Final answer:
Consumer surplus in a competitive market is the area under the demand curve and above the equilibrium price. It can be calculated using the area of the triangle, with the base and height defined by the equilibrium and demand curve intersection points.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to the concept of consumer surplus in a competitive market for a particular product, which in this case is corn. To calculate the consumer surplus, one must understand it as the difference between what consumers are willing to pay for a good and what they actually pay. In a supply and demand graph, consumer surplus is represented as the area under the demand curve and above the equilibrium price. The student is asked to recognize the equilibrium in the market where the supply and demand curves intersect, and then use the area of the triangle formula, which is 0.5 × base × height, to find the area of the triangle that represents consumer surplus, confined by the points of equilibrium price, PTrade, and intersection points A and B.