Match List-I with List-II:
| List-I | List-II | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) | Marginal product at zero level of input | (I) | Total variable cost |
| (B) | Sum of the marginal products of all units up to a level | (II) | Undefined |
| (C) | Sum of the short run marginal costs up to an output | (III) | Total product |
| (D) | Average of all marginal products up to a level | (IV) | Average product |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A)-(II), (B)-(III), (C)-(I), (D)-(IV)
Each pair links a marginal value to the total or average built from it.
| List-I | List-II | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (A) Marginal product at zero level of input | (II) Undefined | An input cannot be negative, so there is no change from below zero to measure: MP is undefined at zero. |
| (B) Sum of the marginal products of all units up to a level | (III) Total product | Adding the marginal products of every unit gives the total product. |
| (C) Sum of the short run marginal costs up to an output | (I) Total variable cost | In the short run only variable cost changes, so adding SMCs gives total variable cost. |
| (D) Average of all marginal products up to a level | (IV) Average product | The average of all marginal products up to a level is the average product. |
NCERT (2026-27): “3.3.3 Marginal Product … Since inputs cannot take negative values, marginal product is undefined at zero level of input employment. For any level of an input, the sum of marginal products of every preceeding unit of that input gives the total product. So total product is the sum of marginal products.” “3.3.3 Marginal Product … Average product of an input at any level of employment is the average of all marginal products up to that level. Average and marginal products are often referred to as average and marginal returns, respectively, to the variable input.” “3.7.1 Short Run Costs … Just like the case of marginal product, marginal cost also is undefined at zero level of output. It is important to note here that in the short run, fixed cost cannot be changed. When we change the level of output, whatever change occurs to total cost is entirely due to the change in total variable cost. So in the short run, marginal cost is the increase in TVC due to increase in production of one extra unit of output. For any level of output, the sum of marginal costs up to that level gives us the total variable cost at that level.” |