NECO 2009 Economics · Question 37

The amount of satisfaction per unit of the commodity consumed is called

Options

  1. A.average cost
  2. B.average utility
  3. C.marginal cost
  4. D.marginal utility
  5. E.total utility

Answer: B. average utility

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the term describing the satisfaction obtained per unit of a commodity consumed. The key phrase is "per unit," which points to an average.

Step 2: Explain the concepts

  • Total utility (TU): the total satisfaction from consuming all units of a commodity.
  • Marginal utility (MU): the extra satisfaction from consuming one more unit. MU = change in TU ÷ change in quantity.
  • Average utility (AU): the satisfaction per unit consumed. AU = TU ÷ number of units.
  • Average cost and marginal cost: these relate to production costs, not satisfaction, so they can be ruled out.

Step 3: Work through the options

  • A. Average cost: a production concept, so it is wrong.
  • B. Average utility: TU divided by units consumed, which is satisfaction per unit. This fits.
  • C. Marginal cost: a production concept, so it is wrong.
  • D. Marginal utility: satisfaction from the additional unit, not per unit on average. It is wrong.
  • E. Total utility: the overall satisfaction, not per unit. It is wrong.

Step 4: Answer Example: if you eat 4 oranges and get 40 utils in total, the average utility is 40 ÷ 4 = 10 utils per orange.

Tip: Link the keyword to the concept. "Per unit" means average, "additional unit" means marginal, and "all units" means total. Also, cost words (average/marginal cost) belong to producers, while utility words belong to consumers.

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