"HOW IS THE PRICE OF A MARS BAR DECIDED?"

Sometimes the manufacturer sets the price, sometimes the shopkeeper but whoever it is the price must be right. The price must not be set too low so that no profit is made but it also must not be set too high so that nobody buys any Mars bars!

In my job I use mathematics to write computer programs that set the right price for Mars Bars and lots of other products.

Think of this:
If a Mars bar went up by 2p, would you still buy one? Probably.
If it went up by 5p would you still buy one? Probably but maybe less often.
If they went up by 10p you might buy Snickers instead!

I use maths to make models of customer behaviour. These models can then be used to set the right price for a Mars bar so that lots of people buy them and a profit is made on each one.

The next time you compare the price of two items think about how somebody somewhere is using maths to predict which one you buy.