Drill 9 ·
AP Business with Personal Finance: Consumer Behavior (Drill 9) is a practice drill. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.
This drill covers consumer purchase decisions and bridges to a household budget choice; it uses an invented person and original figures.
Priya Venkataraman works from home and needs a new desk chair. She has set a budget of $260 and has decided she will only consider a chair with a comfort rating of at least 7 out of 10, since she sits in it all day. She compares four models, noting each one's price, warranty length, and comfort rating.
Desk chair options
| Option | Price | Warranty | Comfort rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $120 | 1 year | 6 |
| Standard | $240 | 3 years | 8 |
| Premium | $390 | 5 years | 9 |
| Deluxe | $520 | 5 years | 10 |
Question 1. What is the price of the Standard chair?
Explanation: The Standard chair is priced at $240 (D), as listed in the table. $120 (A) is the Basic chair, $390 (B) is the Premium, and $520 (C) is the Deluxe.
Question 2. Priya's rule that she will only buy a chair meeting both her price limit and her minimum comfort level is best described as deciding within what?
Explanation: A budget constraint is the right concept (A): it is the limit on what a person can spend that, combined with their needs, shapes which options are realistically available. Penetration pricing (B) is a seller's tactic, not a buyer's limit. A supply chain (C) is how goods reach the store. A profit margin (D) is a business profitability measure, not a household spending limit.
Question 3. How much more does the Premium chair cost than the Standard chair?
Explanation: The difference is $150 (C): $390 (Premium) minus $240 (Standard) = $150. $130 (A) would be Deluxe minus Premium ($520 - $390), $280 (B) is Premium minus Basic ($390 - $120) reading the wrong rows, and $100 (D) matches no pair in the table.
Question 4. Why does the Standard chair fit Priya's stated requirements better than the Basic chair, even though the Basic chair is cheaper?
Explanation: D is correct: Priya requires a comfort rating of at least 7, and the Basic chair rates only 6, so it fails her stated need no matter how cheap it is, whereas the Standard chair (rating 8) meets it. A is false; the Basic warranty (1 year) is shorter than the Standard's (3 years). B is false; at $120 the Basic chair is well within her $260 budget. C is false; the Basic chair, not the Standard, is the cheapest.
Question 5. Given Priya's $260 budget and her minimum comfort rating of 7, which chair should she choose?
Explanation: Standard is the right choice (B): it is the only option that satisfies both conditions, costing $240 (within the $260 budget) and rating 8 on comfort (above the minimum of 7). Basic (A) is affordable but its comfort rating of 6 falls short of her requirement. Premium (C) at $390 and Deluxe (D) at $520 both exceed her budget, even though their comfort ratings qualify. The choice shows how consumers weigh product features against a real spending limit.