Which of the following is/are true?(A) MP curve initially rises, reac…

Which of the following is/are true?

(A) MP curve initially rises, reaches a peak, and then falls

(B) AP is an inverse U-shaped curve

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (B) and (C)

All three describe the usual shapes of the product curves when one input changes and the others stay fixed.

(A) MP curve initially rises, reaches a peak, and then falls — True. By the law of variable proportions, MP first rises and then falls, so its curve is inverse U-shaped.

(B) AP is an inverse U-shaped curve — True. AP rises while MP is above it and falls once MP drops below it.

(C) TP is a positively sloping curve — True. More of the variable input gives more output, so TP slopes upward.

NCERT (2026-27): “3.5 Shapes of Total Product, Marginal Product and Average Product Curves An increase in the amount of one of the inputs keeping all other inputs constant results in an increase in output. Table 3.2 shows how the total product changes as the amount of labour increases. The total product curve in the input-output plane is a positively sloped curve. Figure 3.1 shows the shape of the total product curve for a typical firm. …”

“3.5 Shapes of Total Product, Marginal Product and Average Product Curves … According to the law of variable proportions, the marginal product of an input initially rises and then after a certain level of employment, it starts falling. The MP curve therefore, looks like an inverse ‘U’-shaped curve as in figure 3.2.”

“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.”