All AP Microeconomics Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #66 : Competition
Which of the following is the best example of consumer surplus?
A hungry man pays $3 for a slice of pizza, but would have gladly paid $5 for it.
None of the other answers.
A pizzeria has a marginal cost of producing a pizza pie of $5 and sells it for $7.
A pizza worker who is willing to accept a job for $9 per hour is offered $10 per hour.
Because of a special discount, a customer finds that the price of pizza has been reduced by 25% for the day.
A hungry man pays $3 for a slice of pizza, but would have gladly paid $5 for it.
Consumer surplus is the diffence between what an individual is willing to pay for a good and its market price. Consumer surplus occurs when the consumer's willingness to pay is higher than the good's market price, as in the example where the hungry man pays $3 for a slice of pizza, but would have gladly paid $5 for it.
Example Question #67 : Competition
Which of the following can cause a pizzeria's cost curves to shift upward?
A decrease in wages
A decrease in the pizzeria's output
An increase in the pizzeria's prices
An increase in the pizzeria's output
An increase in the price of cheese
An increase in the price of cheese
The only factor that would shift the pizzeria's cost upward is an increase in the price of cheese, one of the pizzeria's inputs. A decrease in wages would shift the cost curve upward. Changes to the pizzeria's output or prices would not shift the pizzeria's cost curve in any direction.
Example Question #68 : Competition
If an increase in the price of pizza causes a decrease in the demand for soda, then the two goods are:
luxury goods
complementary goods
normal goods
giffen goods
substitute goods
complementary goods
If an increase in the price of pizza causes a decrease in the demand for soda, then the two goods are complementary goods, or goods that are typically consumed together. Thus, the two goods' demand are affected by the demand of the other good. As the price of pizza increases, its demand will likely decrease. The decrease in demand for pizza causes a decrease in demand for soda because the two goods are complementary.
Example Question #69 : Competition
If the price of hamburgers drops from $5 to $4 and the quantity demanded increases from 100 to 110, then the demand for movie tickets is:
perfectly inelastic
unit elastic
elastic
inelastic
perfectly elastic
inelastic
Price elasticity of demand is the measure of the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to the change in its price. Elasticity is calculated by the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. In this case, the price elasticity demand of movie tickets is 0.5 (10% change in quantity demanded divided by 20% change in price). If a good's elasticity is less than 1, it is considered inelastic.
Example Question #70 : Competition
Which of the following is true of the marginal cost of providing a public good to one additional individual?
It decreases as the number of goods provided increases.
It is equal to zero.
It is negative.
It is positive.
It increases as the number of goods provided increases.
It is equal to zero.
A pure public good is non-rival, which means that use by one individual does not reduce its availability to others, and non-excludable, which means that an individual cannot be prevented from consuming the good. Because of its non-rivalrous nature, a public good's consumption has zero marginal cost. A lighthouse is a classic example of a public good. An additional person's use of the lighthouse does not have any associated marginal cost, since its use is non-rivalrous.
Example Question #71 : Competition
Which of the following is an example of a private good?
A free blog
A public park
A bicycle
Public radio
Fireworks
A bicycle
A private good is rivalrous, which means that one person's use of the good reduces the availability of the good for others, and excludable, which means that individuals can be effectively excluded from consuming the good. The only choice that fits both descriptions is the bicycle.
Example Question #72 : Competition
An oligopolistic industry would most likely have
substantial barriers to entry
no barriers to entry
a large number of firms
one firm with no close rivals
price-taking behavior
substantial barriers to entry
An oligopolistic industry is dominated by a small number of firms. Oligopolies are typically caused by significant barriers to entry, which enable a few firms to dominate the industry.
Example Question #73 : Competition
The market for pizza is currently in equilibrium. If the demand for pizza increases and its supply decreases, what happens to the price and quantity of pizza?
Price increases but the change in quantity is ambiguous
Quantity increases but the change in price is ambiguous
Price and quantity both decrease
The change in price and quantity is ambiguous
Price and quantity both increase
Price increases but the change in quantity is ambiguous
As its supply decreases and its demand increases, the price of pizza will definitely increase. However, the change in quantity is ambiguous and depends on which effect is stronger.
Example Question #74 : Competition
Which of the following is an example of a public good?
A neighborhood park
A laptop
Satellite TV
A truck
A movie theatre
A neighborhood park
A public good is non-rival, which means that one person's consumption of a good does not affect another person's consumption of the good, and non-excludable, which means that a person cannot be prevented from consuming the good. The only answer that is non-rival and non-exculdable is the neighborhood park.
Example Question #75 : Competition
Which of the following is NOT a property of perfectly competitive markets?
The goods are nearly identical.
The barriers to entry are low.
At market equilibrium, price is greater than marginal revenue.
There are a large number of firms in the market.
In the long run, firms are expected to earn no profits.
At market equilibrium, price is greater than marginal revenue.
When a a perfectly competitive market is in equilibrium, the marginal revenue curve is a horizontal line at the price level in contrast to monopolies, where the marginal revenue is below price.
All of the other answer choices are key characteristics of perfectly competitive markets.