📚 Learning Guide
Marginal Utility Per Dollar
medium

A consumer evaluates two items: Item A offers 50 units of satisfaction for $10, while Item B provides 80 units for $20. If the consumer has a budget of $30 and considers the opportunity cost, which item will yield the highest marginal utility per dollar spent?

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Learning Path
Learning Path

Question & Answer
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Understand Question
2
Review Options
3
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4
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Choose the Best Answer

A

Item A only

B

Item B only

C

Both Item A and Item B

D

Neither Item A nor Item B

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

The consumer compares the satisfaction each dollar buys. Item A gives 50 units for $10, so 5 units per dollar, while Item B gives 80 units for $20, which is 4 units per dollar. Because 5 > 4, Item A provides a higher marginal utility per dollar. With a $30 budget, buying three A’s gives 150 units, whereas buying one B and one A gives only 130 units, confirming that A yields the greater marginal benefit. Thus Item A is the better choice for maximizing satisfaction per dollar.

Detailed Explanation

Buying Item A gives 5 units of satisfaction for each dollar spent, while Item B gives only 4 units per dollar. Other options are incorrect because The mistake is thinking the larger total satisfaction (80 units) is the best; It seems fair to say both are good, but their ratios differ.

Key Concepts

Marginal Utility Per Dollar
Opportunity Cost
Topic

Marginal Utility Per Dollar

Difficulty

medium level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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