Which of the following is a characteristic of the demand curve in microeconomics?

• A. It is always a vertical line, indicating that quantity demanded does not change with price.
• B. It always slopes upward, showing a direct relationship between price and quantity demanded.
• C. It typically slopes downward from left to right, indicating an inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded.
• D. It represents the relationship between supply and price.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the demand curve in microeconomics represents the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded by consumers.
2. Recall the Law of Demand, which states that, ceteris paribus (all else equal), when the price of a good increases, the quantity demanded decreases, and vice versa.
3. Recognize that this inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded causes the demand curve to slope downward from left to right on a graph where the vertical axis is price and the horizontal axis is quantity demanded.
4. Eliminate options that contradict this principle: a vertical line would mean quantity demanded does not change with price, and an upward slope would imply a direct relationship, both of which are inconsistent with the Law of Demand.
5. Note that the demand curve does not represent the relationship between supply and price; that is the role of the supply curve.