Economics Worksheet
Consider the following pairs of goods. For which of the two goods would you expect the demand to be more price elastic? Why?
water or diamonds
insulin or nasal decongestant spray
gasoline over the course of a week or gasoline over the course of a year
In this situation, diamonds are the more luxurious item, whereas water is an absolute necessity. Because of their nature, diamonds would have much more elasticity in price because their demand may change much more drastically than water.
Nasal decongestant spray would have the more elastic price because there are many options and substitutes. However, insulin does not have any close substitutes and so it would not be as elastic.
Gasoline becomes more elastic the longer the time duration is being examined. As with other products, elasticity increases as time does. Thus, gasoline over the course of a year is more elastic.
2.
a.
Given the table below, graph the demand and supply curves for flashlights. Make certain to label the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity. You may draw the graph by hand.
Price
Quantity Demanded Per Month
Quantity Supplied Per Month
$5
6,000
10,000
$4
8,000
8,000
$3
10,000
6,000
$2
12,000
4,000
$1
14,000
2,000
Price
Quantity (In thousands)
1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9-10-11 12-13 14
P4
Q8
S
D
Surplus of 4,000
Shortage of 8,000
b.
What is the equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity? According to the graph, the equilibrium price would be at $4 with an equilibrium quantity at 8,000 units.
c.
Suppose the price is currently $5. What problem would exist in the market? What would you expect to happen to price? Show this on your graph. At a price of $5 there would be a surplus of 4,000 flashlights creating a problem in the market and the price to fall.
d.
Suppose the price is currently $2. What problem would exist in the market? What would you expect to happen to price? Show this on your graph. At a price of $2, there would be a shortage of around 8,000 flashlights and the price would rise, creating another problem for the market.
3.- Use supply and demand graphs to analyze the effects of each event on the equilibrium price and quantity of music downloads.
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