Question

Define indifference curve .Explain the three properties of indifference curve ​

Answer 1

Answer:

The four properties of indifference curves are: (1) indifference curves can never cross, (2) the farther out an indifference curve lies, the higher the utility it indicates, (3) indifference curves always slope downwards, and (4) indifference curves are convex.

Answer 2

In economics, an indifference curve connects points on a graph representing different quantities of two goods, points between which a consumer is indifferent. In other words, an indifference curve is the locus of various points showing different combinations of two goods providing equal utility to the consumer.

Property I. Indifference curves slope downward to the right:

This property implies that an indifference curve has a negative slope.

This property follows from assumption I. Indifference curve being downward sloping means that when the amount of one good in the combination is increased, the amount of the other good is reduced. This must be so if the level of satisfaction is to remain the same on an indifference curve.

Property II: Indifference curves are convex to the origin:

Another important property of indifference curves is that they are usually convex to the origin. In other words, the indifference curve is relatively flatter in its right-hand portion and relatively steeper in its left-hand portion.

Property III: Indifference curves cannot intersect each other:

Third important property of indifference curves is that they cannot intersect each other In other words only one indifference curve will pass through a point in the indifference map 1 his property can be easily proved by first making the two indifference curves cut each other and then showing the absurdity or self-contradictory result it leads to.

Property IV: A higher indifference curve represents a higher level of satisfaction than a lower indifference curve:

The last property of indifference curve is that a higher indifference curve will represent a higher level of satisfaction than a lower indifference curve. In other words, the combinations which lie on a higher indifference curve will be preferred to the combinations which lie on a lower indifference curve.