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Quantitative Skills for Economics

Cost, revenue, profit and elasticity calculations

  • 4 things to know
  • Components 01, 02 and 03

Overview

Recall questions on calculating total revenue, profit, average and marginal cost, marginal revenue, price, income and cross elasticity, price elasticity of supply, and price and volume changes.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

How are marginal cost and marginal revenue defined, and why is marginal revenue below price for a firm facing a downward-sloping demand curve?

Numbers

The price of a good rises from £8.00 to £8.80 and weekly sales fall from 40,000 to 37,000 units. Calculate the price elasticity of demand.

Numbers

A firm sells 4,000 units at £15 each and its total costs are £48,000. Calculate total revenue, profit and average cost.

Numbers

Weekly sales fall from 40,000 to 37,000 as price rises from £8.00 to £8.80. Calculate total revenue before and after; does that fit PED −0.75?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    A firm sells 4,000 units at £15 each and its total costs are £48,000. Calculate total revenue, profit and average cost.

    Model answer

    Total revenue is 4,000 × £15 = £60,000, profit is £60,000 − £48,000 = £12,000, and average cost is £48,000 ÷ 4,000 = £12 per unit.

  2. 2

    A firm's total cost is £3,400 when it produces 200 units and £3,418 when it produces 201 units. Calculate the marginal cost of the 201st unit.

    Model answer

    Marginal cost is the change in total cost divided by the change in output, so it is £18 ÷ 1 = £18.

  3. 3

    A firm sells 100 units at £50 each. To sell 110 units it must cut the price on all units to £48. What is marginal revenue per extra unit, and why is it below the price?

    Model answer

    Revenue rises from £5,000 to £5,280, so marginal revenue is £280 ÷ 10 = £28 per unit; it is below the £48 price because the price cut also reduces the revenue earned on the units the firm was already selling.

  4. 4

    A firm has fixed costs of £20,000 and average variable cost of £13 at an output of 2,500 units. Calculate average fixed cost, average total cost and total cost.

    Model answer

    Average fixed cost is £20,000 ÷ 2,500 = £8, average total cost is £8 + £13 = £21, and total cost is 2,500 × £21 = £52,500.

  5. 5

    The price of a good rises from £8.00 to £8.80 and weekly sales fall from 40,000 to 37,000 units. Calculate the price elasticity of demand.

    Model answer

    Price rises 10% and quantity falls 7.5%, so PED is −7.5 ÷ 10 = −0.75, meaning demand is price inelastic.

  6. 6

    Incomes rise by 5% and demand for a good falls by 2%. What is the income elasticity of demand, and what type of good is it?

    Model answer

    YED is −2 ÷ 5 = −0.4, and because the figure is negative the good is inferior.

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