A small manufacturing firm has two products that are produced using its in house 3-D printers. The budget and time constraints for this process give the production possibilities curve that is defined by the table below. If the company is currently producing 30 units of product A and 39 units of product B, can the production of product B be increased? Explain

Question

Product A
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Product B
51 50 46 39 29 16 0.

(1 point)
Responses

No, the point is already on the production possibilities curve.
No, the point is already on the production possibilities curve.

Yes, the production of product B can be increased up to 60 by decreasing the volume for product A.
Yes, the production of product B can be increased up to 60 by decreasing the volume for product A.

Yes, the production of product B can be increased up to 51 by decreasing the volume for product A.
Yes, the production of product B can be increased up to 51 by decreasing the volume for product A.

Yes, the production of product B can be increased to whatever value is desired.

Answer 1

To determine whether the production of product B can be increased, we need to look at the current production levels and the corresponding points on the production possibilities curve (PPC).

According to the table provided:

• At 30 units of product A, the production of product B is currently at 39 units.
• The production possibilities curve shows that at 30 units of product A, the maximum that can be produced for product B is 39 units.

Since the company is already producing 39 units of product B at 30 units of product A, and because any increase in the production of product B would require decreasing the production of product A (as represented by the PPC), the correct conclusion is:

No, the point is already on the production possibilities curve.

Thus, the production of product B cannot be increased without reducing the quantity of product A. So the answer is:

No, the point is already on the production possibilities curve.