All pairs of quantities from which a consumer derives equal satisfaction can be plotted on__________?

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which graph shows all combinations (pairs) of two goods that give a consumer the same level of satisfaction.

Step 2: Explain the concept In consumer theory (ordinal utility approach), an indifference curve is a curve showing all combinations of two goods that give a consumer equal satisfaction (utility). Because every point on the curve gives the same satisfaction, the consumer is "indifferent" between the combinations.

Key features:

• Slopes downward from left to right
• Convex to the origin (because of the diminishing marginal rate of substitution)
• Higher curves represent higher satisfaction
• Two indifference curves never intersect

Step 3: Check each option

• A. Indifference curve: Shows combinations of two goods giving equal satisfaction. ✔
• B. Exceptional demand curve: This is a demand curve that slopes upward, as with Giffen goods or prestige goods. It has nothing to do with equal satisfaction. ✘
• C. Budget line: Shows combinations of goods a consumer can afford with a given income and prices. It is about cost, not satisfaction. ✘
• D. Isoquant map: Shows combinations of inputs (labour and capital) that give the same level of output for a producer. This is a production concept, not a consumer one. ✘

Step 4: Answer The correct option is A. An indifference curve.

Exam tip: Remember the pairs:

• Indifference curve → Consumer → equal satisfaction
• Isoquant → Producer → equal output
• Budget line → Consumer → affordability (income constraint)

"Iso" means equal, and the isoquant is the producer's counterpart of the consumer's indifference curve.