Problem: Answer:

Suppose a firm sells 20,000 units when the price is
$16, but sells 30,000 units when the price falls to $14.
a. Calculate the percentage change in the
quantity sold over this price range using the
midpoint formula.
b. Calculate the percentage change in the price
using the midpoint formula.
c. Find the price elasticity of demand over this
range of prices. State whether demand is
elastic or inelastic over this range.
d. Suppose the firm's elasticity of demand is
constant over a large range of prices, equal to
the value found in part c. If the price were to
fall another 4%, what should the firm predict
will happen to its quantity sold?
a. The midpoint formula uses the average of the
two quantities as the reference point for
computing the percentage change. In this
example, the percentage change is (30,000 –
20,000)/25,000 = 0.40, or 40%.
b. The percentage change is (16 – 14)/15 = 0.133,
or 13.3%.
c. The price elasticity of demand is the ratio of
the percentage change in quantity to the
percentage change in price. In this example, Ed
= 40/13.3 = 3. Since Ed is bigger than one,
demand is elastic.
d. The elasticity of demand equals the percentage
change in quantity divided by the percentage
change in price. Rearranging this relationship,
the percentage change in quantity is equal to
the elasticity of demand times the percentage
change in price. In this example, Ed = 3 and the
price change is 4%, so quantity sold will
increase by 12%. 12% = 3 x 4%.

Problem : Yesterday, the price of envelopes was $3 a box, and Julie was willing to buy 10
boxes. Today, the price has gone up to $3.75 a box, and Julie is now willing to buy 8 boxes. Is
Julie's demand for envelopes elastic or inelastic? What is Julie's elasticity of demand?

To find Julie's elasticity of demand, we need to divide the percent change in quantity by the
percent change in price.

% Change in Quantity = (8 - 10)/(10) = -0.20 = -20%

% Change in Price = (3.75 - 3.00)/(3.00) = 0.25 = 25%
Elasticity = |(-20%)/(25%)| = |-0.8| = 0.8

Her elasticity of demand is the absolute value of -0.8, or 0.8. Julie's elasticity of demand is
inelastic, since it is less than 1.

Problem : If Neil's elasticity of demand for hot dogs is constantly 0.9, and he buys 4 hot dogs
when the price is $1.50 per hot dog, how many will he buy when the price is $1.00 per hot dog?

This time, we are using elasticity to find quantity, instead of the other way around. We will use
the same formula, plug in what we know, and solve from there.
Elasticity =
And, in the case of John, %Change in Quantity = (X – 4)/4
Therefore :
Elasticity = 0.9 = |((X – 4)/4)/(% Change in Price)|
% Change in Price = (1.00 - 1.50)/(1.50) = -33%
0.9 = |(X – 4)/4)/(-33%)|
|((X - 4)/4)| = 0.3
0.3 = (X - 4)/4
X = 5.2

Since Neil probably can't buy fractions of hot dogs, it looks like he will buy 5 hot dogs when the
price drops to $1.00 per hot dog.

Problem : Which of the following goods are likely to have elastic demand, and which are likely
to have inelastic demand?

Home heating oil

Pepsi
Chocolate
Water
Heart medication
Oriental rugs

Elastic demand: Pepsi, chocolate, and Oriental rugs

Inelastic demand: Home heating oil, water, and heart medication

Problem : If supply is unit elastic and demand is inelastic, a shift in which curve would affect
quantity more? Price more?

Shifting the demand curve would affect quantity more, and shifting the supply curve would
affect price more.

Problem : Katherine advertises to sell cookies for $4 a dozen. She sells 50 dozen, and decides
that she can charge more. She raises the price to $6 a dozen and sells 40 dozen. What is the
elasticity of demand? Assuming that the elasticity of demand is constant, how many would she
sell if the price were $10 a box?

To find the elasticity of demand, we need to divide the percent change in quantity by the percent
change in price.

% Change in Quantity = (40 - 50)/(50) = -0.20 = -20%

% Change in Price = (6.00 - 4.00)/(4.00) = 0.50 = 50%
Elasticity = |(-20%)/(50%)| = |-0.4| = 0.4
Anna owns the Sweet Alps Chocolate store. She charges $10 per pound for her hand
made chocolate. You, the economist, have calculated the elasticity of demand for
chocolate in her town to be 2.5. If she wants to increase her total revenue, what advice
will you give her and why?  Be able to explain your answer.
 
2.  If the cross elasticity of demand between peanut butter and milk is -1.11, then are
peanut butter and milk substitutes or complements?  Be able to explain your answer.
 
3.  A 10 percent increase in income brings about a 15 percent decrease in the demand
for a good. What is the income elasticity of demand and is the good a normal good or
an inferior good?  Be able to explain your answer.
 
4.  If the price of a good increases by 8% and the quantity demanded decreases by
12%, what is the price elasticity of demand?  Is it elastic, inelastic or unitary elastic?
 
5.  Discount stores sell relatively elastic goods.  Ceteris paribus, explain why selling at a
relatively low price is profitable for them?
 
 
ANSWERS
 
1.  Anna should lower her price.  Her price elasticity of demand for chocolate is elastic
(greater than one) and therefore, when she lowers her price she will sell a lot more
chocolate.  The greater quantity sold will make up for her lower price, increasing her
total revenue.  In other words, she is selling at a lower price but making up for it in
volume of sales.
 
2.  Peanut butter and milk are complements because a negative cross price elasticity of
demand means that as the price of milk goes up, the demand for peanut butter goes
down.  This would indicate that when the price of milk goes up, we buy less milk and we
are also buying less peanut butter (so we must buy these together -- they are
complements).
 
3.  -15%/10% = -.15/.10 = -1.5.  Remember the elasticity is always read as the absolute
value or a positive number, so it is 1.5 (elastic, or greater than one).  The good is an
inferior good because the sign is negative, indicating that an increase in income will
bring a decrease in the demand for the good.
 
4.  -12%/8% = -.12/.08 = -1.5.  Again, drop the negative sign, so the elasticity is 1.5. 
This means it is elastic (greater than one).
 
5.  It is profitable because with elastic goods, dropping the price lower can bring them a
lot more business.  Therefore, at the low prices they can sell a large volume of goods,
making up for the lower prices and bringing in more revenue (P x Q).
The elasticity of demand is 0.4 (elastic).

To find the quantity when the price is $10 a box, we use the same formula:

Elasticity = 0.4 = |(% Change in Quantity)/(% Change in Price)|

% Change in Price = (10.00 - 4.00)/(4.00) = 1.5 = 150%

Remember that before taking the absolute value, elasticity was -0.4, so use -0.4 to calculate the
changes in quantity, or you will end up with a big increase in consumption, instead of a decrease!

-0.4 = |(% Change in Quantity)/(150%)|

|(%Change in Quantity)| = -60% = -0.6
-0.6 = (X - 50)/50
X = 20

The new demand at $10 a dozen will be 20 dozen cookies.