Final answer:
In a perfectly competitive market, a firm will produce the quantity of bagels where the marginal cost of production is equal to the market equilibrium price of $1.80. However, without specific cost details or supply curve data, the exact quantity cannot be determined. The firm's goal is to reach a break-even point, characteristic of long-run equilibrium in perfect competition.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering a firm in a perfectly competitive market producing an identical product such as bagels, we must first recognize that such firms are price takers. This means they accept the market's equilibrium price. In the context of the question, if the equilibrium price is $1.80, and based on the premise that the firm will only produce where Price = Marginal Revenue (MR) = Marginal Cost (MC), as mentioned for a similar situation with frozen raspberries, we can infer that the firm will adjust its output to the point where producing an additional bagel costs $1.80. This ensures they are neither losing nor gaining profit on that last unit.
However, without the specific costs or the firm's supply curve provided, we cannot specify an exact quantity; we only know the firm will produce at a quantity where MC equals $1.80.
The reference to a "break-even point" where the price received is equal to the average cost of production means that at $1.80, if it is indeed the break-even point, the firm would aim to produce exactly the quantity where their average cost of producing bagels is $1.80. Thus, no economic profit or loss is realized, signaling a perfectly competitive market in long-run equilibrium.