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Marginal Utility Satisfaction Meter

Run the Marginal Utility Satisfaction Meter MicroSim Fullscreen
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About This MicroSim

This MicroSim illustrates the law of diminishing marginal utility using an ice cream cone scenario. A semicircular gauge displays total utility while ice cream cone icons show which cones have been eaten. Each cone contributes a specific number of "utils" (units of satisfaction) that decreases with consumption, eventually reaching zero and then turning negative. An optional bar chart provides a clear visual comparison of the marginal utility contributed by each successive cone.

How to Use

  1. Click "Eat Another Cone" to consume your first ice cream cone and observe the gauge fill up as total utility increases by +50 utils.
  2. Keep eating by clicking the button repeatedly. Watch the gauge, the marginal utility labels under each cone, and the commentary at the bottom as satisfaction declines with each additional cone.
  3. Toggle "Show Chart" to display or hide a bar chart that compares the marginal utility of each cone side by side, making the diminishing pattern clearly visible.
  4. Notice when marginal utility hits zero (cone 6) and then turns negative (cone 7), meaning the additional consumption actually reduces your total satisfaction.
  5. Click "Start Over" to reset and try to predict where the optimal stopping point is before clicking through again.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/economics-course/sims/marginal-utility-meter/main.html"
        height="452px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

9-12 (High School Economics)

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Understanding that consumers seek satisfaction (utility) from goods and services
  • Ability to read simple charts and gauges

Activities

  1. Exploration (5 min): Eat all 7 cones and record the marginal utility and total utility after each one. Identify the cone at which total utility is maximized. Enable the chart to verify your observations visually.
  2. Guided Practice (5 min): Reset and eat cones one at a time. Before clicking, predict whether the next cone's marginal utility will be positive, zero, or negative. Discuss with a partner why a rational consumer would stop eating at the point where MU = 0.
  3. Assessment (5 min): Create a two-column table listing cones eaten (1-7) and marginal utility for each. Graph this data on paper. Explain in writing what "diminishing marginal utility" means using your ice cream cone data as evidence.

Assessment

  • Students can define marginal utility and total utility and explain the relationship between them
  • Students can identify the point of maximum total utility (where marginal utility equals zero)
  • Students can provide examples of diminishing marginal utility from their own experience

References

  1. Marginal Utility - Wikipedia - Comprehensive article on marginal utility theory, including historical development and the law of diminishing marginal utility.
  2. Marginal Utility - Investopedia - Practical explanation of marginal utility with examples of how it influences consumer behavior.
  3. Utility Maximization - Khan Academy - Video lesson covering total utility, marginal utility, and the utility maximization rule.