JAMB Economics Past Questions & Answers - Page 197

981.

An upward movement along the same supply curve results in

A.

An increase in supply

B.

A decrease in price

C.

A decrease in quantity supplied

D.

An increase in quantity supplied

Correct answer is D

A movement along the supply curve happens when the price of a commodity changes while other factors remain constant.

An upward movement along the supply curve indicates an Increase in quantity supplied of a commodity due to rise in its price, while a downward movement means a decrease in quantity supplied due to fall in prices.

982.

The excess benefit derived from the purchase of goods over the amount paid for them is referred to as consumer

A.

Rationality

B.

Surplus

C.

Sovereignty

D.

Credit

Correct answer is B

Surplus in economics refers to the difference between price consumers pay and what they would be willing to pay.

983.

Diminishing marginal utility implies that

A.

Total utility decreases as consumption increases

B.

Marginal utility increases as consumption increases

C.

Marginal utility deceases as consumption increase

D.

Marginal utility decreases as consumption decreases

Correct answer is C

Diminishing marginal utility explains that as a person consumes an item or a product, the satisfaction or utility that they derive from the product reduces as they consume more and more of that product. This means that the satisfaction that is meant to be derived from consuming an additional unit of a commodity reduces as you consume more of that commodity.

 

984.

As long as marginal utility is positive, total utility must be

A.

Negative

B.

Increasing

C.

Zero

D.

Decreasing

Correct answer is B

When marginal utility diminishes but stays positive, then total utility increases at a decreasing rate as it is the summation of all marginal utilities.

This is because positive marginal utility occurs when the consumption of an additional item increases the total utility. Hence whenever marginal utility is positive, total utility increases.

985.

If the demand elasticity coefficient of cars is 0.5, it implies that the demand for petrol is

A.

Elastic

B.

Perfectly inelastic

C.

Inelastic

D.

Perfect elastic

Correct answer is C

If the demand elasticity coefficient is less than 1, that is (0.4, 0.5, etc) it means the demand is inelastic. This means that the change in price had little impact on the quantity demanded.