The chart below shows the economic cost of two school lunches.

\begin{tabular}{|l|r|r|}
\hline \multicolumn{3}{|c|}{Economic Cost per Lunch} \\
\hline & \begin{tabular}{c}
Current \\
Lunch
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
Healthier \\
Lunch
\end{tabular} \\
\hline Main course & [tex]$\$[/tex]1.15[tex]$ & $[/tex]\[tex]$1.85$[/tex] \\
\hline Side dish & [tex]$\$[/tex]0.30[tex]$ & $[/tex]\[tex]$0.90$[/tex] \\
\hline Dessert & [tex]$\$[/tex]0.30[tex]$ & $[/tex]\[tex]$0.10$[/tex] \\
\hline Beverage & [tex]$\$[/tex]0.30[tex]$ & $[/tex]\[tex]$0.05$[/tex] \\
\hline Total & [tex]$\$[/tex]2.05[tex]$ & $[/tex]\[tex]$2.80$[/tex] \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

The largest price difference between the two lunches is found in the

A. Dessert
B. Side dish
C. Beverage
D. Main course



Answer :

Let's analyze the given economic cost of the current lunch and the healthier lunch for each item:

1. Main course:
- Current lunch cost: [tex]$1.15 - Healthier lunch cost: $[/tex]1.85
- Difference: [tex]\(1.85 - 1.15 = 0.70\)[/tex]

2. Side dish:
- Current lunch cost: [tex]$0.30 - Healthier lunch cost: $[/tex]0.90
- Difference: [tex]\(0.90 - 0.30 = 0.60\)[/tex]

3. Dessert:
- Current lunch cost: [tex]$0.30 - Healthier lunch cost: $[/tex]0.10
- Difference: [tex]\(0.10 - 0.30 = -0.20\)[/tex] (This is a negative difference, indicating that the healthier dessert is cheaper.)

4. Beverage:
- Current lunch cost: [tex]$0.30 - Healthier lunch cost: $[/tex]0.05
- Difference: [tex]\(0.05 - 0.30 = -0.25\)[/tex] (This is also a negative difference, indicating that the healthier beverage is cheaper.)

To determine the largest price difference, we compare the absolute values of these differences:
- Main course: 0.70
- Side dish: 0.60
- Dessert: 0.20 (in absolute terms)
- Beverage: 0.25 (in absolute terms)

From the values above, the largest price difference is 0.70, which corresponds to the main course.

Therefore, the largest price difference between the two lunches is found in the main course.