Which situation is the best example of a zero-sum game? a. in baseball, each team gets three outs per inning, after which it's the other team's turn. b. products that don't sell at grocery stores often get sent to local food banks. c. to keep its numbers strong, recruiters for the military often target young people who have just graduated. d. every purchase you make at a chain store is a sale that a local small business misses out on.

The best example of a zero-sum game is option D) Every purchase you make at a chain store is a sale that a local small business misses out on.

A zero-sum game is a situation in which if one group wins something (in this case a sale for the chain store), it means that another group is losing it (in this case a loss for the small business). For example, if I purchase something at a chain store, then the chain store is winning a sale but in the same proportion a small business is losing a sale. So both winning and losing are proportional for each group.  

D. Every purchase you make at a chain store is a sale that a local small business misses out on.

Explanation:

In the example the balance between loss and gain is illustrated. If one party gains , there is another party that loses. The chain store wins but the small business loses when you buy an item from the chain store. As the same item can be bought from the small business, too, your purchase of that item from the chain store makes the small business sell less, thus it loses.