The following table illustrates the points a student can

earn on examinations in economics and biology if the
student uses all available hours for study.
Economics Biology
100 40
90 50
80 60
70 70
60 80
50 90
40 100
Plot this student’s production possibilities curve.
Does the PPC illustrate increasing or decreasing opportunity
costs?

decreasing

To plot the student's production possibilities curve (PPC), we will use the given points and create a graph.

Let's plot the points on a graph where the x-axis represents Economics points and the y-axis represents Biology points:

Points:
(100, 40)
(90, 50)
(80, 60)
(70, 70)
(60, 80)
(50, 90)
(40, 100)

Now, let's plot these points on the graph:

100
|
|
| /
| /
| /
| /
| /
|/
-----------------------------------
40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Economics Points

Biology Points

After plotting the points, we can connect them to form a curve. The curve represents the student's production possibilities curve (PPC).

Now, let's analyze if the PPC illustrates increasing or decreasing opportunity costs.

As we move along the PPC from left to right, the student is sacrificing more and more points in Economics to gain additional points in Biology. This implies that the opportunity cost of gaining Biology points is decreasing, while the opportunity cost of gaining Economics points is increasing.

Therefore, the PPC illustrates increasing opportunity costs.

To plot the student's production possibilities curve (PPC), which shows the different combinations of points the student can earn in economics and biology exams, we can use a graph with Economics on the X-axis and Biology on the Y-axis.

To plot the points, we can assign the Economics scores as the X-coordinates and Biology scores as the Y-coordinates. Considering the given data, the points would be:

(100, 40)
(90, 50)
(80, 60)
(70, 70)
(60, 80)
(50, 90)
(40, 100)

Plotting these points on a graph will give us the student's production possibilities curve.

Now, to determine whether the PPC illustrates increasing or decreasing opportunity costs, we need to observe the trade-off between Economics and Biology scores as the student shifts their focus or study time between the two subjects.

If the opportunity cost of increasing Biology scores (moving from left to right on the PPC) becomes higher, we would have increasing opportunity costs. Conversely, if the opportunity cost of increasing Economics scores (moving from bottom to top on the PPC) becomes higher, we would have decreasing opportunity costs.

Looking at the points, we can see that as the student moves from higher Biology scores to higher Economics scores, the opportunity cost in terms of Biology scores increases. For example, going from (90, 50) to (80, 60), the student gains 10 points in Economics for a loss of 10 points in Biology. However, going from (60, 80) to (50, 90), the student gains 10 points in Economics for a loss of 10 points in Biology as well.

This indicates that the PPC illustrates increasing opportunity costs, as the student needs to give up more and more Biology points to gain the same increment in Economics points.