<p>Considering opportunity costs as the potential benefits an individual misses out on when choosing one alternative over another. So if you choose going to the concert your benefit (utility) is 10 (50 you value - 40 actual costs).
Then if you go to the football match you lose 10, the opportunity cost of the football. If you have already bought the football tickets and cannot resell it, this is a sunk cost, it does not matter.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-20T17:05:20.980Z
2020-10-20T17:05:20.980Z
Robert
<p>Note that the opportunity cost is what you gave up to get it, not necessarily the price of what you gave up to get it. Your opportunity cost is not what you perceive as the value of the rock concert since you haven’t even bought the tickets to the concert yet.</p>
<p><strong>If you had bought the tickets to the rock concert already</strong>, then the opportunity cost of going to the football game would be $50 since that’s the value you placed on the concert and <em>you’ve already bought the tickets.</em></p>
<p>But in this case, you haven’t purchased the tickets yet so your opportunity cost should be 10 dollars since that is the net gain of that activity: the tickets cost 40 dollars, you value them at $50. You can kind of picture opportunity cost as potential profit. Your ‘potential profit’ of the concert is 10 dollars since the value you think it’s worth outweighs the cost by 10 dollars.</p>
<p>tl;dr
You haven’t bought the tickets to the rock concert yet so you have to account for the cost of the tickets as well.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:02:01.337Z
*You can kind of picture opportunity cost as potential profit.* --- I think, this is the key point of understanding. Kindly, elaborate on this. Rest what you wrote are futile.
user366312
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:12:17.080Z
I’m not sure how good of a simplification that is, but I wrote it anyways, let me get back to you in just minute here.
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
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2020-10-19T16:14:43.813Z
Had there the price of the football ticket been given, we could have told that the opportunity cost is the sum of the value of the football match and the value of the movie ticket. No?
user366312
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:21:03.913Z
No, opportunity cost is independent of the option you choose. It does not matter the cost of the football game tickets if you want to find its opportunity cost. If the question asked for the opportunity cost of the concert, it would be the rock concert. More specifically, the value of the rock concert when accounting for its *actual cost*, as in value minus actual cost.
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:30:42.437Z
So, how are they calculating the OC in [this link](https://www.algebra-online.com/math-word-problems/what-is-the-opportunity-cost-of-going-to-the-football-game)?
user366312
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:39:17.267Z
The opportunity cost in the example for your original post is independent of what you choose. However the link you gave is an exception to that, sorry, should’ve said that in my comment. I thought your comment was a typo when you said movie tickets. The link values the cost of the movie theater as -5 dollars, and working as +45 dollars. When going to the movies, you *lose the chance at* gaining 45 dollars, and you spend $5 at the movie so add that to the money you’d make working. Opportunity cost is the overall value you could’ve gotten with respect to what you choose (in the link)...
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:44:07.923Z
...In the original post, the price of the football tickets is already payed for, meaning you don’t have to account for its actual cost.
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T16:46:34.310Z
Therefore, kindly edit your original answer.
user366312
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2020-10-19T16:49:33.183Z
Why what’s wrong with my answer? It answers your question?
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T17:00:26.763Z
My original answer answers your original question
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
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2020-10-19T15:42:41.480Z
2020-10-19T15:53:18.990Z
2020-10-19T15:53:18.990Z
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
<p>According to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwOYLV-L7pc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this video</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Opportunity Cost of a choice is what you gave up to get it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now, let us read the following question:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You are going to a football match next Saturday evening, you have already bought the tickets and cannot resell it. You have just learned that on this Saturday evening, there is also a rock concert that you are interested in. The ticket for the concert costs 40\$ but you value this concert as much as 50\$.</p>
<p>What is the opportunity cost of going to a football match?</p>
<p>a) price of football match’s ticket<br />
b) 40\$<br />
c) 50\$<br />
d) 10\$</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My answer was (c). Coz, I gave up the concert which costs 50\$.</p>
<p>However, my teacher says that the correct answer is (d).  Why?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T21:57:37.043Z
When in doubt, you can ask your teacher.
Cotton Headed Ninnymuggins
<opportunity-cost>
What is the opportunity cost of going to a football match?
user366312
# What is the opportunity cost of going to a football match?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-19)

According to [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwOYLV-L7pc):

> Opportunity Cost of a choice is what you gave up to get it.

Now, let us read the following question:

> You are going to a football match next Saturday evening, you have already bought the tickets and cannot resell it. You have just learned that on this Saturday evening, there is also a rock concert that you are interested in. The ticket for the concert costs 40\$ but you value this concert as much as 50\$.
>
> What is the opportunity cost of going to a football match?
>
> a) price of football match’s ticket  
> b) 40\$  
> c) 50\$  
> d) 10\$

My answer was (c). Coz, I gave up the concert which costs 50\$.

However, my teacher says that the correct answer is (d). Why?

**Tags:** opportunity-cost

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: When in doubt, you can ask your teacher.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-10-20. Score: 1

Considering opportunity costs as the potential benefits an individual misses out on when choosing one alternative over another. So if you choose going to the concert your benefit (utility) is 10 (50 you value - 40 actual costs).
Then if you go to the football match you lose 10, the opportunity cost of the football. If you have already bought the football tickets and cannot resell it, this is a sunk cost, it does not matter.


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-10-19. Score: 1

Note that the opportunity cost is what you gave up to get it, not necessarily the price of what you gave up to get it. Your opportunity cost is not what you perceive as the value of the rock concert since you haven’t even bought the tickets to the concert yet.

**If you had bought the tickets to the rock concert already**, then the opportunity cost of going to the football game would be $50 since that’s the value you placed on the concert and *you’ve already bought the tickets.*

But in this case, you haven’t purchased the tickets yet so your opportunity cost should be 10 dollars since that is the net gain of that activity: the tickets cost 40 dollars, you value them at $50. You can kind of picture opportunity cost as potential profit. Your ‘potential profit’ of the concert is 10 dollars since the value you think it’s worth outweighs the cost by 10 dollars.

tl;dr
You haven’t bought the tickets to the rock concert yet so you have to account for the cost of the tickets as well.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: *You can kind of picture opportunity cost as potential profit.* --- I think, this is the key point of understanding. Kindly, elaborate on this. Rest what you wrote are futile.  
> **username_1**: I’m not sure how good of a simplification that is, but I wrote it anyways, let me get back to you in just minute here.  
> **username_0**: Had there the price of the football ticket been given, we could have told that the opportunity cost is the sum of the value of the football match and the value of the movie ticket. No?  
> **username_1**: No, opportunity cost is independent of the option you choose. It does not matter the cost of the football game tickets if you want to find its opportunity cost. If the question asked for the opportunity cost of the concert, it would be the rock concert. More specifically, the value of the rock concert when accounting for its *actual cost*, as in value minus actual cost.  
> **username_0**: So, how are they calculating the OC in [this link](https://www.algebra-online.com/math-word-problems/what-is-the-opportunity-cost-of-going-to-the-football-game)?  
> **username_1**: The opportunity cost in the example for your original post is independent of what you choose. However the link you gave is an exception to that, sorry, should’ve said that in my comment. I thought your comment was a typo when you said movie tickets. The link values the cost of the movie theater as -5 dollars, and working as +45 dollars. When going to the movies, you *lose the chance at* gaining 45 dollars, and you spend $5 at the movie so add that to the money you’d make working. Opportunity cost is the overall value you could’ve gotten with respect to what you choose (in the link)...  
> **username_1**: ...In the original post, the price of the football tickets is already payed for, meaning you don’t have to account for its actual cost.  
> **username_0**: Therefore, kindly edit your original answer.  
> **username_1**: Why what’s wrong with my answer? It answers your question?  
> **username_1**: My original answer answers your original question  

---

