Question

Answers at the beginning of this year, daily consumption of gasoline in the us amounted to 344 million gallons. it is estimated that for every 10% increase in the price of gasoline, quantity demanded falls by 2.30%. by the end of this year, the price of gasoline is expected to increase by 40 cents from $2.80 per gallon. based on this information, what is the expected quantity demanded for gasoline at the end of this year? please specify your answer to one decimal place.

Answer 1

332.7 million gallons. First calculate the percentage increase in price of gasoline. 0.40 / 2.80 = 0.142857 = 14.2857% Now divide by the 10% to get the number of multiples of 10% the price increased by 14.2857% / 10% = 1.42857 Now multiply that by the percent decrease in demand 1.42857 * 2.30% = 3.29% So it looks like there will be a 3.29% decrease in demand due to the higher price. So calculate the expected amount of gasoline demand. 344 * (100% - 3.29%) = 344 * (96.71%) = 344 * 0.9671 = 332.7 So the expected demand after a price increase of 40 cents per gallon is 332.7 million gallons.