Blue Lake Water Company has two departments, Purifying and Bottling. The Bottling Department received 76,000 liters from the Purifying Department. During the period, the Bottling Department completed 74,000 liters, including 3,000 liters of work in process at the beginning of the period. The ending work in process was 5,000 liters. The number of liters started and completed during the period is

A) 71,000
B) 69,000
C) 73,000
D) 79,000

The liters started and completed during the period can be calculated by taking the total liters completed (74,000) and subtracting the liters that were in process at the beginning of the period (3,000), then adding the liters that were in process at the end of the period (5,000). This calculation gives us 74,000 - 3,000 + 5,000 = 76,000 liters. However, since the question asks for the liters that were both started and completed during the period, we do not add the ending work in process. Therefore, the correct calculation is 74,000 - 3,000 = 71,000 liters.