Econ 101 - Microeconomics » Fall 2022 » Production and Costs of the Firm Quiz

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Question #1
A firm uses workers and seed to grow lettuce. Its lettuce output rises from 100 tons to 200 tons when the number of workers increases from 25 to 75. Its production process shows
A.   increasing long-run average cost.
B.   decreasing returns to scale.
C.   decreasing short-run average variable cost.
D.   diminishing returns to labor.
Question #2
To determine total cost, the businessperson must know
A.   input quantity and output price.
B.   input quantity and input price.
C.   output quantity and input price.
D.   output quantity and output price.
Question #3
Marginal physical product can tell a producer
A.   at what point to stop adding inputs to the production process.
B.   how much the last input added to the total amount of revenue.
C.   how much profit will be made at each level of production.
D.   how much the last input added to the total amount of production.
Question #4
When the marginal revenue product of an input is less than its price, the
A.   producer should expand the use of that input.
B.   marginal physical product of that input must be below its average physical product.
C.   producer should reduce the use of that input.
D.   price of the input will automatically rise in a free market.
Question #5
A firm is operating with an optimal combination of inputs. Suddenly the price of one input rises. The firm should
A.   reduce its output.
B.   buy more of the higher priced input and less of the lower priced input.
C.   change its input mix so that the marginal physical product of the input whose price has risen falls and the marginal physical product of the other input rises.
D.   buy less of that input and more of the other input.
Question #6
If a firm has a U-shaped long-run average cost curve,
A.   its fixed cost rises as output rises.
B.   it must have increasing returns to scale at low levels of production and decreasing returns to scale at high levels of production.
C.   the firm can maximize its output by operating at the point of minimum long-run average cost.
D.   it must have increasing returns to each input at low levels of production and decreasing returns to each input at high levels of production.
Question #7
One reason why critics argue that large firms should not be broken up is that in some cases
A.   there is no economic reason to break up large firms that may have some control over the market.
B.   large firms have a concentration of economic power.
C.   many smaller firms would be less-efficient producers.
D.   large firms are less-efficient producers.
Question #8
The long-run average cost curve
A.   All of these are correct.
B.   is a composite of short-run AC curves.
C.   depends on the firm's planning horizon.
D.   shows the lowest possible short-run AC corresponding to each output level.
Question #9
Which of the following is a variable cost for an airline?
A.   rent of airport space
B.   jet fuel
C.   property taxes
D.   insurance
Question #10
Total fixed cost
A.   declines as output increases.
B.   is always zero.
C.   increases as output increases.
D.   remains constant even if the firm shuts down.
Question #11
The total physical product of an input is the same thing as its
A.   marginal physical product times output.
B.   output.
C.   total revenue product.
D.   total consumer's surplus.
Question #12
An airline industry study recently reported, "Evidence is abundant that larger firms are not more efficient or less costly simply because they are larger. In fact, other things equal, the largest carriers tend to have a higher level of unit costs, possibly caused by the difficulties of managing an airline of large size." This means that
A.   there are increasing returns to scale in the airline industry.
B.   the airline industry has constant returns to scale.
C.   airlines are experiencing decreasing returns to scale.
D.   the larger airlines are not profitable.
Question #13
In the typical AC curve, the downward-sloping part is attributable to
A.   falling fixed costs.
B.   spreading fixed costs over larger outputs and increasing returns to the variable inputs.
C.   declining administrative costs as output increases.
D.   rising total product.
Question #14
If doubling the quantity of inputs more than doubles the quantity of outputs, the firm is experiencing
A.   increasing returns to scale.
B.   increasing costs per unit of output.
C.   constant returns to scale.
D.   decreasing returns to scale.
Question #15
Marginal cost is the
A.   change in total cost resulting from the production of one more unit of output.
B.   difference between total cost and total expenditure.
C.   change in total cost resulting from the purchase of one more unit of the variable input.
D.   difference between total fixed cost and total variable cost.
Question #16
Which of the following is a fixed cost?
A.   mortgage on the building
B.   steel to produce refrigerators
C.   worker bonuses
D.   electricity
Question #17
When economies of scale are present,
A.   costs per unit decline as output expands.
B.   firms always make handsome profits.
C.   costs fall as the size of the product is increased.
D.   the government feels responsible for breaking up the firm.
Question #18
A firm practices input substitution when it
A.   replaces unskilled labor with automated machinery.
B.   buys extra machines for its workers to use.
C.   allows fixed cost to become variable.
D.   retrains Joe the welder as a painter and Pat the painter as a welder.

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