IB DP Microeconomics · SL & HL

Price elasticity of demand

Drag the point along the demand curve (or use the slider). Watch how |PED| changes along a straight line — and what that does to total revenue, shown as the shaded rectangle. Working from numbers instead? Use the elasticity calculator.

PQD4530
|PED|
3.00
Demand is
elastic
Quantity
30
Total revenue (P×Q)
1350

Demand is elastic here — raising the price lowers total revenue.

HL: on a straight-line demand curve |PED| falls as you move down the curve — revenue peaks where |PED| = 1 (here, at price 30).