Econ 2106 Principles of Microeconomics Sample Exam 2

Econ 2106 Principles of Microeconomics
Sample Exam 2
Please notice that the second exam will cover chapters 21, 13, 14, 15 rather than 13, 14, 15, 16 which is
what I originally indicated. . My mistake for omitting chapter 21. The exam will not include chapter
16. I will devote Tuesday March 23 as a review session. Please come prepared to ask questions about
any material in the four chapters the second exam will cover.
Figure 21-4
____
1. Refer to Figure 21-4. Which of the following statements is NOT true for a consumer who moves from point B to
point C?
a. The consumer is better off since point C is higher than point B.
b. The marginal rate of substitution at points C and B differ.
c. The consumer is willing to sacrifice Twinkies to obtain Ho-Ho's.
d. The consumer is equally well off.
____
2. The marginal rate of substitution is
a. the slope of a budget constraint.
b. always constant.
c. the slope of an indifference curve.
d. the point at which the budget constraint and the indifference curve is tangent.
____
3. Olga consumes two normal goods, X and Y, and is currently at an optimum. If the price of good X falls, we can
predict with certainty that Olga's real income will rise
a. and she will therefore consume more of both goods.
b. but the substitution effect will insure that she consumes more X and less Y.
c. so she will consume more of good X, but she might consume more, less, or the same of
good Y.
d. but the substitution effect will negate the positive effect of the rise.
____
4. A fall in the price of widgets leads consumers to buy more widgets. From this information we can conclude that
widgets
a. are normal goods.
b. are inferior goods.
c. are Giffen goods.
d. None of the above are correct.
1
____
5. When the price of pizza rises, the substitution effect, for normal goods Pepsi and pizza, causes Pepsi to be
relatively
a. more expensive, so the consumer buys more Pepsi.
b. more expensive, so the consumer buys less Pepsi.
c. less expensive, so the consumer buys more Pepsi.
d. less expensive, so the consumer buys less Pepsi.
____
6. Assume that a college student purchases only coffee and Snickers. The substitution effect associated with a
decrease in the price of a Snickers bar will result in
a. an increase in the consumption of coffee only.
b. a decrease in the consumption of coffee only.
c. an increase in the consumption of Snickers and a decrease in the consumption of coffee.
d. a decrease in the consumption of Snickers and an increase in the consumption of coffee.
Figure 21-10
____
7. Refer to Figure 21-10. If point B is the consumer's optimum and the price of Chocolate Chips is $3 per bag, what
is the price of a bag of Marshmallows?
a. $3
b. $6
c. $1.50
d. None of the above are correct.
____
8. When considering household saving, the relative price between "consuming when young" and "consuming when
old" is the
a. consumption rate.
b. interest rate.
c. prime rate.
d. federal funds rate.
____
9. The backward bending portion of an individual labor supply curve is indicative of
a. dominant income effects at higher levels of income.
b. dominant income effects at lower levels of income.
c. a desire to reduce work effort (hours) as wage rate falls.
d. a desire to increase work effort (hours) as wage rate rises.
____
10. If leisure were an inferior good, then labor supply curves
a. would all be negatively sloped.
b. would all be positively sloped.
c. would all be vertical.
d. could still be positively or negatively sloped.
2
____
11. Those things that must be forgone to acquire a good are called
a. substitutes.
b. opportunity costs.
c. explicit costs.
d. competitors.
____
12. Which of the following is an implicit cost?
(i)
the owner of a firm forgoing an opportunity to earn a large salary working for a
Wall Street brokerage firm
(ii)
interest paid on the firm's debt
(iii)
rent paid by the firm to lease office space
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
(ii) and (iii)
(i) and (iii)
(i) only
All of the above are correct.
13. Explicit costs
a. require an outlay of money by the firm.
b. enter into the accountant's measurement of a firm's profit.
c. enter into the economist's measurement of a firm's profit.
d. All of the above are correct.
Refer to the following information to answer the following questions.
Scenario 13-2
Zach took $500,000 out of the bank and used it to start his new cookie business. The bank account pays 4 percent
interest per year. During the first year of his business, Zach sold 12,000 boxes of cookies for $3 per box. Also,
during the first year, the cookie business incurred costs that required outlays of money amounting to $14,000.
____
14. Refer to Scenario 13-2. Zach's accounting profit for the year was
a. $-478,000.
b. $-56,000.
c. $2,000.
d. $22,000.
____
15. Refer to Scenario 13-2. Zach's economic profit for the year was
a. $-478,000.
b. $-56,000.
c. $2,000.
d. $22,000.
The figure below depicts a total cost function for a firm that produces cookies. Use the figure to answer the
following question.
Figure 13-2
3
____
16. Refer to Figure 13-2. Which of the following statements best captures the nature of the underlying production
function?
a. Output increases at a decreasing rate with additional units of input.
b. Output increases at an increasing rate with additional units of input.
c. Output decreases at a decreasing rate with additional units of input.
d. Output decreases at an increasing rate with additional units of input.
____
17. Let L represent the number of workers hired by a firm and let Q represent that firm's quantity of output. Assume
two points on the firm's production function are (L = 12, Q = 122) and (L = 13, Q = 130). Then the marginal
product of the 13th worker is
a. 8 units of output.
b. 10 units of output.
c. 122 units of output.
d. 130 units of output.
____
18. Average total cost tells us the
a. total cost of the first unit of output, if total cost is divided evenly over all the units
produced.
b. cost of a typical unit of output, if total cost is divided evenly over all the units produced.
c. cost of the last unit of output, if total cost does not include a fixed cost component.
d. variable cost of a firm that is producing at least one unit of output.
____
19. Diminishing marginal product suggests that
a. additional units of output become less costly as more output is produced.
b. marginal cost is upward sloping.
c. the firm is at full capacity.
d. All of the above are correct.
Use the following information to answer the following questions.
Table 13-1
Quantity
of Widgets
Measures of Cost for ABC Inc. Widget Factory
Variable
Total
Costs
Costs
Fixed
Costs
0
$10
1
$1
2
$3
$13
3
$6
$16
4
$10
5
6
$25
$21
$10
____
20. Refer to Table 13-1. The average total cost of producing one widget is
a. $1.00.
b. $10.00.
c. $11.00.
d. $22.00.
____
21. Refer to Table 13-1. The marginal cost of producing the sixth widget is
a. $1.00.
b. $3.50.
c. $5.00.
d. $6.00.
4
____
22. When a firm is operating at an efficient scale,
a. average variable cost is minimized.
b. average fixed cost is minimized.
c. average total cost is minimized.
d. None of the above are correct.
____
23. Diseconomies of scale occur when
a. average fixed costs are falling.
b. average fixed costs are constant.
c. long-run average total costs rise as output increases.
d. long-run average total costs fall as output increases.
____
24. Which of the following statements is false?
a. In the long run, there are no fixed costs.
b. Marginal cost is independent of fixed costs.
c. Economies of scale is a short-run concept.
d. Diminishing marginal product explains increasing marginal cost.
____
25. When a firm in a competitive market produces 10 units of output, it has a marginal revenue of $8.00. What would
be the firm's total revenue when it produces 6 units of output?
a. $4.80
b. $6.00
c. $48.00
d. $60.00
____
26. Changes in the output of a perfectly competitive firm, without any change in the price of the product, will change
the firm's
a. total revenue.
b. marginal revenue.
c. average revenue.
d. All of the above are correct.
____
27. For a competitive firm,
a. Total revenue = Average revenue.
b. Total revenue = Marginal revenue.
c. Total cost = Marginal revenue.
d. Average revenue = Marginal revenue.
____
28. As a general rule, profit-maximizing producers in a competitive market produce output at a point where
a. marginal cost is increasing.
b. marginal cost is decreasing.
c. marginal revenue is increasing.
d. price is less than marginal revenue.
5
The graph below depicts the cost structure for a firm in a competitive market. Use the graph to answer the
following question.
Figure 14-2
____
29. Refer to Figure 14-2. When price falls from P3 to P1, the firm finds that
a. fixed cost is higher at a production level of Q1 than it is at Q3.
b. it should produce Q1 units of output.
c. it should produce Q3 units of output.
d. it is unwilling to produce any output.
____
30. When price is below average variable cost, a firm in a competitive market will
a. shut down and incur fixed costs.
b. shut down and incur both variable and fixed costs.
c. continue to operate as long as average revenue exceeds marginal cost.
d. continue to operate as long as average revenue exceeds average fixed cost.
The figure below depicts the cost structure of a profit-maximizing firm in a competitive market. Use the figure to
answer the following question.
Figure 14-3
____
31. Refer to Figure 14-3. Which line segment best reflects the short-run supply curve for this firm?
a. BCD
b. CD
c. DE
d. None of the above are correct.
____
32. If a competitive firm is currently producing a level of output at which marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost,
then
a. a one-unit increase in output will increase the firm's profit.
b. a one-unit decrease in output will increase the firm's profit.
c. total revenue exceeds total cost.
d. total cost exceeds total revenue.
6
____
33. A competitive firm's marginal cost curve is regarded as its supply curve because
a. the position of the marginal cost curve determines the price for which the firm should sell
its product.
b. among the various cost curves, the marginal cost curve is the only one that slopes upward.
c. the marginal cost curve determines the quantity of output the firm is willing to supply at
any price.
d. the firm is aware that marginal revenue must exceed marginal cost in order for profit to be
maximized.
____
34. In a perfectly competitive market, the process of entry and exit will end when, for firms in the market,
a. price is equal to average variable cost.
b. marginal revenue is equal to average variable cost.
c. economic profits are zero.
d. All of the above are correct.
____
35. When firms are neither entering nor exiting a perfectly competitive market,
a. total cost must equal total revenue.
b. economic profits must be zero.
c. average revenue must equal average total cost.
d. All of the above are correct.
____
36. Consider a competitive market with a large number of identical firms. The firms in this market do not use any
resources that are available only in limited quantities. In this market, an increase in demand will
a. increase price in the short run, but not in the long run.
b. increase price in the long run, but not in the short run.
c. increase price both in the short and the long run.
d. not affect price in either the short or the long run.
____
37. An industry is a natural monopoly when
(i)
government assists the firm in maintaining the monopoly.
(ii)
a single firm owns a key resource.
(iii)
a single firm can supply a fixed number of goods or services at a smaller cost than
could two or more firms.
a.
b.
c.
d.
(i) only
(iii) only
(i) and (ii)
(ii) and (iii)
____
38. The fundamental cause of monopoly is
a. incompetent management in competitive firms.
b. the zero-profit feature of long-run equilibrium in competitive markets.
c. advertising.
d. barriers to entry.
____
39. A natural monopolist's ability to price its product is
a. constrained by the market demand curve.
b. constrained by market supply.
c. not affected by market demand.
d. enhanced by regulatory control of the government.
7
____
40. Because a monopolist is the sole producer in its market, it can necessarily alter the price of its good
(i)
without affecting the quantity sold.
(ii)
without affecting its average total cost.
(iii)
by adjusting the quantity it supplies to the market.
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
41. A monopolist's marginal revenue is less than price because
(i)
to sell additional units of the good, the price charged on all units must decrease.
(ii)
with the sale of an additional unit, the monopolist receives less revenue for each of
the previous units it planned to sell.
(iii)
of the upward-sloping average revenue curve.
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
(ii) only
(iii) only
(i) and (ii)
(i) and (iii)
(i) and (ii)
(ii) and (iii)
(i) and (iii)
All of the above are correct.
42. Competitive firms differ from monopolies in which of the following ways?
(i)
Competitive firms do not have to worry about the price effect lowering their total
revenue.
(ii)
Marginal revenue for a competitive firm equals price, while marginal revenue for a
monopoly is less than the price it is able to charge.
(iii)
Monopolies must lower their price in order to sell more of their product, while
competitive firms do not.
a.
b.
c.
d.
(i) and (ii)
(ii) and (iii)
(i) and (iii)
All of the above are correct.
____
43. A monopoly firm can sell 150 units of output for $12.00 per unit. Alternatively, it can sell 151 units of output for
$11.95 per unit. The marginal revenue of the 151st unit of output is
a. $-11.95.
b. $-4.45.
c. $4.45.
d. $11.95.
____
44. The difference in total surplus between a socially efficient level of production and a monopolist's level of
production is
a. offset by regulatory revenues.
b. called a deadweight loss.
c. usually small and insignificant.
d. All of the above are correct.
____
45. If a monopolist is able to perfectly price discriminate,
a. consumer surplus is always increased.
b. total surplus is always decreased.
c. consumer surplus and deadweight losses are transformed into monopoly profits.
d. the price effect dominates the output effect on monopoly revenue.
8
____
46. It is not uncommon to find that prescription drugs sell for more in the United States than they do in other
countries. Which of the following statements about this issue is most likely to be true?
a. Drug companies are engaging in price discrimination, and this practice certainly reduces
global social welfare.
b. Global social welfare could be improved if the price in the United States were reduced to
the price charged in other countries.
c. Global social welfare could be improved if the price in the other countries were increased
to the price charged in the United States.
d. Drug companies are engaging in price discrimination, but this might improve global
social welfare if it gives more people access to the drugs.
9
Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
A
C
C
D
C
C
C
B
A
B
B
C
D
D
C
A
A
B
B
C
D
C
C
C
C
A
D
A
D
A
D
A
C
C
D
A
B
D
A
B
A
D
C
B
C
D
10