Final answer:
The terms 'increase' and 'decrease' have specific meanings in economics, relating to shifts in the supply and demand curves and the relationship between price and the quantity demanded. Decreases and increases in price have related effects on quantity demanded through the substitution and income effects. A product with elastic demand shows that a small increase in price can lead to a larger decrease in quantity demanded.
Step-by-step explanation:
The opposite of 'increase' is 'decrease' in the context of economics, particularly when discussing supply and demand curves. For instance, if the quantity demanded of a product decreases, this is represented by a leftward shift on the demand curve. Conversely, if there is an increase in quantity demanded, it is shown as a rightward shift. The relationship between a commodity's price and its quantity demanded is often negative, meaning if the price increases, the quantity demanded typically decreases, and vice versa. Furthermore, when discussing the effects of price changes on demand, we consider the substitution effect and the income effect. The substitution effect implies that consumers will buy more of a cheaper product and less of other more expensive products. The income effect suggests that a decrease in price increases the consumer's purchasing power, allowing them to buy more. When a product with an elastic demand experiences a price increase, the percent decrease in quantity demanded is greater than the percent of the price increase, illustrating the high sensitivity of demand to price changes.
A graph with a negative slope visualizes the inverse relationship between two variables; for example, a higher price typically results in a lower quantity demanded. This negative slope can be observed in various contexts, including how altitude affects air density—the higher the altitude, the lower the density. These concepts are foundational in understanding market dynamics and consumer behavior.