To show:
The graphical representation of average total cost and
Explanation of Solution
Average Cost function plays a pivotal role in establishing economies and diseconomies of scale.
Before the automation process and the assembly line production, cost of production of an automobile was exorbitant. This is shown in Panel a) of Figure 1. There were only few firms producing automobiles. Hence, their supply was limited. Average total cost of production curve AC shows the cost of Q1 of automobiles to be A1.
This cost reflects the average cost in 1901 when the technique of production to be used was limited and there were unspecialized workers. With assembly line production, division of labor was achieved. Automobile manufacturers were able to use specialized labor for specific activity. This greatly helped them in achieving economic of scale that reduced average cost of production.
With time, there has been more use of machines that have replaced labor. This has reduced the per vehicle cost further down. This is shown by average total cost of production curve AC that shows the cost of Q2 units of automobiles to be A2 in Figure 1.
The demand curve for automobiles in 1901 was low, shown by D1 in Figure 1.People had limited financial sources to buy an automobile. Hence, they demanded fewer automobiles. With already limited supply of automobiles, the price was quite high.
By 2016, the prices have fallen because cost of production has reduced dramatically. Also, the income levels have increased for most of the consumers. This has increased their willingness to pay. Hence, the demand curve for automobiles in 2016 is higher and is shown as D2 in Figure 1.
Average Total Cost:
Average total cost is expressed as the cost incurred by the firm on the production of one unit of the output, on average. It can be measured from the total cost function when the latter is divided by the number of units produced.
Want to see more full solutions like this?
Chapter 18 Solutions
Foundations of Economics (8th Edition)
- Suppose Hubert runs a small business that manufactures shirts. Assume that the market for shirts is a price-taker market, and the market price is $10 per shirt. The following graph shows Hubert's total cost curve. Use the blue points (circle symbol) to plot total revenue, and the green points (triangle symbol) to plot profit for the first seven shirts that Hubert produces, including zero shirts. TOTAL COST AND REVENUE (Dollars) 125 100 75 50 25 -25 -50 0 0 1 2 ☐ ■ U 3 4 5 QUANTITY (Shirts) L 6 Total Cost 7 8 Total Revenue Profit ? Calculate Hubert's marginal revenue and marginal cost for the first seven shirts he produces, and plot them on the following graph. Use the blue points (circle symbol) to plot marginal revenue and the orange points (square symbol) to plot marginal cost.arrow_forwardQuestions 1-3 use the following case to determine a way to take a single product, like toilet and bundle it in such a way as to extract all of the profit at the time of the initial sale. You go to CostCo or Walmart and you see paper towel sold in a bundle and you wonder how the retailer can make any money. You do a little research and you find that the demand for paper towels is depicted by the following demand curve and marginal cost: P=$2.20 (1/10)*Q MR-$2.20 (2/10)*Q MC 0.20 where P is the price of paper towels, MC is the marginal cost of paper towels, MR is the marginal revenue of paper towels and Q is the quantity of paper towels. So you decide to try two different pricing strategies: 1) sell one roll at a time and 2) use multipart pricing to sell a bundle. Given the results for the pricing strategies in problems 1 and 2, what is your pricing decision and why?arrow_forwardThe following graph illustrates the weekly demand curve for motorized scooters in Scottsdale. Use the green rectangle (triangle symbols) to compute total revenue at various prices along the demand curve. Note: You will not be graded on any changes made to this graph. PRICE (Dollars per scooter) TOTAL REVENUE (Dollars) 8700 8100 7500 6900 6300 5700 5100 4500 3900 325 3300 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 On the following graph, use the green point (triangle symbol) to plot the weekly total revenue when the market price is $50, $75, $100, $125, $150, $175, and $200 per scooter. (?) 50 25 0 0 10 20 *4 0 25 50 Xo Demand 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 QUANTITY (Scooters) Total Revenue 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 PRICE (Dollars per scooter) (?) Total Revenue According to the midpoint method, the price elasticity of demand between points A and B is approximatelyarrow_forward
- Suppose Larry runs a small business that manufactures shirts. Assume that the market for shirts is a price-taker market, and the market price is $10 per shirt. The following graph shows Larry's total cost curve. Use the blue points (circle symbol) to plot total revenue and the green points (triangle symbol) to plot profit for the first seven shirts that Larry produces, including zero shirts. 125 100 TOTAL COST AND REVENUE (Dollars) 25 ☐ Total Cost ☐ -50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 QUANTITY (Shirts) Total Revenue A Profit (?) Calculate Larry's marginal revenue and marginal cost for the first seven shirts he produces and plot them on the following graph. Use the blue points (circle symbol) to plot marginal revenue and the orange points (square symbol) to plot marginal cost. 25 2 COSTS AND REVENUE (Dollars per shirt) 0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 QUANTITY (Shirts) Marginal Revenue Marginal Cost Larry's profit is maximized when he produces is shirts. When he does this, the marginal cost of the previous shirt he…arrow_forwardThe next series of questions uses the following table. The table contains 5 columns: Quantity Q, Price P, Total Revenue TR, Total Cost TC, and Total Profit. You are given the numbers for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th columns and must find the numbers for the 3rd column (Total Revenue) and the 5th column (Total Profit). I suggest completely filling out the table on a piece of paper. First, calculate total revenue at a quantity of 2. Quantity Q Price P Total Revenue TR Total Cost TC Total Profit 0 $110 $50 1 $100 $110 2 $90 $150 3 $80 $170 4 $70 $180 5 $60 $210 6 $50 $250 7 $40 $310arrow_forwardThe next series of questions uses the following table. The table contains 5 columns: Quantity Q, Price P, Total Revenue TR, Total Cost TC, and Total Profit. You are given the numbers for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th columns and must find the numbers for the 3rd column (Total Revenue) and the 5th column (Total Profit). I suggest completely filling out the table on a piece of paper. First, calculate total revenue at a quantity of 2. Quantity Q Price P Total Revenue TR Total Cost TC Total Profit 0 $110 $50 1 $100 $110 2 $90 $150 3 $80 $170 4 $70 $180 5 $60 $210 6 $50 $250 7 $40 $310 Calculate total revenue at a quantity of 6. Using the previous table, calculate total profit at a quantity of 1. Calculate total profit at a quantity of 5. Using the previous table, what is the highest profit possible? Note that this question and the next few questions depend on your ability to accurately find the highest profit possible. So, be very…arrow_forward
- The graph shows the demand curve for cars in 2017. Suppose that the least-possible cost of producing a car is $10,000 and that the efficient scale is 10,000 cars a month. Draw the average total cost curve for a car manufacturer in 2017. Label it. 50,000 40,000- 30,000 20,000 10,000- Price (dollars per car) D 20 30 40 10 Quantity (thousands of cars per month) >>> Draw only the objects specified in the question. Q OUarrow_forwardThe table below presents the average and marginal cost of producing cheeseburgers per hour at a roadside diner. Cheeseburger Production Costs Quantity(burgers per hour) Average Variable Cost (dollars) Average Total Cost (dollars) Marginal Cost (dollars) 0 — — — 10 $1.00 $6.60 $1.00 20 0.70 3.50 0.40 30 0.70 2.57 0.70 40 0.78 2.18 1.00 50 0.88 2.00 1.30 60 1.07 2.00 2.00 70 1.34 2.14 3.00 80 1.74 2.44 4.50 90 2.23 2.86 6.20 100 2.81 3.37 8.00 a. At a quantity of 40 cheeseburgers per hour, the average total cost of production is (Click to select) falling rising at a minimum and the marginal cost of cheeseburger production is (Click to select) falling rising at a minimum . b. At a quantity of 60 cheeseburgers per hour, the average variable cost of production is (Click to select) falling rising at a minimum and the average total cost of cheeseburger production is (Click to select) falling rising at a minimum .arrow_forwardSuppose the imaginary company of Roobek is a small, Cedar Rapids-based American apparel manufacturer specializing in athleisure. The following table presents the brand’s total cost of production at several different quantities. Fill in the remaining cells of the following table. Quantity Total Cost Marginal Cost Fixed Cost Variable Cost Average Variable Cost Average Total Cost (Pairs) (Dollars) (Dollars) (Dollars) (Dollars) (Dollars per pair) (Dollars per pair) 0 60 — — 1 155 2 220 3 255 4 300 5 350 6 450arrow_forward
- Only typed answerarrow_forwardAssume you are selling season tickets for a team in the National Football League. What are the fixed and variable costs associated with pricing these season tickets? When you look at the existing season ticket prices for the team, how would you sell those same season tickets at a 10 percent higher price?arrow_forwardIf Amit's Curry House took in $35 000 in revenue last week and had out-of-pocket expenses of $31 500, which of the following best describes Amit's profits last week? Amit really did NOT make any profit since he needs to put the difference between revenue and out-of-pocket expenses back into the firm. Amit made an economic profit of $3500. It is NOT clear whether Amit earned any profit last week because it depends on the magnitude of the implicit costs. Amit did NOT earn an economic profit.arrow_forward
- Microeconomics: Principles & PolicyEconomicsISBN:9781337794992Author:William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder, John L. SolowPublisher:Cengage LearningManagerial Economics: A Problem Solving ApproachEconomicsISBN:9781337106665Author:Luke M. Froeb, Brian T. McCann, Michael R. Ward, Mike ShorPublisher:Cengage Learning