Why the Big Box Costs Less
Written by Studio AM.
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Two boxes of the same rice sit on the shelf. The small one holds one kilogram and costs three dollars. The large one holds five kilograms and costs twelve dollars. The large box has a bigger number on the price tag, yet it is the cheaper rice. One kilogram costs three dollars in the small box and two dollars and forty cents in the large one.
One possible reason is that some packing costs do not rise as fast as the amount of rice. Printing one label or handling one package may cost about the same for a small box and a larger one. Spreading a fixed cost over more rice can lower the cost of each kilogram. This does not mean every large pack is cheaper.
This is why shops print a price per kilogram in small letters under the tag. This unit price helps you compare the same product in different pack sizes. But waste can cancel the saving. Buy five kilograms, eat one, and throw four away, and you paid twelve dollars for one kilogram. For the amount you used, the small box would have cost less.
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Questions
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Question 1 of 4
According to the passage, what does one kilogram cost in the large box?
The answer is A: Two dollars and forty cents.
The first paragraph gives both numbers: three dollars per kilogram in the small box and two dollars and forty cents in the large one.
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Question 2 of 4
What if the shopper buys the large box, uses one kilogram, and throws the rest away?
The answer is D: The rice they used effectively cost twelve dollars per kilogram.
The shopper paid twelve dollars but used only one kilogram.
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Question 3 of 4
What is the main idea of the passage?
The answer is C: Compare unit prices, but also consider how much of the product you will use.
The large box has a lower price per kilogram, but the waste example shows why the useful amount matters too.
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Question 4 of 4
In this passage, a "fixed cost" is a cost that
The answer is B: changes little with the box's size
A fixed cost stays about the same while it is spread over a larger amount, as in the label and handling examples.
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