Maria goes on a shopping trip to get ready for her vacation. She loads her cart with a bathing suit for $15.00, a sun hat for $8.00, magazines for $8.00, and a beach towel for $7.00. When she gets to the register, she realizes she only has $20.00 in her pocket.
If Maria decides to purchase the sun hat and towel, what is the opportunity cost of her purchase? Select all that apply. There are two answers.
the sun hat
the towel
the magazines
the bathing suit
The opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative that Maria could have chosen instead. In this case, if she decides to purchase the sun hat and towel, the opportunity cost would be the value of the next best alternative, which is the bathing suit and magazines. So, the opportunity cost of her purchase would be the bathing suit and the magazines. Therefore, the correct answers are:
- The bathing suit
- The magazines
The opportunity cost refers to the next best alternative foregone when making a decision. In this case, Maria has $20.00 in her pocket and can only afford to purchase the sun hat and the towel. Therefore, the opportunity cost of her purchase would be the next best alternatives she cannot afford, which are the magazines and the bathing suit.
So, the correct answers are:
- the magazines
- the bathing suit
To determine the opportunity cost of Maria's purchase, we need to identify the items that Maria would have to give up by choosing to purchase the sun hat and towel instead.
The opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative that was foregone. In this case, Maria would have to give up other items she could have purchased with the $20.00 in her pocket.
First, let's calculate the total cost of the sun hat and towel:
Sun hat cost: $8.00
Towel cost: $7.00
Total cost: $8.00 + $7.00 = $15.00
Now, let's determine the remaining cash Maria would have in her pocket after purchasing the sun hat and towel:
Remaining cash: $20.00 - $15.00 = $5.00
Since Maria does not have enough money to purchase any other item individually, the opportunity cost of her purchase is the value of the next-best alternative she could choose. Since she cannot choose any other individual item, the opportunity cost includes a combination of items she could have purchased with the remaining cash.
Analyzing the remaining options:
- The sun hat and towel cost a total of $15.00, leaving Maria with $5.00. Therefore, she does not have enough money to buy the bathing suit ($15.00), so the opportunity cost of buying the sun hat and towel is the bathing suit.
Therefore, the opportunity cost of Maria's purchase is the bathing suit.
The correct answer is:
- The bathing suit