Which one of the following is not the basic property of indifference curves?

Correct option is B

The correct answer is (b) Indifference curves of two imperfect substitutes are concave to the point of origin.
Standard indifference curves represent the trade-off between two goods while maintaining the same level of utility. For imperfect substitutes, these curves are convex to the origin, not concave. This convexity reflects the Law of Diminishing Marginal Rate of Substitution (MRS): as a consumer consumes more of one good, they are willing to give up less of the other good to maintain the same satisfaction level.
Information Booster
· MRS: The slope of the IC is the MRSxy = ΔY/Δ X.
· Monotonicity: Higher curves represent more goods, which implies higher utility.
· Non-Intersection: If curves crossed, it would violate the principle of transitivity in consumer preferences.
· Negative Slope: To keep utility constant, increasing one good requires decreasing the other.
Additional Knowledge
· Negative slope ( a) is a core property because goods are assumed to have positive marginal utility.
· Non-intersection ( c) ensures logical consistency in rankings.
· Higher levels of satisfaction ( d) is the result of the "more is better" assumption. If an IC is concave, it would imply an increasing MRS, which is behaviorally unrealistic for standard substitutes.