9 For now, don't worry about what this curve means or why it has this shape. We'll study it in detail in Chapter 5.
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So far all the nonlinear relationships we've seen are either positively or negatively sloped, but sometimes a single relationship can have portions that are negatively sloped, and other portions that are positively sloped. To the right we show what is often called a U-shaped Long Run Average Total Cost curve.9
At lower levels of Q the curve has a negative slope, such as at point A where the slope is - 3/2. However, as Q rises the curve flattens out and at point B the slope is 0 (zero). Then, the curve becomes positively sloped so that at point C the curve has a slope of (positive) 3/2.
9 For now, don't worry about what this curve means or why it has this shape. We'll study it in detail in Chapter 5.
Click Here if you don't see topics listed to the left and below.