This graph shows one consumer's demand for ice cream at the student union:
During a regular semester,there are 500 students.Each student's demand for ice cream is as depicted above.When the price of one scoop of ice cream is $2.00,those 500 students purchase a total of
A) 2,000 scoops of ice cream
B) 2,500 scoops of ice cream
C) 3,000 scoops of ice cream
D) 5,000 scoops of ice cream

Question

This graph shows one consumer's demand for ice cream at the student union: 
During a regular semester,there are 500 students.Each student's demand for ice cream is as depicted above.When the price of one scoop of ice cream is $2.00,those 500 students purchase a total of
A) 2,000 scoops of ice cream 
B) 2,500 scoops of ice cream 
C) 3,000 scoops of ice cream 
D) 5,000 scoops of ice cream

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the total number of scoops of ice cream that 500 students purchase at a price of $2.00 per scoop, we need to find the area under the demand curve from zero to two. The demand curve is a triangle with a base of 2 and a height of 20, so the area is (1/2)(2)(20) = 20. Multiplying this by 500 students gives us a total of 10,000 scoops of ice cream. However, we need to remember that the demand curve only applies up to a price of $3.00 per scoop, so we need to make sure that our calculation does not exceed this price limit. At $2.00 per scoop, we are well below the limit, so we can safely choose C) 3,000 scoops of ice cream as the answer.

This Graph Shows One Consumer's Demand for Ice Cream at the Student