ECON UN3211 - INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMICS
Columbia University - Department of Economics
Spring 2026
Problem Set 1
Assignment 1: Q2, Q7 and Q9
Due: February 4, Wednesday, 10pm
1. Draw indifferences curves to represent each of the following type of preferences.
(a) Quarters-dollars: A consumer is always happy to change 4 quarters for 1 dollar.
(b) Bicycle frames-tires: A consumer always wants 2 tires to go with 1 frame.
2. Tom always begins his day with a strawberry milkshake. He makes it by mixing milk (x) with five
strawberries (y). The secret of a really good milkshake lies in the optimal proportion of milk and fruit:
one glass always comes with five strawberries.
(a) Plot Tom’s representative indifference curves. Depict three indifference curves that pass through the
following bundles (5, 1), (10, 10) and (15, 4). What is the MRS at each of these points?
(b) What utility function represents these preferences? On the graph from (a), indicate the level of
utility corresponding to each indifference curve.
(c) Multiply your utility function by ten and add two to it. How did the indifference curves change?
How was the level of utility associated with each indifference curve affected?
3. Kate has two favorite kinds of apples: Fuji (x) and Gala (y). Kate loves them both and actually does
not distinguish between the two kinds.
(a) In a graph, show Kate’s indifference that pass through (2, 3) and (3, 3).
(b) Suggest two different utility functions that represent Kate’s preferences.
(c) Find the marginal rate of substitution.
4. Suppose a consumer consumes only two goods, x and y and her preferences are as follows: she strictly
prefers a bundle b1 = (x1 , y1 ) to a bundle b2 = (x2 , y2 ) if and only if [x1 > x2 ] or [x1 = x2 and y1 > y2 ].
How does this consumer rank the following bundles: (2,3), (1,5), (2,4) and (3,0)? How do the indifference
curves look like?
5. Suppose the set of bundles is given by B = {b1 , b2 , b3 , b4 , b5 }. Also suppose that the preferences of a
consumer are given by b1 ≻ b2 ∼ b3 and b4 ≻ b5 . Can you represent these preferences by a utility
function? If you can give a utility function that does so. If not, explain why you cannot. Suppose now
we also have the information b5 ≻ b1 : Now, can you represent it with a utility function? If so, provide
one. If not explain.
6. Suppose a consumer’s preferences can be represented by the following utility function; u(x, y) = x + y.
(a) Show that the utility function v(x, y) = 10x + 10y represent the same preferences with u, that is, v
and u are monotonic transformations of each other.
(b) Show that the utility function z(x, y) = x + y 2 does not represent the same preferences with u.
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7. Jonas’s utility function is uJ (x, y) = xy. Martha’s utility function is uM (x, y) = 1000xy. Noah’s utility
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function is uN (x, y) = −xy. Ulrich’s utility function is uU (x, y) = −(xy+1) . Egon’s utility function
is uE (x, y) = xy − 10, 000. Claudia’s utility function is uC (x, y) = x − y. Helge’s utility function is
uH (x, y) = x (y + 1). Which of these people have the same preferences as Jonas?
8. Consider the following utility functions:
2 3
u(x, y) = x 5 y 5
u(x, y) = x2 y 3
u(x, y) = 4lnx + 6lny
Show that all three utility functions have the same marginal rate of substitution, |M RSxy |. Is this a
coincidence? Why, why not?
9. For each of the following utility functions, find the marginal utilities (M Ux and M Uy ) and the marginal
rate of substitution between x and y, |M RSxy |, and state whether |M RSxy | is diminishing or not.
(a) u(x, y) = 3x + y
(b) u(x, y) = x1/2 y
(c) u(x, y) = x1/3 y 2/3
(d) u(x, y) = x2 + 3y − 2
(e) u(x, y) = x1/2 + y
(f) u(x, y) = (x + 2y)2
xy
(g) u(x, y) = x+y
p
(h) u(x, y) = x2 + y 2