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ECN 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Marginal Utility

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School
URI
Department
Economics
Course
ECN 201
Professor
Dupuis I I I Ernest

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Document Summary

3/18/16: law of diminishing marginal utility, as we consume more of one good, our marginal utility (mu) will b. slowly decline. If total utility (tu) for consuming 1 unit of pizza is 10 utils and tu for. Mu = tu / q = c: 1: (10 0) / (1 0) = 10, 2: (19 10) / (2 1) = 9 c. Imagine tu from eating 5 tacos is 10, 16, 19, 20, and 17 utils. Mu maxes out at 4th taco because if you eat the 5th taco, you will get disutility.

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Related Questions

1. Suppose that the total utility from consuming one unit of good X is 54 utils, the total utility of two units of good X is 74 utils, and the total utility of three units of good X is 84 utils. The marginal utility of the third unit is

a.70.67 utils.

b.10 utils.

c.12.25 utils.

d.20 utils.

2. If income rises, the budget constraint

a. Moves outward away from the origin

b. Does not move

c. Moves inward toward the origin

d. Moves farther down the vertical axis

3. Economists assume that the goal of consumers is to maximize total utility.

true/false

4. The budget constraint cuts the horizontal axis at 12 units of good X and it cuts the vertical axis at 20 units of good Y. If the price of good X is $20 and the price of good Y is $12, then what does income equal?

a. $200

b. $240

c. $520

d. $280

e. not enough information to answer this question

5. Consumer equilibrium exists when an individual

a. can be made better off by buying more of a normal good and less of an inferior good.

b. is receiving the same total utility from each of the goods he or she purchases.

c. is receiving the same marginal utility from each of the goods he or she purchases.

d. has the same MU/P ratio for each of the goods he or she purchases.

e. none of the above

6. Suppose you are eating buffalo wings at a local happy hour. The total utils from doing so after the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh wings are 30, 50, 65, 72, respectively. In this situation we have __________ marginal utility, which is generally __________ in the analysis of consumer choice.

a. diminishing; not assumed

b. increasing; assumed

c. diminishing; assumed

d. increasing; not assumed

7. Which of the following best describes an interpersonal utility comparison?

a. Usually, Smith seems a lot happier than Jones.

b. Smith gets more utility from working on his computer than Jones gets from working on his computer.

c. Smith usually eats more in a day than Jones eats in a day.

d. ones likes computers produced by Dell Computer Corporation and Smith likes computers produced by Apple Computer Inc

e. Smith got less utility from eating the 30th cookie than eating the 29th cookie, and the same holds for Jones.

8. We would expect the total utility of water to be high but its marginal utility to be low. Why?

a. Because we need water to live and there is so much of it.

b. Because we need water to live and there is very little of it.

c. Because water is a fluid and we don't need fluids to live as much as we need food

d. Because water's price is low.

9.The marginal utility curve for units 6 through 8 of good Z lies below the horizontal axis. What does this imply must be true about the total utility curve for units 6 through 8 of good Z?

a. That portion of good ZĆ¢Ā€Ā™s total utility curve must also lie below the horizontal axis.

b. That portion of good ZĆ¢Ā€Ā™s total utility curve must be upward sloping.

c. That portion of good ZĆ¢Ā€Ā™s total utility curve must be horizontal.

d. That portion of good ZĆ¢Ā€Ā™s total utility curve must be downward sloping.

10. Research presented in the text shows that people are more concerned with their absolute income position in a group than their relative income position in the group.

true/false

1. Economists use ____________ as a measure of the relative level of satisfaction when someone consumes a good or service.

Ā  consumer happiness
Ā  utility
Ā  a happiness index
Ā  a satisfaction index

2. Sue likes brownies. However, Sue notices that the more brownies she eats the less satisfaction she receives from each extra brownie. We can say that Sue is experiencing ___________________ from each extra brownie.

Ā  sugar sickness
Ā  total utility
Ā  diminishing marginal utility
Ā  increasing marginal utility

3. When total utility is maximized, the marginal utility will be

Ā  positive.
Ā  zero.
Ā  negative.
Ā  none of these.

4. Consider Dirk and Lee. They are both eating pizza. Which of the following statements is true regarding their satisfaction and utility?

Ā  Dirk and Lee both receive 10 utils from eating pizza.
Ā  Dirk and Lee both receive the same level of satisfaction from eating pizza.
Ā  Dirk gets more twice as much satisfaction as Lee from eating pizza.
Ā  It is difficult to determine because the utility is subjective.

5. For many products, the total utility curve is

Ā  strictly increasing because of increasing marginal utility.
Ā  strictly decreasing because of diminishing marginal utility.
Ā  increasing initially because of increasing marginal utility, but eventually decreases.
Ā  increasing initially at a decreasing rate because of diminishing marginal utility but eventually decreases.

6. When consumers get the biggest bang for the buck, we say they

Ā  used the loudest gun in hunting season.
Ā  reached a consumer optimum.
Ā  minimized consumer satisfaction.
Ā  maximized marginal utility.

7. By choosing to consume at the consumer optimum, consumers will

Ā  maximize their total utility.
Ā  minimize their total utility.
Ā  maximize the amount they spend on each good.
Ā 

minimize the amount they spend on each good.

8. A consumer is in equilibrium when consuming two goods when which of the following holds?

Ā  MUa/ Pa = MUb/ Pb
Ā  MUa/ Ph =MUb/ Pa
Ā  Pa/ MUa = Pb/ MUb
Ā  MUa x Pa = MUbxPb

9. If the marginal utility of good 1 is 15 and its price is $3, and the marginal utility of good 2 is 12, and its price is $4, then the consumer

Ā  has achieved a consumer optimum.
Ā  should increase his or her consumption of good 1.
Ā  should increase his or her consumption of good 2.
Ā  should decrease his or her consumption of good 1.

10.Suppose the price of an iPod decrease and the price of HD TVs remains the same; what noticeable effect(s) occur(s)?

Ā  the substitution effect only
Ā  the real-income effect only
Ā  the substitution effect and real-income effect, if there is a noticeable change in purchasing power
Ā  the substitution effect and real-income effect, if there isnĆ¢Ā€Ā™t a noticeable change in purchasing power

11. The ______________ paradox was described by Adam Smith in 1776.

Ā  diamond-carbon
Ā  diamond-water
Ā  diamond-life
Ā  water-utility

12. What is the key to solving the diamond-water paradox?

Ā  more water and fewer diamonds
Ā  marginal utility
Ā  total utility
Ā  consumer demand

13. When solving the diamond-water paradox we notice that the marginal utility of

Ā  diamonds are equal to the marginal utility of water.
Ā  diamonds are greater than the marginal utility of water.
Ā  diamonds are less than the marginal utility of water.
Ā  water is equal to its price, and therefore lower than the marginal utility of diamonds.

14. The consumer surplus for water is

Ā  greater than that for diamonds because water is nonessential.
Ā  greater than that for diamonds because water is essential.
Ā  less than that for diamonds because water is nonessential.
Ā  less than that for diamonds because water is essential.

15. Suppose a consumer consumes only diamonds and water, and the price of diamonds increases. All else being equal, a consumerĆ¢Ā€Ā™s marginal utility for diamonds

Ā  decreases and the marginal utility for water stays the same.
Ā  increases and the marginal utility for water decreases.
Ā  decreases and the marginal utility for water increases.
Ā  increases and the marginal utility for water stays the same.

1. Use the table below for the following question. Suppose you have a budget of $6 and that brownies and Twizzlers cost $1 each. What is the consumer optimum?

Number of Brownies

Total Utility of Brownies

Marginal Utility of Brownies

Number of Twizzlers

Total Utility of Twizzlers

Marginal Utility of Twizzlers

0

0

-

0

0

-

1

10

10

1

6

8

2

19

9

2

13

7

3

26

7

3

19

6

4

30

4

4

23

4

5

30

0

5

25

2

6

29

-1

6

25

0
Ā  6 brownies
Ā  3 brownies and 3 Twizzlers
Ā  4 brownies and 2 Twizzlers
Ā  any combination of 6 because they're both $1
Ā  8

2. Use the table below for the following question. What is the consumer equilibrium for a $6 budget if the price of brownies rises to $1.50 and the price of Twizzlers remains at $1.00?

Number of Brownies

Total Utility of Brownies

Marginal Utility of Brownies

Number of Twizzlers

Total Utility of Twizzlers

Marginal Utility of Twizzlers

0

0

-

0

0

-

1

10

10

1

6

8

2

19

9

2

13

7

3

26

7

3

19

6

4

30

4

4

23

4

5

30

0

5

25

2

6

29

-1

6

25

0
Ā  The consumer will buy all Twizzlers because they're cheaper.
Ā  4 brownies
Ā  3 Twizzlers and 2 brownies
Ā  3 brownies and 3 Twizzlers
Ā  7

3. At Nice Price for the Ice, an ice cream parlor, customers routinely buy a scoop of ice cream for $3. If consumers purchase one scoop of ice cream at $3, then why don't they keep buying more and more scoops for $3 until the store sells out?

Ā  People would not want more than one scoop of ice cream because then they would have less money to spend on other goods.
Ā  People do not want to consume all the scoops of ice cream because their total utility is higher the less they eat.
Ā  At some point, customers do not value an additional scoop at $3, so they will not pay $3 for a scoop after they reach that point.

4. Suppose you plan on eating 50 potato chips. As you start consuming potato chips, your marginal utility is very high, but it begins to fall slowly until you've eaten 10 chips. After you have eaten 10 chips, your marginal utility decreases even faster with each additional chip. The marginal utility continues to decline until you've eaten 49 chips. The fiftieth chip does not give you any additional utility. After 50 chips, your mouth gets so salty that it's unpleasant to eat anymore, so marginal utility is actually negative for those chips. How many chips should you eat in order to maximize your total utility?

Ā  1
Ā  10
Ā  49

5. As you start consuming potato chips, your marginal utility is very high, but it begins to fall slowly until you've eaten 10 chips. After you have eaten 10 chips, marginal utility decreases even faster with each additional chip. The marginal utility continues to decline until you've eaten 49 chips. The fiftieth chip does not give you any additional utility. After 50 chips, your mouth gets so salty that it's unpleasant to eat anymore, so marginal utility is actually negative for those chips. How many chips should you eat in order to maximize your marginal utility?

Ā  1
Ā  10
Ā  49
Ā  50

6. At current levels of consumption, Alice is spending her entire budget. If Alice gets 3 utils of satisfaction per dollar spent on ice cream and 2 utils per dollar spent on shampoo, then how should she adjust her consumption to get closer to the consumer optimum?

Ā  She is already at the consumer optimum, so no adjustment is necessary.
Ā  She should buy more ice cream and less shampoo.
Ā  She should buy more shampoo and less ice cream.
Ā  She should buy more of both goods.

7. Suppose you are at a restaurant and your favorite dish costs $20. You can get your next-favorite dish for $17. If your next-favorite dish gives you 100 utils, how many additional utils do you need from your favorite dish to spend the extra $3?

Ā  15
Ā  17.65
Ā  85
Ā  117.65

8. The diamond water paradox is the observation that water is essential to life and inexpensive, while diamonds are not essential and are highly-priced. Which of the other pairs of goods exhibit a pricing structure similar to water and diamonds?

Ā  economy & luxury cars
Ā  rice & truffles (very expensive mushrooms)
Ā  paper clips & gasoline
Ā  paper & textbooks

9. Rice is a cheap staple food eaten several times a day by many people all over the world. In Trufflelandia, residents also eat expensive mushrooms known as truffles once every year as a birthday celebration. Rice keeps the people alive and truffles are not necessary for sustaining their lives. Why is rice so cheap and truffles so expensive?

Ā  Truffles taste better, so they are worth more money.
Ā  Rice is easy to cook, so people buy a lot of it. If people are going to buy so much, then it has to be cheap.
Ā  Truffles are more nutritious, and healthy food is always more expensive than unhealthy food.
Ā  People eat so much rice that an additional serving of rice has little marginal value, but the marginal value of another serving of truffles is very high.