Question

Distinguish between total utility and marginal utility.

Answer 1

Total utility is the sum total of utility derived from the consumption of all the units of a commodity. To illustrate, if 2 units of a commodity are consumed and 1st unit yields satisfaction of 10 utils, while 2nd unit yields satisfaction of 9 utils, then total utility is 19 utils.

Marginal utility refers to additional utility obtained from the consumption of an additional unit of a commodity. To illustrate, if 10th unit yields satisfaction of 100 utils, while 11th unit yields satisfaction of 105 utils, then marginal utility derived from the 11 th unit is 5 utils.