Scenario: Suppose That the Government Imposes a Price Control on Gasoline

Scenario: Suppose that the government imposes a price control on gasoline where the legal price is set at $1.50 per gallon while the equilibrium price would be $2.25. A shortage ensues. Worried that you may not have enough gas to commute to school and do errands, you get up before dawn to go to a gas station to fill up the tank. But you find yourself waiting in a long line. Fortunately, the station did not run out of gas before your turn came up, and you were happy to drive away with a full tank.
-Refer to the scenario above.Your total cost of getting gas ________.

A) is lower than the equilibrium price thanks to the price ceiling
B) is exactly the same as the equilibrium price because you managed to get gas
C) may be higher than the equilibrium price because of your opportunity cost of waiting in line and uncertainty about availability of gasoline
D) may be higher than the equilibrium price because the seller usually charges an illegally higher price