Raj's Soft Drinks — Cost and Change

Raj buys 8 soft drinks and pays with a $20 note, getting $8 change. How much did each drink cost? Two simple steps: find the total spent (20 − 8 = 12), then divide by the number of items (12 ÷ 8 = 1.50). The classic trap is option C ($1.00) — students who divide the change ($8) by the number of drinks instead of the amount spent.

Unit price problems (total spent from change, then divide) are among the most common very-easy money questions in OC MR. They appear at the beginning of the paper and are solved in two steps. The examiner always provides a distractor equal to change ÷ quantity to catch students who confuse 'change' with 'amount spent'.

The examiner tests whether students can first find the total spent from the note and change, then divide by the number of items. Option C ($1.00) is the deliberate trap: $8 ÷ 8 = $1.00 is what students get if they divide the change by the number of drinks rather than the amount spent.

A quantity of identical items is bought. A large note is used to pay. The change is given. Students must: (1) subtract change from note to find total spent, (2) divide total spent by the number of items to find the unit price.