What does a supply curve show?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The law of supply states that producers will offer more of a good at higher prices, so...

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Law of supply: ceteris paribus, price and quantity supplied are positively related.  
- Supply curve: graphical representation with price on the vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal axis; it slopes upward.  
- Quantity supplied vs. supply: a movement along the supply curve (change in quantity supplied) is caused by price changes; a shift of the supply curve is caused by non-price factors (technology, input costs, taxes, etc.).

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- Draw axes: vertical = price (P), horizontal = quantity (Q).  
- For a typical upward-sloping supply curve, pick two points: at P1 < P2, the corresponding quantities are Q1 < Q2.  
- Moving from (P1, Q1) to (P2, Q2) shows that as P increases, Q supplied increases — this is a positive relationship.

3. Calculations / intermediate steps
- No numerical calculation is required here. The intermediate logical step is: higher price → higher potential revenue per unit → greater incentive to produce/sell → increase in quantity supplied. This reasoning underlies the upward slope.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- Answer b (“A positive relationship between price and quantity supplied”) directly matches the law of supply and the upward-sloping supply curve: price rises lead to increases in quantity supplied, all else equal.

5. Why the other options are incorrect
- a. “A positive relationship between price and quantity demanded” is incorrect because demand typically shows an inverse (negative) relationship between price and quantity demanded.  
- c. “A negative relationship between price and quantity demanded” correctly describes demand, not supply, so it does not answer the question about a supply curve.  
- d. “A negative relationship between price and quantity supplied” is the opposite of the law of supply and therefore incorrect.

6. Conclusion
- The supply curve shows a positive relationship between price and quantity supplied; this confirms the correct answer is b.

What does a supply curve show?单项选择题

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