📚 Learning Guide
Profit Maximization
medium

A company increases the price of its product from $50 to $60, resulting in a price elasticity of demand of -2. If the company's fixed costs are $10,000 and the variable cost per unit is $30, how many units must they sell to break even after the price increase?

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Learning Path

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Choose the Best Answer

A

200 units

B

300 units

C

400 units

D

500 units

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

To find the break‑even quantity, set total revenue equal to total cost. The revenue is the new price times the quantity sold, so \(60Q\). The total cost is the fixed cost plus the variable cost per unit times the quantity, \(10{,}000 + 30Q\). Setting them equal gives \(60Q = 10{,}000 + 30Q\). Solving for \(Q\) yields \(30Q = 10{,}000\), so \(Q = 333.

Detailed Explanation

The contribution margin is the selling price minus the variable cost, so $60 minus $30 equals $30. Other options are incorrect because Selling only 200 units means covering 200 × $30 = $6,000 of fixed costs, leaving $4,000 unpaid; With 300 units the firm covers $9,000 in fixed costs, still $1,000 short.

Key Concepts

Price Elasticity of Demand
Break-even Analysis
Topic

Profit Maximization

Difficulty

medium level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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