Part of: Miscellaneous Indian Gk set 368

If the price of an article increases by 50%, then quantity bought at same price decreases by?

Category: Miscellaneous Indian Gk

Hint: Consider the relationship between price and quantity in a budget constraint.

Correct Answer: A) 33.33 %.

Exam Relevance: UPSC, SSC, Banking Exams, MBA Entrance

Difficulty: Moderate

Explanations:

In economics, the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded is often inversely proportional. This means that as the price of a good increases, the quantity that can be bought with a fixed budget decreases. This concept is fundamental to understanding consumer behavior and market dynamics.

Let's consider the scenario where the price of an article increases by 50%. If the original price of the article is \( P \), the new price becomes \( 1.5P \). Suppose the initial quantity that could be bought with a fixed budget \( B \) is \( Q \). The relationship between price and quantity can be expressed as:

\[ \text{Initial Condition: } P \times Q = B \]

After the price increase, the new quantity \( Q' \) that can be bought with the same budget \( B \) is given by:

\[ 1.5P \times Q' = B \]

Since the budget \( B \) remains the same, we can equate the two expressions:

\[ P \times Q = 1.5P \times Q' \]

Dividing both sides by \( P \) and \( 1.5 \), we get:

\[ Q' = \frac{Q}{1.5} = \frac{2}{3}Q \]

This means the new quantity \( Q' \) is \( \frac{2}{3} \) of the original quantity \( Q \). The decrease in quantity is therefore:

\[ Q - Q' = Q - \frac{2}{3}Q = \frac{1}{3}Q \]

Expressing this as a percentage, the decrease is:

\[ \frac{1}{3} \times 100\% = 33.33\% \]

Thus, when the price of an article increases by 50%, the quantity that can be bought with the same budget decreases by 33.33%. This inverse relationship is a key concept in economics and helps in understanding how changes in price affect consumer purchasing power.

Option Analysis:
  • Option A: This option is correct. When the price of an article increases by 50%, the quantity that can be bought with the same amount of money decreases by 33.33%. This is because the new price is 1.5 times the original price, and the quantity that can be bought is the reciprocal of this factor, which is 1/1.5 or 2/3, a decrease of 1/3 or 33.33%.
  • Option B: This option is incorrect. The decrease in quantity is not 42.56%. The correct calculation shows that a 50% increase in price leads to a 33.33% decrease in quantity.
  • Option C: This option is incorrect. The decrease in quantity is not 28%. The correct calculation shows that a 50% increase in price leads to a 33.33% decrease in quantity.
  • Option D: This option is incorrect. The correct answer is not "NOTA" (None of the Above) because the correct answer is provided in Option A.

Mnemonic: Price up, quantity down; think of a seesaw.

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