Question - Cost Schedule Analysis of a Firm's Production

(a) Total Variable Cost (TVC) is the cost of variable factors of production, which changes with the level of output. Since we only have Total Fixed Cost (TFC) and Marginal Cost (MC) in the table, we can calculate TVC by summing the MC for each additional unit of output.

For 1 unit: TVC = 0 (since there is no additional cost for the first unit if no output is produced initially)

For 2 units: TVC = 0 + 20 = 20

For 3 units: TVC = 20 + 20 = 40

For 4 units: TVC = 40 + 30 = 70

Total Cost (TC) is the sum of Total Fixed Cost (TFC) and Total Variable Cost (TVC).

For 1 unit: TC = TFC + TVC = 20 + 0 = 20

For 2 units: TC = TFC + TVC = 20 + 20 = 40

For 3 units: TC = TFC + TVC = 20 + 40 = 60

For 4 units: TC = TFC + TVC = 20 + 70 = 90

(b) Total Revenue (TR) is calculated by multiplying the price per unit by the quantity of output.

TR at $30 per unit:

For 0 units: TR = 0 * 30 = 0

For 1 unit: TR = 1 * 30 = 30

For 2 units: TR = 2 * 30 = 60

For 3 units: TR = 3 * 30 = 90

For 4 units: TR = 4 * 30 = 120

(c) Profit/Loss is calculated as Total Revenue (TR) minus Total Cost (TC).

For 0 units: Profit/Loss = TR - TC = 0 - 20 = -20

For 1 unit: Profit/Loss = 30 - 20 = 10

For 2 units: Profit/Loss = 60 - 40 = 20

For 3 units: Profit/Loss = 90 - 60 = 30

For 4 units: Profit/Loss = 120 - 90 = 30

(d) The firm is in equilibrium when marginal cost (MC) equals marginal revenue (MR), which in this case is the price of $30, as there is no information to calculate MR otherwise.

Looking at the MC column, equilibrium is reached at an output level of 3 units (where MC for the next unit would exceed the price).

(e) The time period of the firm's operation is not given in the question and cannot be determined from the information provided.