What is the shape of indifference curves for two goods that are perfect substitutes, like nickels and dimes?

Correct answer: Straight lines.

Explanation

The shape of an indifference curve reveals the consumer's willingness to substitute one good for another. For perfect substitutes, this willingness is constant, resulting in straight-line indifference curves.

Other questions

Question 1

According to the theory of consumer choice, what does a consumer's budget constraint show?

Question 2

A consumer has an income of $1,000 per month. The price of a pizza is $10 and the price of a pint of Pepsi is $2. What is the slope of this consumer's budget constraint?

Question 3

Which of the following statements accurately describes an indifference curve?

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT one of the four standard properties of indifference curves discussed in the chapter?

Question 5

The rate at which a consumer is willing to trade one good for another is called the:

Question 6

At the consumer's optimal choice, what is the relationship between the indifference curve and the budget constraint?

Question 7

If a consumer's income increases, and both goods are normal goods, what happens to the budget constraint and the optimal consumption point?

Question 8

What is an inferior good?

Question 9

When the price of a good falls, the change in consumption that results from the consumer feeling richer is called the:

Question 10

A Giffen good is a special type of good for which:

Question 11

When analyzing a worker's decision between consumption and leisure, a higher wage has what effect on the budget constraint?

Question 12

If a worker responds to a higher wage by working fewer hours, which of the following is true?

Question 14

An increase in the interest rate a consumer can earn on savings will cause their budget constraint between current and future consumption to:

Question 15

According to the theory of consumer choice, an increase in the interest rate could lead to either an increase or a decrease in saving because:

Question 16

If a consumer has an income of $3,000, wine costs $3 per glass, and cheese costs $6 per pound, what is the maximum number of glasses of wine the consumer can purchase?

Question 17

The property that indifference curves do not cross is a consequence of the assumption that:

Question 18

In the theory of consumer choice, what does the term 'utility' represent?

Question 19

If Jim earns $100, milk costs $2 per quart, and cookies cost $4 per dozen, what happens to his budget constraint if all prices and his income double?

Question 20

The case study about lottery winners is used to illustrate that:

Question 21

If a consumer's MRS of pizza for Pepsi is 4, and the price of a pizza is $10 and the price of Pepsi is $2, what should the consumer do to maximize satisfaction?

Question 22

The historical trend of a falling workweek alongside rising real wages suggests that, for labor supply over the long run:

Question 23

What is the key reason that the theory of consumer choice concludes a higher interest rate might either increase or decrease saving?

Question 24

A fall in the price of a good, with income held constant, causes the budget constraint to:

Question 25

The analysis of consumer choice provides a theoretical foundation for the:

Question 26

If a consumer is spending their entire income of $1,000 on 50 pizzas at $10 each and 250 pints of Pepsi at $2 each, they are at a point:

Question 27

The reason indifference curves are typically bowed inward is that:

Question 28

In the context of labor supply, what does the substitution effect of a higher wage encourage a worker to do?

Question 29

Based on the text, which of the following pairs of goods would most likely be represented by right-angle indifference curves?

Question 30

If Sam is a saver and the interest rate rises from 10 percent to 20 percent, what is the unambiguous effect on his consumption?

Question 31

The theory of consumer choice is presented as a metaphor for decision-making because:

Question 32

What is the primary reason the Irish potato famine is sometimes cited as an example of a Giffen good?

Question 33

What is the consumer's optimal choice of pizza and Pepsi if their income is $1,000, the price of pizza is $10, the price of Pepsi is $2, and they are on the highest possible indifference curve?

Question 34

A consumer who is indifferent between a bundle of 5 left shoes and 5 right shoes, and a bundle of 5 left shoes and 7 right shoes, likely considers these goods to be:

Question 35

If the price of Pepsi falls from $2 to $1, and a consumer's purchases of Pepsi increase from 250 to 750 pints, this relationship is shown graphically as:

Question 36

According to the FYI box on utility, at the consumer's optimum, the marginal utility per dollar spent on pizza should be:

Question 37

When the price of an inferior good falls, the substitution effect leads to _______ consumption of the good, and the income effect leads to _______ consumption of the good.

Question 38

A consumer's preferences are represented by a set of indifference curves. If this consumer is offered a point on a higher indifference curve, what can be concluded?

Question 39

If a consumer spends his entire income, he can afford 75 pizzas at $8 each or 100 gallons of milk at $6 each. What is his income?

Question 40

When the price of pizza is $10 and the price of Pepsi is $2, the consumer's optimal bundle is 50 pizzas and 250 Pepsi. When the price of pizza falls to $8, the consumer's new optimum is 70 pizzas and 310 Pepsi. In this case, pizza is a:

Question 41

A consumer is choosing between apples and bananas. If the marginal rate of substitution is 3 apples per banana, it means:

Question 42

The theory of consumer choice helps explain why the labor supply curve for an individual might be backward-sloping by showing that:

Question 43

A consumer with an income of $2,000 can buy 100 units of good X at $20 each or 200 units of good Y at $10 each. What is the opportunity cost of one unit of good X?

Question 44

The substitution effect from a price change is the change in consumption that results from the movement:

Question 45

An increase in income causes a consumer's budget constraint to:

Question 46

A consumer chooses an optimal consumption point where the ratio of the marginal utilities of two goods equals:

Question 47

If Sally's wage increases from $50 to $60 an hour, the opportunity cost of her taking an hour of leisure:

Question 48

The main finding of the Jensen and Miller study on Giffen behavior in China was that:

Question 49

A consumer's budget constraint for two goods, X and Y, will pivot inward from the Y-axis if:

Question 50

If a consumer is currently at a point where their indifference curve is steeper than their budget constraint, they can increase their satisfaction by: