Nicolaus Steno Argued in His Preliminary Discourse to a Dissertation

question 52

Multiple Choice

Nicolaus Steno argued in his Preliminary Discourse to a Dissertation on a Solid Body Naturally Contained within a Solid (1669) that fossils came to be laid down inside solid rock because the fossils:

• A) had grown inside the rock, a common opinion of the time.
• B) were older; the rock was originally laid down as a liquid, solidifying around the fossils.
• C) were younger; they became trapped inside the rock after the rock had already solidified from its liquid state.
• D) and the rock were the same age, both forming together at the same time.

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Definitions:

P < AVC

A condition where the price (P) of a good is less than the average variable cost (AVC), indicating a firm is not covering its variable costs and may cease production in the short run.

Average Total Cost

Average Total Cost is the total cost of production divided by the quantity produced, encompassing both fixed and variable costs.

Profit-maximizing

A process or strategy that firms employ to determine the price and output level that leads to the highest profit.

Short Run

A period during which at least one factor of production is fixed and cannot be changed, influencing a firm's capacity to alter production levels.