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The short run is a period of time in which
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the quantity of at least one factor of production is fixed
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In the long run, a firm has
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no factors of production that are fixed
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An example of a variable factor of production in the short run is
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an employee
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The marginal product of labor is the increase in total product from a
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one unit increase in the quantity of labor, while holding the quantity of other inputs constant
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Average product of labor is equal to ________.
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total product divided by the quantity of labor employed
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Using the data in the above table, what is the average product of three employees?
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4 pizzas per hour
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In the above table, the marginal product is greatest when the
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second worker is hired
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Increasing marginal returns to labor might occur at low levels of labor input because of
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increasing specialization of tasks
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The law of diminishing returns states that as a firm increases
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a variable input, with a given quantity of fixed inputs, the marginal product of the variable input eventually decreases
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Which of the following statements is TRUE?
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When marginal product is less than average product, average product is decreasing
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When the marginal product curve is downward sloping, the average product curve
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might be either upward or downward sloping
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When the marginal product equals the average product, the
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average product is at its maximum
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The above table shows the short-run total product schedule for the campus book store. When the fifth employee is hired, the marginal product is ________ and is ________ the average product.
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decreasing; greater than
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Total cost is equal to the
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sum of the total fixed cost and the total variable cost
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A firm's total fixed cost (TFC) is a cost
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that does not change as output changes
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A firm's total variable cost (TVC) is defined as a cost that
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changes as the firm changes its output
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The change in total cost from producing another unit of output equals the
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marginal cost
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Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
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Total fixed cost plus total variable cost equals total cost
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In a diagram with the total cost curve and the total variable cost curve, as output increases, the vertical distance between these two curves
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is constant
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As output increases, AVC approaches ATC because of
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decreasing average fixed cost
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Marginal cost eventually increases because
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All of the above answers are correct
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The average total cost curve eventually slopes upwards because of the
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law of diminishing returns
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Which of the following curves is not U-shaped?
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average fixed cost curve
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A firm's average total cost is $60, its average variable cost is $30, and its total fixed cost is $600. Its output is
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20 units
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The above (incomplete) table provides information about the relationships between output and various cost measures. The total cost (TC) of producing 9 units of output is
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$190
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The above figure shows the costs at Barney's Bagel Bakery. After 3000 bagels are produced each day, the ATC curve starts to slope upward because the
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MC exceeds the ATC.
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If marginal cost is less than average variable cost and output increases, average total cost ________ and average variable cost ________.
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decreases; decreases
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The range of output over which a firm's average variable cost is decreasing is the same as the range over which its
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average product is increasing
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Which curve intersects the AVC curve at its minimum point?
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the MC curve
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A technological change that increases productivity ________ marginal product and ________ marginal cost.
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increases; decreases
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Which of the following shifts the AVC curve upward at Barney's Bagel Bakery?
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an increase in the hourly wage that Barney pays his workers
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Which of the following is FALSE?
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Fixed costs increase in the long run
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A firm's long-run average cost curve
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is U-shaped.
tells the firm which plant size to use and which quantity of labor to use to minimize the cost of producing any level of output.
shows the lowest attainable average total cost of producing any level of output when both capital and labor are variable.
***all of the above***
tells the firm which plant size to use and which quantity of labor to use to minimize the cost of producing any level of output.
shows the lowest attainable average total cost of producing any level of output when both capital and labor are variable.
***all of the above***
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Dustin's copy shop can use four alternative plants. The figure above shows the average total cost curves for Plant 1 (ATC1), Plant 2 (ATC2), Plant 3 (ATC3), and Plant 4 (ATC4).What is Dustin's long-run average cost if the output is 3,000 copies per day?
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3.7 cents per copy
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The average total cost curves for plants A, B, C and D are shown in the above figure. Which plant is best to use to produce 20 units per day?
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Plant A
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The average total cost curves for Plant 1, ATC0, and Plant 2, ATC1, are shown in the figure above. Over what range of output is it efficient to operate Plant 1?
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0-25
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Electric utility companies have built larger and larger electric generating stations and, as a result, the long-run average cost of producing each kilowatt hour decreased. This is an example of
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economies of scale.
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When a firm is experiencing diseconomies of scale
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the LRAC curve has a positive slope
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In the above figure, economies of scale are present up to an output level of
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10,000 pounds of coffee
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Based on the cost data in the above table, the long-run average cost (LRAC) is lowest when output is
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80