Final answer:
Jimmy's willingness to pay for the 4th scoop may be less than the 1st or 3rd due to the law of diminishing marginal utility. If the market price is $4.50 per scoop, Jimmy's consumer surplus is $2. If the market price is $2.75 per scoop, his consumer surplus is $9.
Step-by-step explanation:
a. Jimmy's willingness to pay may be less for the 4th scoop than the 1st or 3rd because of the law of diminishing marginal utility. This law states that as a person consumes more units of a good, the additional satisfaction or utility they derive from each additional unit will gradually decrease. Therefore, Jimmy may value each additional scoop of ice cream less than the previous ones.
b. If the market price is $4.50 per scoop, Jimmy's consumer surplus can be calculated by subtracting the total amount he actually paid from the total amount he was willing to pay. Given that Jimmy's willingness to pay for each scoop is $9, $7, $3, and $1, his total willingness to pay for all four scoops is $20. If he actually paid $4.50 per scoop, his total payment is $18. Therefore, his consumer surplus is $20 - $18 = $2.
c. If the market price is $2.75 per scoop, Jimmy's consumer surplus can be calculated in the same way as in part b. His total willingness to pay for all four scoops is $20, and if he actually paid $2.75 per scoop, his total payment is $11. His consumer surplus is $20 - $11 = $9.