REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

• While some products use fixed pricing (e.g. a t-shirt costs $15), others use unit pricing (e.g. tomatoes cost $4 per pound). In many cases, it’s obvious which pricing system is best; after all, it would be weird if one pound of turkey cost the same as ten pounds. In some cases, though, you could make an argument for either system...and the one we use is largely due to convention: We do it this way because this is how we’ve always done it.
• When buying products with fixed pricing, people buying smaller sizes will get less material for the same price as someone buying a bigger size. However, material isn’t the only – or even necessarily – the primary driver of cost for the company selling the product.
• Pricing structures can affect human behavior, e.g. people might try to fit into smaller shoes if they were cheaper.

MATH OBJECTIVES

• Calculate a unit price (“price per ounce”) given a total weight and total price
• Use unit pricing to calculate total price and explore real-world questions