Capital is held fixed. The total product (TP) of labour is given below:
| Labour (units) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP (units) | 6 | 16 | 30 | 40 | 45 |
Match List-I with List-II:
| List-I | List-II | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) | Marginal product of the 3rd unit | (I) | 5th unit |
| (B) | Average product at 4 units | (II) | 10 units |
| (C) | Unit of labour from which marginal product starts falling | (III) | 14 units |
| (D) | Unit of labour from which average product starts falling | (IV) | 4th unit |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A)-(III), (B)-(II), (C)-(IV), (D)-(I)
Given: TP = 6, 16, 30, 40, 45 for 1 to 5 units of labour.
MP = change in TP: 6, 10, 14, 10, 5.
AP = TP/L: 6, 8, 10, 10, 9.
| List-I | List-II | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (A) Marginal product of the 3rd unit | (III) 14 units | 30 − 16 = 14 |
| (B) Average product at 4 units | (II) 10 units | 40/4 = 10 |
| (C) Unit of labour from which marginal product starts falling | (IV) 4th unit | MP falls from 14 to 10 at the 4th unit. |
| (D) Unit of labour from which average product starts falling | (I) 5th unit | AP stays 10 at the 4th unit (MP = AP) and falls to 9 at the 5th, when MP drops below AP. |
NCERT (2026-27): “3.5 Shapes of Total Product, Marginal Product and Average Product Curves … Let us now see what the AP curve looks like. For the first unit of the variable input, one can easily check that the MP and the AP are same. Now as we increase the amount of input, the MP rises. AP being the average of marginal products, also rises, but rises less than MP. Then, after a point, the MP starts falling. However, as long as the value of MP remains higher than the value of the AP, the AP continues to rise. Once MP has fallen sufficiently, its value becomes less than the AP and the AP also starts falling. So AP curve is also inverse ‘U’-shaped.” |