Macroeconomics

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Elasticity

Price Elasticity of Supply on a Graph

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Price Elasticity of Supply on a Graph

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now let's see supply curves with different elasticity on the graph. So just like before, right, we're gonna start here with perfectly elastic and we've got this horizontal line, just like we did um when we were talking about price elasticity of demand, right? We got a horizontal line for perf elastic. I had that silly little example to help you remember, right? Oh, I'm feeling elastic. I feel so perfectly elastic. I'm laying in my bed, I'm super elastic right now. Right? That's when we have this horizontal lime and it works for supply, just like it did with demand. Um The only difference you're gonna see here as we move through the supply curves is is the way we rotate here, right? So we started, remember with demand we started with a perfectly elastic where we were laying down, right, We had the horizontal line and we started to move this way right, perfectly elastic elastic unit elastic and elastic all the way to perf any elastic. Right? The only difference now and that was because we had downward slopes right downward slopes on the demand curve. The supply curve slopes upward. So we're gonna do the same thing except the other way we start perfectly elastic and we're gonna start going this way, right, perfectly elastic elastic unit elastic elastic all the way to perfectly elastic standing up. Right? So it's gonna be the same thing. Just the way we rotate is different because supply curves slope upward. So let's go ahead and see what's happening here from perfectly elastic here to elastic. A good way to remember this is the way I do it is you just look at which axis uh the line cuts through. So here we have a um If this is our our price axis and a quantity access, it's cutting through the price axis when it cuts the price axis. That is when it's elastic. Right? That's when we're going to have cuts price axis is what I meant, right? Um That's when we have elastic supply, price elasticity of supply, that's greater than one. Right? So let's keep on going here with unit elastic. This is where it cuts through the origin. Right? So notice if we extend this line out, it's gonna cut right here through the origin, right where the price and quantity axis, meat. Right? So I'm gonna write here, cuts through origin and notice this is a unit elastic supply. But so is this if I had a supply like this as long as it's cutting through the origin. Right? If I have the line like this cutting through the origin this way cutting through the origin. Those are still unit elastic. Right? As long as it cuts through the origin, it is gonna be unit elastic. All right now let's go with any elastic any elastic. Now we're cutting through the quantity axis. Right now see where the line cuts right here and notice how we're getting steeper and steeper too. Right? So we've got our price access or quantity access and it cuts quantity access. I'm gonna write, right and then finally are perfectly in elastic where we're standing straight up again, right? Just like we had with demand except this time I guess it's kind of silly because we're kind of getting up the other way, right? So like our kind of our heads gonna be like, I don't know, we're gonna be upside down at the end, something like this. So it's a little sillier in this case, I guess. But the idea remains the same, perfectly elastic were laying down and we're making our way from here up to here, right? So that is what the different supply curves are gonna look like on the graph. Let's go ahead and move on.
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