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.   decreasing returns to scale.
B.   increasing long-run average cost.
C.   diminishing returns to labor.
D.   decreasing short-run average variable cost.
Question #2
To determine total cost, the businessperson must know
A.   output quantity and input price.
B.   input quantity and output price.
C.   output quantity and output price.
D.   input quantity and input 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 the last input added to the total amount of production.
D.   how much profit will be made at each level of production.
Question #4
When the marginal revenue product of an input is less than its price, the
A.   marginal physical product of that input must be below its average physical product.
B.   producer should expand the use of that input.
C.   price of the input will automatically rise in a free market.
D.   producer should reduce the use of that input.
Question #5
A firm is operating with an optimal combination of inputs. Suddenly the price of one input rises. The firm should
A.   buy more of the higher priced input and less of the lower priced input.
B.   reduce its output.
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.   the firm can maximize its output by operating at the point of minimum long-run average cost.
B.   it must have increasing returns to scale at low levels of production and decreasing returns to scale at high levels of production.
C.   its fixed cost rises as output rises.
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.   many smaller firms would be less-efficient producers.
B.   large firms are less-efficient producers.
C.   large firms have a concentration of economic power.
D.   there is no economic reason to break up large firms that may have some control over the market.
Question #8
The long-run average cost curve
A.   is a composite of short-run AC curves.
B.   shows the lowest possible short-run AC corresponding to each output level.
C.   All of these are correct.
D.   depends on the firm's planning horizon.
Question #9
Which of the following is a variable cost for an airline?
A.   rent of airport space
B.   property taxes
C.   insurance
D.   jet fuel
Question #10
Total fixed cost
A.   remains constant even if the firm shuts down.
B.   is always zero.
C.   increases as output increases.
D.   declines as output increases.
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.   airlines are experiencing decreasing returns to scale.
B.   the larger airlines are not profitable.
C.   there are increasing returns to scale in the airline industry.
D.   the airline industry has constant returns to scale.
Question #13
In the typical AC curve, the downward-sloping part is attributable to
A.   spreading fixed costs over larger outputs and increasing returns to the variable inputs.
B.   rising total product.
C.   declining administrative costs as output increases.
D.   falling fixed costs.
Question #14
If doubling the quantity of inputs more than doubles the quantity of outputs, the firm is experiencing
A.   increasing costs per unit of output.
B.   decreasing returns to scale.
C.   increasing returns to scale.
D.   constant 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.   change in total cost resulting from the purchase of one more unit of the variable input.
C.   difference between total cost and total expenditure.
D.   difference between total fixed cost and total variable cost.
Question #16
Which of the following is a fixed cost?
A.   worker bonuses
B.   electricity
C.   mortgage on the building
D.   steel to produce refrigerators
Question #17
When economies of scale are present,
A.   firms always make handsome profits.
B.   costs fall as the size of the product is increased.
C.   the government feels responsible for breaking up the firm.
D.   costs per unit decline as output expands.
Question #18
A firm practices input substitution when it
A.   buys extra machines for its workers to use.
B.   replaces unskilled labor with automated machinery.
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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