The total variable cost flexible$-$budget variance for a period can be broken down into components using a two$-$step process. Step $1$ is to calculate a flexible$-$budget variance for each variable cost. Step $2$ is to Blank$\_\_\_\_\_\_.$

Multiple choice question.

determine the static budget component of the net variance

decompose the variance into sales volume and sale$-$mix components

estimate the master budget amount for each variable cost element

separate each variance into price and quantity components