Business and Economics
25. Consumer Demand When the price of an essential commodity rises rapidly, consumption drops slowly at first. If the price continues to rise, however, a "tipping" point may be reached, at which consumption takes a sudden substantial drop. Suppose the accompanying graph shows the consumption of gasoline, $G(t)$, in millions of gallons, in a certain area. We assume that the price is rising rapidly. Here $t$ is the time in months after the price began rising.
a. Sketch a graph of the rate of change in consumption as a function of time.
$G(t)$
(12, 3)
(16, 2)
(16, 1.5)
$t$
3:5-138 Full Alternative Text
b. When does the "tipping" point occur? What is the instantaneous rate of change in consumption of gas at that point?