The consumption of beef, C (in pounds per week per household)is given by the function C = f(I, p), where I is the household income in thousands of dollars per year, and p is the price of beef in dollars per pound. Do you expect $\partial f / \partial p$ to be positive or negative?
A)Negative
B)Positive

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The partial derivative of the function with respect to the price of beef ($\partial f / \partial p$) is expected to be negative because as the price of beef increases, the quantity of beef consumed is likely to decrease, all else being equal. This is consistent with the law of demand in economics.

The Consumption of Beef, C (In Pounds Per Week Per ∂f/∂p\partial f / \partial p∂f/∂p

The Consumption of Beef, C (In Pounds Per Week Per $\partial f / \partial p$