Final answer:
In activity-based absorption costing, multiple activity rates are used to assign overhead costs to products. A single activity rate would assign the same rate to all products.
Step-by-step explanation:
In activity-based absorption costing, multiple activity rates are used to assign overhead costs to products. This method recognizes that different products or activities may consume overhead resources at different rates.
By using multiple activity rates, the costs can be more accurately allocated based on the specific activities that drive the overhead costs. For example, if one activity consumes more resources than another, it would be assigned a higher activity rate.
On the other hand, a single activity rate would assign the same rate to all products, regardless of their actual consumption of overhead resources.