Question

Match List-I with List-II. 

List-I	List-II
(A) Marginal product is maximum	(I) Total product is maximum
(B) Marginal product is zero	(II) Total product increases at constant rate
(C) Marginal product decreases	(III) Inflection point of total product curve
(D) Marginal product is constant	(IV) Total product increases at decreasing rate

Choose the correct answer from the options given below.

• (A) - (III), (B) - (II), (C) - (I), (D) - (IV)
• (A) - (II), (B) - (IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (III)
• (A) - (I), (B) - (II), (C) - (IV), (D) - (III)
• (A) - (III), (B) - (I), (C) - (IV), (D) - (II)

Hint:

Key relationships to memorize:
- Max MP \(\rightarrow\) Inflection point of TP.
- Zero MP \(\rightarrow\) Maximum TP.
- Decreasing (but positive) MP \(\rightarrow\) TP increases at a decreasing rate.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
In agricultural economics, the Law of Variable Proportions (or the law of diminishing returns) describes the relationship between a variable input and the resulting output (Total Product, TP).
This relationship is defined by key points on the Total Product (TP), Average Product (AP), and Marginal Product (MP) curves.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us analyze the relationships between Marginal Product (MP) and Total Product (TP):
- (A) Marginal product is maximum \(\rightarrow\) (III) Inflection point of total product curve:
The inflection point is the point on the TP curve where the rate of growth changes from increasing to decreasing.
At this precise point, the slope of the TP curve (which represents the marginal product, \(MP = \frac{d(TP)}{dx}\)) is at its maximum.
- (B) Marginal product is zero \(\rightarrow\) (I) Total product is maximum:
When adding an additional unit of input yields no extra output (\(MP = 0\)), the Total Product reaches its peak value.
Beyond this point, MP becomes negative, and TP begins to decline.
- (C) Marginal product decreases \(\rightarrow\) (IV) Total product increases at decreasing rate:
When MP starts to decline but is still positive, each additional unit of input contributes less to the total output than the previous unit.
As a result, TP continues to rise, but at a decreasing rate.
- (D) Marginal product is constant \(\rightarrow\) (II) Total product increases at constant rate:
If the addition of each extra unit of input yields the same amount of additional output, the TP curve increases linearly at a constant rate.
This matches the sequence: (A) - (III), (B) - (I), (C) - (IV), (D) - (II), which corresponds to Option (D).

Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct matching is represented by Option (D).