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If the "Smart Vending Machine" Described in the Excerpt Below

question 128

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If the "smart vending machine" described in the excerpt below were available today on a 100-degree day in Atlanta,Georgia,Coca-Cola would be purchased by the: Taking full advantage of the law of supply and demand,the Coca-Cola Company has quietly begun testing a vending machine that can automatically raise prices for its drinks in hot weather."This technology is something the Coca-Cola Company has been looking at for more than a year," said Rob Baskin,a company spokesman,adding that it had not yet been placed in any consumer market....The process appears to be done simply through a temperature sensor and a computer chip,not any breakthrough technology,though Coca-Cola refused to provide any details yesterday.While the concept might seem unfair to a thirsty person,it essentially extends to another industry what has become the practice for airlines and other companies that sell products and services to consumers.The falling price of computer chips and the increasing ease of connecting to the Internet has made it practical for companies to pair daily and hourly fluctuations in demand with fluctuations in price-even if the product is a can of soda that sells for just 75 cents.
Source: Constance L.Hays,"Variable-Price Coke Machine Being Tested," New York Times,October 28,1999,C1.

Definitions:

Equilibrium Quantity

The amount of goods or services available and sought after at the balance price.

Scalping

The practice of buying tickets, securities, or commodities for immediate resale at higher prices, often to exploit short-term fluctuations.

Equilibrium Level

The point at which market supply equals market demand, leading to a stable situation where there is neither excess demand nor excess supply.

Equilibrium Price

The price at which the quantity of a good or service supplied is equal to the quantity demanded, resulting in no net surplus or shortage in the market.