Each point on an individual's supply curve corresponds to one of the entries in the individual’s supply schedule. For example, when the price of bobbleheads is $10, Kevin supplies 16 bobbleheads per year and Maria supplies 22 bobbleheads per year. Therefore, the point (16, 10) lies on Kevin's supply curve, and the point (22, 10) lies on Maria's supply curve.
You can find the points for the market supply curve by adding up the quantity supplied by each individual in the market. For example, when the price of bobbleheads is $10, Kevin supplies 16 bobbleheads and Maria supplies 22 bobbleheads; therefore, total market supply is 16+22=38 bobbleheads per year. Repeating this process, you can construct the following market supply schedule:
2 | 0 | | 6 | | 6 |
4 | 8 | | 12 | | 20 |
6 | 12 | | 16 | | 28 |
8 | 14 | | 20 | | 34 |
10 | 16 | | 22 | | 38 |
Visually, this corresponds to a horizontal summation of the supply curves. In other words, although each point on an individual's supply curve refers to a price and a quantity, it's best to think of that point as the quantity the individual would sell at that price rather than as the price the individual would be willing to accept for that quantity. Therefore, to find the total quantity supplied in a market at a given price, add up the quantity supplied by each individual at that price—that is, you add the horizontal component of each point on each individual's supply curve.