Question
instantaneous rate of change of
level of production
unit
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking?
We're looking at a cost function and figuring out how the *average cost* changes as we produce more stuff, finding where that change is zero, and then checking the actual cost at that production level.
Watch out!
Don't mix up *total cost* and *average cost*!
Also, remember that the *instantaneous rate of change* is just a fancy way of saying *derivative*.
STEP 2
1. Find the instantaneous rate of change of average cost.
2. Find the production level where the rate of change of average cost is zero.
3. Calculate the marginal cost and average cost at that production level.
STEP 3
The average cost function is given by: This tells us the average cost per unit when we produce units.
STEP 4
To find the *instantaneous rate of change*, we need to find the *derivative* of the average cost function with respect to .
We can differentiate each term separately:
So, the instantaneous rate of change of the average cost is .
STEP 5
We want to find the **production level**, , where the *instantaneous rate of change* of average cost is **zero**.
So, we set the derivative we just found equal to zero and solve for :
STEP 6
Now, let's solve for :
Multiply both sides by to get:
Divide both sides by to isolate :
Take the square root of both sides:
Since we're talking about production levels, we only consider the positive value.
So, the production level where the rate of change of average cost is zero is units.
STEP 7
The *marginal cost* is the derivative of the *total cost* function, : At , the marginal cost is:
STEP 8
At , the average cost is:
STEP 9
At a production level of units, both the *marginal cost* and the *average cost* are .
The instantaneous rate of change of the average cost is .
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