Equilibrium price is the single price where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, so there's no surplus or shortage and the market clears. On a supply-and-demand graph it's the price at the point where the two curves cross.
Equilibrium price is the price where the quantity people want to buy exactly equals the quantity producers want to sell. On a graph, it's the price at the spot where the demand curve and the supply curve intersect. At that price the market "clears," meaning nobody is stuck with unsold goods and no buyer is left empty-handed.
The AP CED ties this to topic 1.6: equilibrium is achieved at the price where quantities demanded and supplied are equal (AP Macro 1.6.A). Anything off that price creates trouble. A price above equilibrium gives you a surplus (too much supplied), and a price below it gives you a shortage (too much demanded). Those imbalances don't last. Market forces push the price back toward equilibrium because sellers cut prices to clear surpluses and buyers bid prices up to grab scarce goods (AP Macro 1.6.B).
This sits in Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts, and it's the payoff of everything you learned about supply and demand. Topics 1.5 and 1.6 build straight to it. You define the law of supply (AP Macro 1.5.A), the determinants that shift supply (AP Macro 1.5.C), and then watch where supply meets demand. Once a determinant shifts either curve, you get a new equilibrium price and quantity (AP Macro 1.6.C). That "shift then find the new crossing point" skill is the foundation for nearly every graph you'll draw the rest of the year, from money markets to the loanable funds market to aggregate supply and demand.
Keep studying AP Macroeconomics Unit 1
Market Disequilibrium, Surplus, and Shortage (Unit 1)
Disequilibrium is just any price that isn't the equilibrium price. Above it you get a surplus, below it a shortage, and in both cases price slides back toward equilibrium. Think of equilibrium price as the resting point a market keeps falling back into.
R-O-T-T-E-N and Supply/Demand Shifters (Unit 1)
Equilibrium price only moves when a curve shifts, and curves only shift when a determinant changes. The R-O-T-T-E-N shifters and demand shifters are the causes; the new equilibrium price is the effect.
Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand Equilibrium (Units 2-3)
The whole AD-AS model is microeconomic equilibrium scaled up to the entire economy. Instead of one good's price, the crossing point sets the price level and real GDP. Same logic, bigger graph.
Long-Run Equilibrium (Units 3-4)
When FRQs say an economy starts "in long-run equilibrium," they're borrowing this exact idea. It's the macro version of a market that has settled at its clearing point with no pressure to move.
Multiple-choice questions test this constantly. One classic stem asks which mathematical condition must hold at equilibrium, and the answer is quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. Others give you a change like a $5 per-unit tax on producers, more firms entering the electric vehicle market, or a shift in a determinant, and ask how equilibrium price and quantity change. Your job is to figure out which curve shifts and which direction, then read off the new equilibrium. On the FRQ side, released prompts often start economies "in long-run equilibrium" before hitting them with a shock, so you need to be comfortable identifying the starting equilibrium and tracking how it moves. Expect to draw correctly labeled graphs and show the new intersection point.
Equilibrium price is a price, not a quantity. At that price, quantity demanded and quantity supplied are equal, and that shared amount is the equilibrium quantity. Don't mix up the price (the y-axis value at the crossing) with the quantity (the x-axis value).
Equilibrium price is the one price where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, so the market clears with no surplus or shortage.
On a graph, it's the price at the point where the supply and demand curves intersect.
A price above equilibrium causes a surplus and a price below it causes a shortage, and market forces push price back toward equilibrium either way.
Equilibrium price only changes when supply or demand shifts, which happens when a determinant changes.
Always distinguish equilibrium price (on the vertical axis) from equilibrium quantity (on the horizontal axis).
It's the price where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, shown as the intersection of the supply and demand curves. At that price the market clears, meaning there's no surplus or shortage.
No. Equilibrium price is the price level at the curves' intersection (the y-axis value), while equilibrium quantity is the amount bought and sold at that price (the x-axis value). They're set at the same point but they're different things.
You get a surplus because quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded. Sellers then cut prices to move unsold goods, which pushes the price back down toward equilibrium.
Because a determinant shifted the supply or demand curve. For example, more firms entering a market shifts supply right and lowers equilibrium price, while a per-unit tax on producers shifts supply left and raises it (AP Macro 1.6.C).
Locate where the supply and demand curves cross, then read straight over to the price axis. After any shift, redraw the moved curve, find the new intersection, and read off the new equilibrium price and quantity.