D. the demand for bottled water is price elastic in the price range considered.
Explanation:
<u>Demand elasticity</u> can be express as the sensibility of change in the demanded quantity when prices change.
Mathematically , can be written as , where is the price and is the quantity demanded. This means that elasticity reflects what is the percentage change in quantity in the presence of a percentage change in prices.
A <u>decrease in supply would tipically rise prices</u>, ceteris paribus.
If the <u>decrease in supply was the cause of a decrease in revenues,</u> it means that the <u>percentage change in demanded quantity as a consequence of the rise in prices was bigger than the change in prices.</u>
To see it more clearly, remember that the seller's revenue can be express as . If prices increased, but revenues fall, then decreases in a bigger percentage than the increased in prices.
If , then , wich is consistent with an elastic range of demand.