The Production Function: Total
Product (TP), Average Product (AP), and Marginal Product
(MP)
NOTICE:
The marginal is the slope
of the total.
The slope of the TP curve gets
bigger (steeper) at first then it gets smaller and
smaller (less steep) as the quantity of the resources
increases. At the same time MU at first goes up then gets
less and less. At its peak the slope of the TP curve is
zero and at this quantity MP is zero (it crosses the X
axis). MP is at its highest when TP is at its steepest
point.
MP crosses AP when AP is at its
peak. Another way of saying this is when MP is above AP,
then AP is increasing. When MP is below AP then AP is
decreasing.
Which graph below is drawn
correctly?
|
