Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: The quantity demanded of the product decreases.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Microeconomics studies how consumers and producers behave in markets. One of its most fundamental ideas is the law of demand, which explains how the quantity demanded of a good responds to changes in its price. This question asks you to apply that law to a situation where the price of a product rises while all other conditions stay the same.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- The focus is on a single product in a particular market.- The price of the product increases.- All other factors such as income, tastes and prices of related goods are assumed constant (the ceteris paribus assumption).- We need to identify what typically happens to demand or supply under these conditions.
Concept / Approach:
The law of demand states that, other things being equal, there is an inverse relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded. When price rises, the quantity demanded normally falls because some consumers can no longer afford the product or switch to alternatives. This change is represented as a movement along a given demand curve, not a shift of the curve itself. Supply usually responds in the opposite direction; higher prices can encourage more supply, not less. Therefore the most accurate description is that quantity demanded decreases.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the law of demand: as price increases, quantity demanded decreases, assuming all other factors are constant.Step 2: Examine option A, which states that the quantity demanded of the product decreases. This matches the law of demand directly.Step 3: Examine option B, which claims that the demand curve shifts to the right. A rightward shift indicates higher demand at every price and is caused by changes in income or preferences, not by a price change of the good itself.Step 4: Examine option C, which says the quantity supplied decreases. Under normal conditions, a higher price encourages producers to supply more, not less.Step 5: Examine option D, which suggests consumers become completely insensitive to price changes. That would describe perfectly inelastic demand, which is rare and not a typical outcome of a price increase.Step 6: Conclude that only option A fits standard economic theory.
Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine a simple example like movie tickets. If the price of a ticket doubles while your income and other conditions remain the same, you are likely to watch fewer movies in theatres. That is a practical demonstration of decreasing quantity demanded when price rises. If demand had shifted to the right, you would want to buy more tickets at all prices, which is clearly not the effect of a higher ticket price. Thinking through such real life cases confirms that option A is correct.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The demand curve for the product shifts to the right: Price changes cause movements along a demand curve, not shifts of the curve itself.The quantity supplied of the product decreases: In most markets, higher prices make supplying the good more attractive, so quantity supplied tends to increase, not decrease.Consumers become completely insensitive to price changes in the product: This would mean demand is perfectly inelastic, which is exceptional and not the normal result of a price increase.
Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes mix up movements along a curve with shifts of the curve. Another common confusion is between demand and quantity demanded; demand refers to the entire relationship between price and quantity, while quantity demanded refers to a specific point on this curve. Keeping the ceteris paribus assumption in mind helps you focus on the direct effect of a price change, which is a movement along the curve and an inverse change in quantity demanded.
Final Answer:
When the price of a product rises and other factors remain constant, the typical effect is that the quantity demanded of the product decreases.
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