Which of the following statements about a consumer’s indifference map are correct? (Her preferences are monotonic.)
(A) A lower curve can have a bundle with more of both goods than a bundle on a higher curve.
(B) All bundles on any one curve give her the same level of utility.
(C) Two curves of the map can meet at a common bundle.
(D) Bundles on a higher curve are preferred to bundles on a lower curve.
(E) It is a family of indifference curves.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (B), (D) and (E) only
An indifference map is a family of indifference curves. Under monotonic preferences a higher curve is preferred, and two curves never meet.
(A) A lower curve can have a bundle with more of both goods than a bundle on a higher curve. — Incorrect. A bundle with more of both goods is preferred, so it must lie on a higher curve.
(B) All bundles on any one curve give her the same level of utility. — Correct. She is indifferent among them because each gives equal satisfaction.
(C) Two curves of the map can meet at a common bundle. — Incorrect. Two indifference curves never intersect; meeting would give conflicting rankings.
(D) Bundles on a higher curve are preferred to bundles on a lower curve. — Correct. This follows from monotonic preferences.
(E) It is a family of indifference curves. — Correct. This is what an indifference map is.
NCERT (2026-27): “Indifference Map The consumer’s preferences over all the bundles can be represented by a family of indifference curves as shown in Figure 2.5. This is called an indifference map of the consumer. All points on an indifference curve represent bundles which are considered indifferent by the consumer. Monotonicity of preferences imply that between any two indifference curves, the bundles on the one which lies above are preferred to the bundles on the one which lies below.” “2.1.2 Ordinal Utility Analysis … All the points such as A, B, C and D lying on an indifference curve provide the consumer with the same level of satisfaction. …” “3.Two indifference curves never intersect each other: … Thus, it is clear that intersecting indifference curves will lead to conflicting results. Thus, two indifference curves cannot intersect each other.” |