Concept Of Marginal Utility
Marginal utility is the change in total utility by the consumption of an additional unit of a commodity. In other words, marginal utility is the addition to the total utility derived from the consumption of one additional unit. It is also called additional utility. Marginal utility can be explained with the help of an example. When a consumer consumes one orange, he gets total utility equal to 8 utils. By consuming second orange, total utility becomes 14 utils i.e 8+6. Therefore the marginal utility of the second orange is 6 utils i.e. 14-8.
Concept Of Total Utility
The total satisfaction received from the consumption of given quantities of a commodity by a consumer within a given time period is called total utility. In other words, total utility is the sum of all marginal utilities obtained from the consumption of different units of a commodity. For example, suppose a consumer consumes first unit of an orange and gets 8 utils utility. As he consumes second unit of orange his total utility increases to 14 utils i.e 8+6 if he gets 6 utils utility from second orange.In the same way total utility increases to 18 utils (8+6+4) as he consumes third orange and gets 4 utils from it.
Relationship Between Total Utility And Marginal Utility
1. Total utility is the sum total of marginal utility whereas marginal utility is the change in total utility.
2. Total utility generally remains positive while marginal utility may be positive, zero or even negative.
3. When marginal utility is positive, total utility rises.
4. When marginal utility is zero, total utility is the maximum.
5. When marginal utility is negative, total utility falls.