change in the quantity demanded, even in, say, one unit, is pretty big in percentage terms. A change in price of, say,

a dollar, is going to be much less important in percentage terms than it would have been at the bottom of the

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5.2 • Polar Cases of Elasticity and Constant Elasticity 117

demand curve. Likewise, at the bottom of the demand curve, that one unit change when the quantity demanded is

high will be small as a percentage.

Thus, at one end of the demand curve, where we have a large percentage change in quantity demanded over a small

percentage change in price, the elasticity value would be high, or demand would be relatively elastic. Even with the

same change in the price and the same change in the quantity demanded, at the other end of the demand curve the

quantity is much higher, and the price is much lower, so the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller and
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