The chart below shows the economic costs 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 smallest price difference between the two lunches is found in the
A. beverage
B. main course
C. dessert
D. side dish



Answer :

To find the smallest price difference between the current and healthier lunch items, we need to compare the costs of each individual item in both menus. Let's go through each item step-by-step:

1. Main Course:
- Current lunch: \[tex]$1.15 - Healthier lunch: \$[/tex]1.85
- Price difference: [tex]\( \$1.85 - \$1.15 = \$0.70 \)[/tex]

2. Side Dish:
- Current lunch: \[tex]$0.30 - Healthier lunch: \$[/tex]0.90
- Price difference: [tex]\( \$0.90 - \$0.30 = \$0.60 \)[/tex]

3. Dessert:
- Current lunch: \[tex]$0.30 - Healthier lunch: \$[/tex]0.10
- Price difference: [tex]\( \$0.10 - \$0.30 = -\$0.20 \)[/tex]

4. Beverage:
- Current lunch: \[tex]$0.30 - Healthier lunch: \$[/tex]0.05
- Price difference: [tex]\( \$0.05 - \$0.30 = -\$0.25 \)[/tex]

Comparing the absolute values of each price difference:
- Main Course: \[tex]$0.70 - Side Dish: \$[/tex]0.60
- Dessert: \[tex]$0.20 - Beverage: \$[/tex]0.25

The smallest absolute price difference among these values is \$0.25, which corresponds to the beverage.

Therefore, the smallest price difference between the two lunches is found in the beverage.