Consumer Choice: Choose The One Alternative That Best Completes The Statement or Answers The Question
Consumer Choice: Choose The One Alternative That Best Completes The Statement or Answers The Question
Consumer Choice: Choose The One Alternative That Best Completes The Statement or Answers The Question
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Answer: A
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
Answer: D
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
Answer: B
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
Answer: C
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
5) If two indifference curves were to intersect at a point, this would violate the assumption of
A) transitivity.
B) completeness.
C) Both A and B above.
D) Neither A nor B above.
Answer: A
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
Answer: B
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
8) Measuring "y" on the vertical axis and "x" on the horizontal axis, convexity of indifference
curves implies that the MRS of "y" for "x"
A) is decreasing as "x" increases.
B) is increasing as "x" increases.
C) is constant as "x" increases.
D) cannot be calculated for large levels of "x".
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
9) For which of the following pairs of goods would most people likely have convex indifference
curves?
A) nickels and dimes
B) left shoes and right shoes
C) movie tickets and concert tickets
D) None of the above.
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
10) If two goods are perfect substitutes, then the indifference curves for those two goods would
be
A) upward sloping and concave to the origin.
B) downward sloping and convex to the origin.
C) downward sloping and straight.
D) L-shaped.
Answer: C
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
11) The indifference curves for left shoes and right shoes would most likely be
A) upward sloping and concave to the origin.
B) downward sloping and convex to the origin.
C) downward sloping and straight lines.
D) L-shaped.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
Answer: A
Diff: 0
Topic: Utility
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
13) If the utility function (U) between food (F) and clothing (C) can be represented as
U= , the marginal utility of food equals
A) .
B) .
C) 1/2 .
D) 1/2 .
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
14) If the utility function (U) between food (F) and clothing (C) can be represented as
U= , the marginal utility of food
A) is not positive.
B) does not diminish as food increases.
C) is not affected by the amount clothing.
D) increases as one obtains more clothing.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
15) If the utility function (U) between food (F) and clothing (C) can be represented as
U= , the marginal rate of substitution of clothing for food equals
A) - C/F.
B) - F/C.
C) - .
D) - .
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
16) If Fred's marginal utility of pizza equals 10 and his marginal utility of salad equals 2, then
A) he would give up 5 pizzas to get the next salad.
B) he would give up 5 salads to get the next pizza.
C) he will eat five times as much pizza as salad.
D) he will eat five times as much salad as pizza.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Utility
17) If Fred's marginal rate of substitution of salad for pizza equals 5, then
A) he would give up 5 pizzas to get the next salad.
B) he would give up 5 salads to get the next pizza.
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Utility
18) If Fred's marginal utility of pizza equals 10 and his marginal utility of salad equals 2, then we
know that
A) his indifference curves are convex.
B) his indifference curves are L shaped.
C) his indifference curves are linear.
D) his indifference curves are downward sloping.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Utility
19) If the utility for two goods "x" and "y" is measured as U = x + y, then it can be concluded
that
A) "x" and "y" are perfect substitutes.
B) "x" and "y" are perfect complements.
C) "x" and "y" are both bads.
D) the indifference curves on the x,y graph will be upward sloping.
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Utility
20) If the utility for two goods "x" and "y" can be measured as U = x, then it can be concluded
that
A) "x" and "y" are perfect complements.
B) "y" is a "bad".
C) the indifference curves on the x,y graph are upward sloping where "x" is measured on the
horizontal axis.
D) the indifference curves on the x,y graph are vertical where "x" is measured on the
horizontal axis.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Utility
21) If the utility for two goods "x" and "y" can be measured as U = y, then it can be concluded
that
A) "x" and "y" are perfect complements.
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
B) "x" is a "bad".
C) the indifference curves on the x,y graph are upward sloping where "x" is measured on the
horizontal axis.
D) the indifference curves on the x,y graph are horizontal where "x" is measured on the
horizontal axis.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
22) If two goods, "x" and "y", are perfect substitutes, then which of the following best represents
the utility function for the two goods?
A) U = x + y
B) U = x * y
C) U = x2 + y2
D) Any of the above.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
23) If Johnny likes homework (H) but hates exercise (E), which of the following might best
represent his utility function for homework and exercise?
A) U = H + E
B) U = H/E
C) U = H2 +
D) U = H2 *
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
24) Clifford lives by the motto "Eat, drink and be merry today, for tomorrow doesn't matter." If
today's consumption is measured on the horizontal axis and tomorrow's consumption is
measured on the vertical axis, Clifford's indifference curves
A) are horizontal straight lines.
B) are vertical straight lines.
C) show decreasing utility as one moves upward.
D) cannot be determined from the information given.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
25) Clifford lives by the motto "Eat drink and be merry today, for tomorrow doesn't matter." If
today's consumption is represented by "x" and tomorrow's consumption is represented by
"y", then which of the following best represents Clifford's utility function?
A) U=x-y
B) U=x/y
C) U=x
D) U=y
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
26) Joe's income is $500, the price of food (F) is $2 per unit and the price of shelter (S) is $100.
Which of the following represents his budget constraint?
A) 500 = 2F + 100S
B) F = 250 - 50S
C) S = 5 - .02F
D) All of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 0
Topic: Budget Constraint
27) Joe's income is $500, the price of food (F) is $2 per unit, and the price of shelter (S) is $100.
Which of the following represents his marginal rate of transformation of food for shelter?
A) -5
B) -50
C) -.02
D) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
28) Joe's income is $500, the price of food (F) is $2 per unit, and the price of shelter (S) is $100.
Which of the following represents his budget constraint?
A) 500 = 100F + 2S
B) 500 = 2F + 100S
C) S = 500 - 2F
D) All of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Budget Constraint
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
31) The rate at which a consumer must give up y to get one more x is equal to
A) -Px/Py.
B) -Py/Px.
C) -MUx/MUy.
D) MUy/MUx.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Budget Constraint
32) Betty consumes good x and good y. If the price of x = $3 and the price of y = $4, then
A) an extra unit of x costs 4/3 units of y.
B) an extra unit of y costs 4/3 units of x.
C) an extra unit of x costs 3/4 units of y.
D) Both B and C.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
33) If the price of one good increases while the price of the other good and the consumer's
income remain unchanged, what will happen to the budget line?
A) The budget line rotates inward from the intercept on the axis of the good that did not
change in price.
B) The budget line rotates outward from the intercept on the axis of the good that did not
change in price.
C) The budget line shifts inward without a change in slope.
D) The budget line shifts outward without a change in slope.
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
34) Lisa eats both pizzas and burritos. If the price of a pizza increases, Lisa's opportunity set
A) becomes larger.
B) becomes smaller.
C) is unchanged.
D) Unable to determine without more information.
Answer: B
Diff:1
Topic: Budget Constraint
35) If the consumer's income increases while the prices of both goods remain unchanged, what
will happen to the budget line?
A) The budget line rotates inward from the intercept on the horizontal axis.
B) The budget line rotates outward from the intercept on the vertical axis.
C) The budget line shifts inward without a change in slope.
D) The budget line shifts outward without a change in slope.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
36) If the prices of both goods and income increase by the same percentage, what will happen to
the budget line?
A) The budget line rotates inward from the intercept on the axis of the good that did not
change in price.
B) The budget line rotates outward from the intercept on the axis of the good that did not
change in price.
C) The budget line shifts outward without a change in slope.
D) Nothing.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
37) A consumer buys food (F) and shelter (S). If the consumer's income rises and there is no
change in the prices of F or S, the marginal rate of transformation of F for S will
A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) stay the same.
D) change, but there is not enough information to know how.
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Budget Constraint
38) If a consumer's budget line for food (F) and shelter (S) is represented as F = 250 - 5S, we
know that
A) the consumer's income is 250.
B) the price of shelter is 5.
C) the price of shelter is 5 times the price of food.
D) All of the above.
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Budget Constraint
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
42) With respect to consuming food and shelter, two consumers face the same prices and both
claim to be in equilibrium. We therefore know that
A) they both have the same marginal utility for food.
B) they both have the same marginal utility for shelter.
C) they both have the same MRS of food for shelter.
D) All of the above.
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
43) Johnny has allocated $30 toward coffee and tea and feels that coffee and tea are perfect
substitutes. Due to differences in caffeine levels, his MRS of tea for coffee equals 2. If coffee
and tea sell for the same price, Johnny will
A) spend all $30 on tea.
B) spend all $30 on coffee.
C) spend $20 on coffee and $10 on tea.
D) be indifferent between any bundle of coffee and tea costing $30.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
44) Lisa maximizes her utility by eating both pizzas and burritos. The price of a pizza is $10
and the price of a burrito is $5. When Lisa's utility is maximized,
A) the marginal utility of pizza is larger than the marginal utility of burritos.
B) the marginal utility of a burrito is larger than the marginal utility of a pizza.
C) the marginal utility of both goods is the same.
D) the good with a larger marginal utility cannot be determined without more information.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Budget Constraint
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.1
45) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. Which bundle will Max choose?
A) a
B) b
C) c
D) d
Answer: B
Diff: 0
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
46) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. What is the price of chicken?
A) $0.80/lb
B) $1.25/lb
C) $4/lb
D) $5/lb
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
47) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. If the price of burger increases,
A) Max will buy less burger and more chicken.
B) Max will buy less burger and the same quantity of chicken.
C) Max will buy less of both meats.
D) More information is needed to answer the question.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
48) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. What happens if Max's mother gives him 10 pounds of burger?
A) Max would have preferred receiving the dollar value of the burger.
B) Max is indifferent between this gift and the dollar value of the burger.
C) Max prefers this gift to the dollar value of the burger.
D) None of the above.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
49) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. What happens if Max's mother gives him 30 pounds of burger?
A) Max would have preferred receiving the dollar value of the burger.
B) Max is indifferent between this gift and the dollar value of the burger.
C) Max prefers this gift to the dollar value of the burger.
D) None of the above.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
50) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. What happens if Max receives a $100 cash grant to buy either
meat or chicken?
A) Max will double his consumption of both meats.
B) Max will spend it all on burger. Because of its lower price, he can buy more of it.
C) Max will take advantage of the gift by buying all chicken because it is the more expensive
meat.
D) There is not enough information to answer the question.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
51) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. Which of the following best describes Max's preferences?
A) d > b > e
B) d = b = e
C) a = b > c
D) a = b > e
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
52) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and an indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. Which of the following bundles are in Max's opportunity set?
A) a, b, c
B) b, d, e
C) a, b, d
D) None of the above.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
53) Max has allocated $100 toward meats for his barbecue. His budget line and indifference
map are shown in Figure 4.1. If the price of burger increases, which of the following bundles
are in Max's opportunity set?
A) b, d, e
B) d, e
C) a, b, c, d, e
D) None of the labeled points are in Max's opportunity set.
Answer: D
Diff: 0
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
TRUE/FALSE/EXPLAIN
Figure 4.2
Answer: True. As seen in Figure 4.2, points a and c are on the same indifference curve and
are therefore equally preferred. Points b and c are also on the same indifference curve and are
therefore equally preferred. Transitivity implies that the consumer would be indifferent
between a and b; however, since more is preferred to less, a is preferred to b. Thus, as a result
of the assumption of transitivity and the assumption that more is preferred to less,
indifference curves cannot intersect.
Diff: 0
Topic: Preferences
Answer: False. While indifference curves are typically convex, they can be concave. This
means, however, that the MRS of y for x increases as x increases. That is, the consumer
places greater value on the next x the more x she has. The interpretation is that a consumer
with concave indifference curves prefers to specialize in either x or y but not have a mix of
both.
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
3) The slope of the budget line represents the rate at which the consumer is willing to trade one
good for another at any given bundle.
Answer: False. This describes the slope of the indifference curve. The slope of the budget
line represents the rate at which the consumer must trade one good for another at any given
bundle.
Diff: 0
Topic: Budget Constraint
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Answer: True. It is possible the consumer would buy the same gift with cash and therefore be
just as well off. If the consumer bought something other than the gift, that means that this
something else is preferred to the gift. At best, the gift yields the same utility as would have
been achieved with the cash, but never more.
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
5) If MRS > MRT, then the consumer is better off than at equilibrium.
Answer: False. MRS > MRT implies that the consumer values the next unit of "x" more than
it costs to obtain it. That is, there is a gain from trade to be made. As more "x" is purchased,
MRS falls and eventually MRS = MRT. At this point, all gains from trade have been made.
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
PROBLEMS
1) Lisa views pizzas and burritos as goods. If she prefers a bundle of 4 burritos and 4
pizzas to a bundle of 4 burritos and 5 pizzas, which property of consumer preference is
violated? What change in the assumptions could lead a rational consumer to prefer the first
bundle?
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.3
2) Draw the indifference curves for rock concerts and food for each of the following:
a) a typical 17-year-old
b) a typical 75-year-old
Answer: See Figure 4.3. These graphs assume that a typical 17-year-old would enjoy both
food and rock concerts. The 75-year-old might find the rock concerts neutral or even bad.
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.4
3) Draw the indifference curves for nickels and dimes. Would they ever have a non-constant
slope? Explain.
Answer: See Figure 4.4. Two nickels are worth 1 dime. Yet, for extremely large amounts of
money, people might prefer dimes to nickels for carrying purposes. That is why people often
pay with exact change or don't like to break a twenty.
Diff: 1
Topic: Preferences
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.5
4) Suppose Joe's utility for lobster (L) and soda (S) can be represented as U= L 0.5 S0.5. Draw the
indifference curve that yields a utility level of 9. Calculate the MUL, MUS, and MRS of L for
S on that indifference curve when S=3.
Answer: See Figure 4.5. Along that indifference curve, when S = 3, L= 27. MUL = 0.5 *
(S/L)0.5 = 1/6.
MUS = 0.5 * (L/S)0.5 = 1.5.
MRS = -MUS/MUL = -9.
Joe is willing to give up 9 lobsters to get another soda.
Diff: 2
Topic: Utility
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.6
5) Joe subscribes to an Internet provider that charges $2 per hour. Draw his budget line for
Internet access on the horizontal axis and money spent on all other goods on the vertical axis
assuming he has $100 per month to spend. Another company offers unlimited Internet access
for a flat monthly fee of $20. Draw this budget line.
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.7
6) Lisa has an income of $100. She spends all of her income on pizza and burritos. A pizza
costs $10 and a burrito costs $5. However, the store where Lisa buys her burritos has a
special deal. After you've bought 6 burritos, then you can buy each burrito for $2.50. Draw
Lisa's opportunity set.
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.8
7) Joe subscribes to an Internet provider that charges $2 per hour. He has $100 per month to
spend and is at equilibrium by buying 10 hours of Internet access and $80 worth of other
goods. Draw the indifference curve and budget line. If the company switches to a $20
monthly fee for unlimited Internet access, is Joe better off?
Answer: See Figure 4.8. Under the new plan Joe can still purchase his original bundle and get
additional time on the Internet for free. Note that had Joe been consuming less than 10 hours
at $2 per hour, the new pricing policy would leave him worse off.
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
8) Suppose Joe's utility for lobster (L) and soda (S) can be represented as U= L0.5 S0.5. Joe walks
into a restaurant with $72. Lobsters cost $18 each and sodas cost $2 each. How much lobster
and soda will Joe consume if he intends to spend all his money? (There are no tax and no
tips.)
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.9
9) Joe's indifference map for lobster and soda is shown in Figure 4.9 along with his budget line.
Will Joe choose point a? Explain your answer in terms both of MRS and the level of utility.
Answer: Joe will not choose point a. Since the slope of his budget line tells us that he must
give up only 9 sodas to get a lobster, Joe will wish to buy more lobsters and less soda than
bundle a provides. From a utility standpoint, Joe will not choose point a because another
bundle that lies on a higher indifference curve is obtainable.
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.10
10) John is indifferent between canned soup and fresh soup. Canned soup sells for $1 per serving
and fresh soup sells for $2 per serving. Assuming that John has allocated $4 toward soup,
how will he spend it? Explain your answer by drawing John's budget line and indifference
curves.
Answer: See Figure 4.10. Canned and fresh soups are perfect substitutes. A corner solution
exists where John spends all $4 on canned soup.
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.11
11) Suppose that left shoes and right shoes must be purchased separately. Ingrid needs an equal
number of each type of shoe and has a budget of $100 for shoes. Left shoes always cost $1. If
right shoes cost $19 each, how many of each will Ingrid buy? If the price of right shoes
increases to $49 each, how will Ingrid react? Explain your answer by drawing the
indifference curves and budget lines.
Answer: See Figure 4.11. Since Ingrid needs an equal number of each type of shoe, left shoes
and right shoes are perfect complements. If right shoes are $19 each, Ingrid purchases 5 pairs
of shoes. If right shoes are $49 each, Ingrid purchases 2 pairs.
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
Figure 4.12
12) Johnny has $100 to spend on books and all other goods. Books cost $20 each and Johnny is
at equilibrium consuming 3 books and $40 worth of other goods. Johnny's grandmom wants
to give Johnny either a book or $20 for his birthday. Which gift does Johnny prefer? Explain
using an indifference map and budget lines.
Answer: See Figure 4.12. Since Johnny's equilibrium book consumption exceeds the quantity
of books in the gift-in-kind, Johnny is indifferent between receiving the book or the cash.
Had Johnny been consuming less than one book, he would have preferred the cash.
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
13) Lisa consumes only pizzas (P) and burritos (B). Her utility function is U = P0.5B0.5. The price
of per pizza is $10 and the price per burrito is $5. In equilibrium, Lisa consumes 4 pizzas.
Using Lisa's utility function, calculate how many burritos she consumes.
Answer: The marginal utility of pizza equals B0.5/2P0.5. The marginal utility of a burrito
equals P0.5/2B0.5. In equilibrium, the ratio of the marginal utilities will equal the ratio of
prices. The ratio of marginal utilities simplifies to B/P. The ratio of prices is 10/5. Since we
know that Lisa consumes 4 pizzas, she must consume 8 burritos.
Diff: 2
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
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Chapter 4/Consumer Choice
14) Lisa consumes only pizzas and burritos. In equilibrium, her marginal utility of pizza is 20
and her marginal utility of a burrito is 10. The price of a pizza is $4. What is the price of a
burrito?
Answer: In equilibrium, the ratio of the marginal utility of a pizza divided by the price of a
pizza must equal the marginal utility of a burrito divided by the price of a burrito. Thus, the
price of a burrito must be $2.
Diff: 1
Topic: Consumer's Constrained Choice
77