Distribution of Output per Worker

A manager at a manufacturing plant observes that after hiring a tenth worker, the total daily output increased by 50 units. However, after hiring an eleventh worker, the total daily output increased by only 45 units. This observation of changing output per additional worker directly conflicts with which foundational assumption of a simplified production model?

Analyzing Production Data

Calculating Output in a Simplified Economy

A simplified economic model assumes that labor is the only input for production and that each worker contributes the same, constant amount to the total output, regardless of how many workers are employed. Which of the following graphs best illustrates the relationship between the total number of workers employed (horizontal axis) and the total output produced (vertical axis) based on these assumptions?

In a simplified economic model where labor is the only production input and output per worker is assumed to be constant, hiring additional workers will cause the average output per worker for the entire workforce to decrease.

A simplified economic model of production is based on two key ideas: 1) The total quantity of goods produced depends only on the number of people employed, and 2) Each person employed produces a constant, unchanging quantity of goods. A small factory operates according to this model, with each of its 5 workers producing 10 widgets per day, for a total of 50 widgets. The factory owner then invests in new, more efficient machinery. Now, the same 5 workers can produce a total of 75 widgets per day. Which of the model's two key ideas is most directly contradicted by this outcome?

Evaluating a Simplified Production Model

Evaluating Investment Strategies

Model Prediction vs. Reality

A simplified economic model of production is built on the core ideas that output depends only on the number of workers, and that the output produced per worker is constant. Given these ideas, which of the following tables showing the relationship between the number of workers and total daily output is consistent with the model?