Final answer:
The consumer surplus in a perfectly competitive market is found by calculating the area above the market equilibrium price and below the demand curve, which represents the benefit consumers receive by paying less than their maximum willingness to pay.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the consumer surplus in a perfectly competitive market for products like the iPhone 13 Max, we first find the equilibrium price and quantity. According to the provided supply and demand equations (P = 70 -2Q and P= 10 +3Q), setting them equal to each other allows us to determine these equilibrium values. Solving for 'Q' gives us an equilibrium quantity (Q) and substituting this back into either equation gives us the equilibrium price (P).
Consumer surplus is the area above the market price and below the demand curve, which can be calculated as the area of a triangle in this case: (base * height) / 2, where 'base' is the difference in quantity demanded at the initial price where demand intersects the y-axis and the equilibrium quantity, while 'height' is the difference between the maximum price consumers are willing to pay (intercept of the demand curve on the price axis) and the equilibrium price.