Final answer:
A rise in a firm's break-even point could be caused by an 1) increase in fixed costs. Decreasing variable costs, increasing the selling price, or increasing production volume would decrease the break-even point.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reason that a firm's break-even point may rise is due to an increase in fixed costs. Fixed costs are expenses that do not change regardless of the level of production. When fixed costs increase, the break-even point increases because the firm needs to sell more units to cover its expenses and reach the break-even point.
On the other hand, a decrease in variable costs, an increase in selling price, or an increase in production volume would all decrease the break-even point. Variable costs are expenses that change as production increases or decreases.
When variable costs decrease, the break-even point decreases because the firm needs to sell fewer units to cover its expenses. Increasing the selling price or production volume would also decrease the break-even point because each unit sold would contribute more to covering the fixed costs and reaching the break-even point.