students
can solve selected end-of-chapter assignments in a format that emulates commercial general ledger software.
Test Bank
Verified fully to ensure accuracy, the Test Bank includes questions clearly identified by topic, learning objectives, level
of difficulty, Bloom’s Taxonomy, AICPA, ACBSP, and other business program standards to allow greater guidance in
developing assessments and evaluating student progress. The Test Bank also contains QuickBooks questions to analyze
student understanding of the new QuickBooks content within the 12th edition. Available in print and electronically on
the password-protected section of the text’s companion website at http://login.cengage.com.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xviii Preface
•
PowerPoint® lecture slides—these slides enhance lectures and simplify class preparation. Each chapter contains the
learning objectives along with figures directly from the text and practice exercises to help you create a powerful,
customizable tool. The slides have an updated design, based on the interior of the textbook.
• Solutions to Excel template problems.
NEW! Online testing system, Cognero is a full-featured online-assessment system that lets instructors manage content,
•
create tests and have complete reporting functionality at the click of a button. Edit and manage test bank content from
anywhere with Internet access. No special installs or downloads needed and compatible with any operating system or
browser. Cognero is located within the Instructor Resource center at http://login.cengage.com.
• QuickBooks data file solutions are provided for completion of select end-of-chapter problems and all of the All About
You Spa Problems as well as both Accounting Cycle Review Problems A and B, and the Comprehensive Review
Problem.
Student Supplements
Study Guide and Working Papers
The Study Guide and Working Papers are provided together in one convenient resource. The Study Guide portion
reinforces learning with chapter outlines that are linked to chapter learning objectives. The Working Papers are tailored
to the text’s end-of-chapter assignments.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Acknowledgments
During the revision of the twelfth edition, many instructors were consulted to review the text for thoughtful suggestions
that helped guide the revision of College Accounting: A Career Approach, 12e. Those reviewers are as follows:
We are happy to acknowledge Erin Dischler at Milwaukee Area Technical College for her hard work and creative ideas
particularly for the new QuickBooks sections of the text as well as for her role in writing the Blueprint Problems. She also
created the QuickBooks demonstration videos and has been a tremendous help with this revision.
We are especially thankful for the following instructors who truly recognize the importance of giving students the
opportunity to understand the fundamentals of accounting and apply those concepts using QuickBooks. Those instructors
who offered suggestions to the QuickBooks sections of this book are as follows:
xix
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xx Acknowledgments
A special thanks to the following verifiers for their detailed review of end-of-chapter materials, supplemental materials,
as well as the test bank.
Jennifer Schneider, CPA Tracey M. Lauterborn
University of North Georgia Western International University
Cathy Scott would like to thank her family, Gale, Ryan, Tisha, Erica, Danny, Dasariea, Dustin, Adam, Amanda, Marie,
Michael, Barry, and Ruth for their never-ending patience, love and support. She would also like to thank her friends and
colleagues for their continuous encouragement and professional collaboration as well as the many students who have
inspired her as an educator over the years. Cathy would like to thank “Team College Accounting” at Cengage Learning for
their enthusiastic support of this edition’s concept. It has been a pleasure working with each of you. She would also like
to remember her late husband, Forrest, who saw her passion as an educator and encouraged her to follow her dreams.
Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Brief Contents
xxi
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Contents
Introduction to Accounting 2
Definition of Accounting 3
Importance of Accounting Information 4
Career Opportunities in Accounting 5
In the Real World 6
Ethics8
Chapter Review 9
Activities10
Chapter 1
Asset, Liability, Owner’s Equity, Revenue, and Expense
Accounts 12
Assets, Liabilities, and Owner’s Equity 13
Accounting in Your Future: Accounting Skills 21
Revenue and Expense Accounts 21
In the Real World: Google 23
Small Business Success: Tools to Success—
The U.S. Small Business Administration 26
You Make the Call 32
Accounting with Quickbooks 33
Chapter Review 41
Chapter Assignments 47
Activities56
Chapter 2
T Accounts, Debits and Credits, Trial Balance,
and Financial Statements 58
The T Account Form 59
The T Account Form with Plus and Minus Sides 61
The T Account Form with Debits and Credits 62
Recording Business Transactions in T Accounts 63
You Make the Call 68
The Trial Balance 75
xxii
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Contents xxiii
Chapter Review 87
Chapter Assignments 95
Activities108
Chapter 3
The General Journal and the General Ledger 110
The General Journal 111
Accounting in Your Future: Accounting Skills 115
Posting to the General Ledger 118
The Trial Balance 127
Source Documents 128
Small Business Success: Paperwork—Why It’s Worth Keeping Track of! 129
Correction of Errors—Manual and Computerized 131
In the Real World: Overstock.com 132
You Make the Call 133
Accounting with Quickbooks 134
Chapter 4
Adjusting Entries and the Work Sheet 166
Fiscal Period 167
The Accounting Cycle 167
The Work Sheet 167
Adjustments170
Small Business Success: Choosing Accounting Software 170
Steps in the Completion of the Work Sheet 177
Journalizing Adjusting Entries 181
In the Real World: Rhapsody 182
You Make the Call 183
Accounting with Quickbooks 188
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Proxy
Planeteers
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
Language: English
Then, as his mind searched for some factor common to all the
disasters, a startled look came over Doug Norris' lean, earnest face.
"There were always some of those clouds of radon or whatever they
are around, each time!" he thought. "I wonder if—" A red-hot thought
brought him to his feet. "Holy cats! Maybe I've got the answer!"
He jumped away from the Proxy-board without a further glance at
that bank of intricate controls, and hurried down a corridor.
Through the glass doors he passed, Norris could see the other
operators at work. Each sat in front of his control-board, wearing his
television helmet, flipping the switches with expert precision. Each
was operating a mechanical Proxy somewhere on Mercury.
Norris and all these other operators had been trained together when
Kincaid started the Proxy Project. They had been proud of their
positions, until recently. It was a vitally important job, searching out
the uranium so sorely needed for Earth's atomic power supply.
The uranium and allied metals of Earth had years ago been
ransacked and used up. There was little on Venus or Mars. Mercury
had much of the precious metal in its cavernous interior. But no man,
no matter how ingenious his protection, could live long enough on
the terrible, semi-molten Hot Side of Mercury to conduct mining
operations.
That was why Kincaid had invented the Proxies. They were
machines that could mine uranium where men couldn't go. Crewless
ships guided by radar took the Proxies to the Base on Mercury's
sunward side. From Base, each Proxy was guided by an Earth
operator down into the hot fissures to find and mine the vital
radioactive element. The scheme had worked well, until—
"Until we got into those deeper fissures with the Proxies," Doug
Norris thought. "Seven wrecked since then! This must be the
answer!"
Martin Kincaid looked up sharply as Norris entered his office. A look
of faint dismay came on Kincaid's square, patient face. He knew that
a Proxy operator wouldn't leave his board in the middle of a shift,
unless there was trouble.
"Go ahead and give me the bad news, Doug," he said wearily.
"Proxy M-Fifty just blacked out on me, down in Fissure Four," Norris
admitted. "Just like the others. But I think I know why, now!" He
continued excitedly: "Mart, seven Proxies blacking out in two weeks
wasn't just accident. It was done deliberately!"
Kincaid stared. "You mean that Hurriman's bunch is somehow
sabotaging our Project?"
Doug Norris interrupted with a denial. "Not that. Hurriman and his
fellow politicians merely want to get their hands on the Proxy Project,
not to destroy it."
"Then who did wreck our Proxies?" Kincaid demanded.
Norris answered excitedly. "I believe we've run into living creatures in
those depths, and they're attacking us."
Kincaid grunted. "The temperature in those fissures is about four
hundred degrees Centigrade, the same as Mercury's sunward side.
Life can't exist in heat like that. I suggest you take a rest."
"I know all that," Norris said impatiently. "But suppose we've run into
a new kind of life there—one based on radioactive matter? Biologists
have speculated on it more than once. Theoretically, creatures of
radioactive matter could exist, drawing their energies not from
chemical metabolism as we do, but from the continuous process of
radioactive disintegration."
"Theoretically, the sky is a big roof with holes in it that are stars,"
growled Kincaid. "It depends on whose theory you believe."
"Every time a Proxy has blacked out down there, there's been little
clouds of heavy radioactive gas near," argued Doug Norris. "Each
seems to have a denser core. Suppose that core is an unknown
radium compound, evolved into some kind of neuronic structure that
is able to receive and remember stimuli? A sort of queer, radioactive
brain?
"If that's so, and biologists have said it's possible, the body of the
creature consists of radon gas emanated from the radium core. You
remember the half-life of radon exactly equals the rate of its
emission from radium, so there'd be a constant equilibrium of the
thing's gaseous body, analogous to our blood circulation. Given
Mercury's conditions, it's no more impossible than a jellyfish or a
man here on Earth!"
Norris opened the other bottle and generously refilled their glasses.
He sat down beside Kincaid, who was looking broodingly from the
window at the distant atomic power plant. Despite the warm physical
glow he felt, Doug Norris was unhappier than before. A new,
poignant sorrow had risen in him.
"You know, Mart, it isn't only what Hurriman's doing to the Project
that's got me down," he said sorrowfully. "It's what happened to old
M-Fifty today."
"M-Fifty?" Kincaid inquired. "You mean that Proxy you lost this
afternoon?"
"Yes, he was my special Proxy for all these months," Doug Norris
said. "I got to know him. He was always dependable, never jumped
his control beam, never acted cranky in a tight place." His voice
choked a little. "I loved that Proxy like a brother. And I let him down. I
let those Raddies wreck him."
"They'll fix him up, Doug," said Kincaid, a rich sympathy in his slightly
thickened voice. "They'll make him as good as new when they get
him back up to Base."
"Yes, but what good will that do if I'm not here to operate him?" cried
Norris. "I tell you, that Proxy was sensitive. He knew my touch on the
controls. That Proxy would have died for me."
"Sure he would." Kincaid nodded with owlish understanding. "Here,
have another drink, Doug."
"I've had enough," Norris said gloomily, refilling their glasses as he
spoke. "But as I was saying, that Proxy won't run for a bunch of
politicians and their ham-handed operators like he ran for me. He'll
know that I'm gone, and he won't be the same. He'll pine."
"That's the way it goes, Doug," Kincaid said sadly. "You lose your
best friend—I mean, your best Proxy—and I lose my Project, just
because we can't furnish enough uranium for power over there."
He gestured bitterly toward the distant stacks of New York Power
Station that soared like towers of light in the distant darkness.
"You know, I've got an idea in my mind about that," Kincaid added
slowly, as he stared at those towers.
Doug Norris nodded emphatically. "You're dead right, Mart. You're
absolutely right."
"Now wait, you didn't hear my idea yet," Kincaid protested a little
foggily. "It's this—we're losing the Project because we can't furnish
enough uranium for power. But suppose they didn't need uranium for
power any longer? Then they'd let us keep the Proxy Project!"
"Exactly what I say!" Norris declared firmly. "There's just one thing for
us to do. That's to find a way to produce atomic power from some
commoner substance than uranium. That'd solve our whole
problem."
"I thought I was the one who said that," Kincaid said, puzzled. "But
look—what fairly common metal could be used to replace uranium in
the atomic piles?"
"Bismuth, of course," Norris replied promptly. "Its atomic number is
closest to the radioactive series of elements."
"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Kincaid declared.
"Bismuth it is. All we have to do is to make bismuth work in an
atomic pile, then we can run the Proxy Project without this
everlasting nagging about supplying uranium."
Doug Norris felt a warm, happy relief. "Why, it's simple! We should
have thought of it before! Let's get some bismuth out of the supply
room and go over to the Power Station right now!" He leaped to his
feet, eagerly, if a trifle unsteadily. "No time to waste, if the Council
committee's to be on our necks tomorrow!"
Doug Norris felt like singing in his wonderful relief, as he and Kincaid
went down through the now deserted Project building to the supply
room. In fact, he started to raise his voice in a ribald ballad about a
Proxy's adventure with a lady automaton.
"You mus' have had a trifle too much Scotch, Doug," Kincaid
reproved him, with owlish dignity. "Such levity isn't becoming to two
scientists about to make the mos' wonderful invention of the
century."
They got one of the heavy leaden cylinders used for transport of
uranium and filled it carefully with powdered bismuth. Then, in
Kincaid's car, they drove happily toward the big Power Station.
The guards at the barrier gate knew them both, for it was nothing
new for Proxy Project men to bring uranium over to the Station. They
let them through, and the car eased along the straight cement road.
The huge, windowless buildings that housed the massive uranium
piles were a mile beyond. But no one went near those tremendous
atomic piles. Everything in them had to be handled by remote control
by the few technicians in Headquarters Building who kept them
operating.
"Mart, isn't it queer nobody ever thought of usin' bismuth instead of
uranium, before now?" Norris asked, out of his roseate glow.
"Scientists too c'nservative, that's the trouble," Kincaid answered
wisely. His voice soared. "We're about to launch a new epoch! No
more uranium shortage to worry 'bout! No more politicians botherin'
the Project!"
"And I'll be able to fix up old M-Fifty and run him myself again,"
added Doug Norris. He choked up once more. "When I think of that
Proxy that was like a brother to me, lyin' down in that lonely fissure
with the Raddies gloatin' over him—"
"Don't think about it, Doug," begged Kincaid, with tender sympathy.
"Soon's we get these atomic piles changed around, we'll go back
and get good old M-Fifty up again and fix him good as new."
That promise cheered Norris' grieving mind. He got out and helped
Kincaid carry the heavy lead cylinder into Headquarters Building.
The technicians they passed in the lower rooms saw nothing
surprising in the two Project men staggering along under the weight
of the cylinder. Nor did Petersen and Thorpe, at first.
Petersen and Thorpe were the two technicians on duty in the big,
sacred inmost chamber of controls. Visors here gave view of every
part of the distant, mighty atomic piles—the massive lead towers that
enclosed the graphite and uranium lattices, the gas penstocks that
led to giant heat turbines, the gauges and meters. And the banks of
heavy levers here could switch those lattices, make any desired
change in the piles, without the necessity of a man entering the zone
of dangerous radiation.
Petersen had surprise on his spectacled, scholarly face as he
greeted the two scientists.
"I didn't know you had another uranium consignment for us," he said.
Kincaid helped Norris place the lead cylinder in the breech of the
tube that would carry it mechanically to the distant pile.
"This isn't uranium—it's better than uranium," Kincaid announced
impressively.
"What do you mean, better than uranium?" Petersen asked in a
puzzled tone. He opened the end of the lead cylinder. "Why, this stuff
is bismuth! What is this, a crazy joke?"
Young Thorpe had been staring closely at Kincaid and Norris.
"They're both plastered!" he burst out.
Kincaid drew himself up in an unsteady attitude of outraged dignity.
"Tha's what thanks we get," he accused thickly. "We come here to
make a won'erful improvement in your blasted old atomic piles, and
we get insulted."
"Thorpe," Petersen said disgustedly, "get them out of here, and ...
Look out!"
Doug Norris had casually taken the heavy metal handle off one of
the big levers. He tapped Thorpe on the head with it just as Petersen
uttered his warning cry. The young technician slumped.
Petersen, suddenly pale, darted toward an alarm button on his desk.
But before he reached it, Norris' improvised blackjack tapped his
skull. And Petersen also sagged to the floor.
Before Petersen could reach the alarm button, the blackjack hit him.