Price elasticity of demand is defined a
- the percentage change in price divided by the percentage change in quantity demanded
- the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price
- the change in quantity demanded divided by the change in price
- the change in price divided by the change in quantity demanded
- the quantity demanded divided by the price
Answer: B
If an increase in the price of a product from $1 to $2 per unit leads to a decrease in the quantity demanded from 100 to 80 units, then the value of price elasticity of demand is
- elastic
- inelastic
- unit elastic
- suggestive of an inferior good
- equal to -20
Answer: B
If the value of the price elasticity of demand is -0.2, this means that a
- 20 percent decrease in price causes a 1 percent increase in quantity demanded
- 0.2 percent decrease in price causes a 1 percent increase in quantity demanded
- 5 percent decrease in price causes a 1 percent increase in quantity demanded
- 0.2 percent decrease in price causes a 0.2 percent increase in quantity demanded
- 100 percent decrease in price causes a 200 percent increase in quantity demanded
Answer: C
- Use the information in Exhibit 5-2 to calculate the value of price elasticity of demand
- -2/3
- -1/3
- -3/5
- -5/3
- 0
Answer: D
Based on the information in Exhibit 5-2, the demand for the good is __________ and an increase in price from $40 to $60 per unit will __________ total revenue.
- unit elastic; increase
- elastic; decrease
- unit elastic; not change
- inelastic; increase
- elastic; decrease
Answer: B
If a 5% increase in price leads to an 8% decrease in quantity demanded, demand is
- perfectly elastic
- elastic
- unit elastic
- inelastic
- perfectly inelastic
Answer: B
If an increase in the price of a product from $100 to $200 per unit leads to a decrease in the quantity demanded from 10 to 8 units, then demand is
- elastic
- inelastic
- unit elastic
- 0
- inferior
Answer: B
Demand is inelastic only if
- price elasticity has an absolute value of 1
- price elasticity has an absolute value greater than 1
- price elasticity has an absolute value less than 1
- price elasticity is negative
- consumers do not respond to a change in price
Answer: C
Demand is inelastic if
- the percentage change in price is greater than the percentage change in quantity demanded
- the percentage change in price is less than the percentage change in quantity demanded
- the percentage change in price is equal to the percentage change in quantity demanded
- the value of price elasticity is equal to -1
- the value of price elasticity is less than -1 (e.g., -3)
Answer: A
Demand is unit elastic whenever
- price elasticity has an absolute value of 1
- price elasticity has an absolute value greater than 1
- price elasticity has an absolute value less than 1
- price elasticity is negative
- consumers always respond to a one-dollar change in price by decreasing their quantity demanded by one unit
Answer: A
Demand is elastic whenever
- price elasticity has an absolute value of 1
- price elasticity has an absolute value greater than 1
- price elasticity has an absolute value less than 1
- price elasticity is negative
- consumers respond to a change in price
Answer: B
A perfectly elastic demand curve is
- a vertical straight line
- a horizontal straight line
- a downward-sloping straight line
- an upward-sloping straight line
- not a straight line
Answer: B
If a firm facing a perfectly elastic demand curve raises its price
- it will still sell exactly the same amount of output as it did at the lower price
- it will lose some, but not all, of its sales
- its sales will decrease to zero
- its sales will increase
- it is impossible to predict what will happen to its sales
Answer: C
A perfectly inelastic demand curve is
- a vertical straight line
- a horizontal straight line
- a downward-sloping straight line
- an upward-sloping straight line
- not a straight line
Answer: A
If a firm raises the price of its product, its total revenue will
- always increase
- increase only if demand is price inelastic
- increase only if demand is price elastic
- remain constant, regardless of price elasticity of demand
- never increase
Answer: B
If a price reduction leads to larger total revenue, demand is
- perfectly inelastic
- inelastic
- unit elastic
- elastic
- perfectly elastic
Answer: D
John spends exactly the same dollar amount on candy bars each week, regardless of their price. John's demand curve for candy bars is
- upward-sloping
- backward-bending
- perfectly inelastic
- perfectly elastic
- unit elastic
Answer: E
If the administration raises tuition on our campus in order to increase revenue, it will
- not be successful if the demand curve slopes downward
- be successful if demand is elastic
- be successful if demand is inelastic
- be successful if supply is elastic
- be successful if supply is inelastic
Answer: C
If the demand for a good is elastic, then total revenue
- increases as price increases
- remains constant as quantity demanded increases
- increases as price decreases
- decreases as quantity demanded increases
- decreases as price decreases
Answer: C
If demand is unit elastic, a price reduction will
- increase revenues
- reduce revenues
- reduce quantity demanded
- have no effect on revenues
- increase profits
Answer: D
If the demand for swordfish is price elastic and the price of swordfish increases, then
- the quantity of swordfish demanded will increase
- the total revenue from swordfish sales will decrease
- the total revenue from swordfish sales will increase
- the total revenue from swordfish sales will not change
- whether total revenue rises or falls depends on how much the price of swordfish increases
Answer: B
Which of the following describes a situation in which demand must be elastic?
- The price of pens rises by 10 cents, and quantity of pens demanded falls by 50.
- The price of pens rises by 10 cents, and total revenue rises.
- A 20 percent increase in the price of pens leads to a 20 percent decrease in the quantity of pens demanded.
- Total revenue does not change when the price of pens rises.
- Total revenue decreases when the price of pencils rises.
Answer: E
Along a linear demand curve,
- both the slope and price elasticity are constant
- the price elasticity is constant, but the slope varies
- total revenues are constant
- the slope is constant, but the price elasticity varies
- total revenues are negative
Answer: D
Along a downward-sloping linear demand curve, total revenue is greatest if demand is
- inelastic
- elastic
- inelastic when prices are high
- elastic when prices are high
- unit elastic
Answer: E
If the managers of a theater plan to raise ticket prices to increase ticket revenues, then they must believe that demand is
- elastic
- inelastic
- unit elastic
- perfectly elastic
- income elastic
Answer: B
Along a linear demand curve, as the price rises, demand becomes more
- steep
- elastic
- inelastic
- unit elastic
- variable
Answer: B
Between points a and b on the demand curve in Exhibit 5-9, demand is
- perfectly elastic
- elastic
- perfectly inelastic
- inelastic
- unit elastic
Answer: D
Given the availability of California oranges, demand for Florida oranges will
- be less elastic than if there were no California oranges
- be more elastic than if there were no California oranges
- have the same elasticity as it would if there were no California oranges
- be perfectly elastic
- be perfectly inelastic
Answer: B
The more broadly a good is defined,
- the more substitutes it has so the more elastic is its demand
- the fewer substitutes it has so the more elastic is its demand
- the more substitutes it has so the less elastic is its demand
- the fewer substitutes it has so the less elastic is its demand
- the more complements it has so the more elastic is its demand
Answer: D
Demand is more elastic
- in the short run than in the long run
- for necessities than for luxuries
- for food than for hamburgers
- for goods with many substitutes than for goods with only a few
- for broadly defined goods than for narrowly defined ones
Answer: D
A good that takes up a very large percentage of the consumer's budget will tend to have
- an elastic demand
- a perfectly elastic demand
- an inelastic demand
- an upward-sloping demand curve
- very many substitutes
Answer: A
Which of the following tends to make demand for a good more elastic?
- A reduction in the number of substitutes for the good.
- Consumers have a long time to adjust to a price change.
- The amount spent on the good is a small proportion of the consumer's budget.
- The good is broadly defined.
- The good is a necessity.
Answer: B
Inferior goods have an income elasticity of demand that is
- positive
- negative
- 0
- greater than 1 in absolute value
- equal to 1 in absolute value
Answer: B
For which of the following goods is the value of income elasticity most likely to be negative?
- macaroni and cheese
- champagne
- airline tickets
- clothes
- toothpaste
Answer: A
Economists distinguish between normal and inferior goods using
- price elasticity of demand
- price elasticity of supply
- income elasticity of demand
- cross-price elasticity of demand
- tax incidence
Answer: C
The cross-price elasticity of demand between rifles and bullets is likely to be
- negative because the goods are complements
- positive because the goods are complements
- negative because the goods are substitutes
- positive because the goods are substitutes
- 0 because the goods are not substitutes
Answer: A
If the cross-price elasticity of demand is -3, then
- the goods are substitutes
- one good is price inelastic
- one good is an inferior good
- one good is a luxury good
- the goods are complements
Answer: E
If an increase in the price of peanut butter causes a decline in the demand for jelly, then
- the goods are substitutes
- jelly is an inferior good
- the goods are complements
- both goods are inelastic
- peanut butter is an inferior good
Answer: C
If the cross-price elasticity of demand between two goods is positive, then
- consumers are being irrational
- supply is elastic
- the goods may have similar uses
- the goods may go well together in consumption
Answer: C