Adjusted Cost Formula. Purpose of 0.5 power?

[fly4food]

Hello all,

I have a formula I have been using to estimate airline costs and was wondering if someone could simply explain what the purpose of the ^0.5 power is?

The formula is:

Cost per mile x (Average length / Actual length)^0.5

This is the actual formula used by many businesses so I know its correct and I know it brings the cost down, but why 0.5?

All comments and input is welcome.

Thanks

 

[fly4food]

ALso, what type of formula is this? Thank you!

 

[Stephen Tashi]

For a person who specializes in mathematics, the main problem with answering questions about formulas used in a particular industry is understanding the definitions of the quantities involved. For example, in your question, it is not clear what "average cost" means. It isn't even clear whether this is an averags of costs charged to the shipper ( i.e. charges by the airline ) or whether it involves costs paid by the airline. You should define these quantities or post a link to some pages that explain them - or just hope some mathematican who is familiar with airline cost accounting happens to see your post.