Last time we learned about demand and supply curves. Now let's build your first demand curve from actual data!

Imagine you survey 100 people: "How many coffees would you buy per week at different prices?" You get real numbers to work with.

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Ready to turn data into your first demand curve?

Here's what your coffee survey data might look like:

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What pattern do you notice as price drops?

To build your demand curve, plot each price-quantity pair as a point on a graph. Price goes on the vertical axis, quantity on the horizontal axis.

So you'd plot: ($5, 1), ($4, 2), ($3, 4), ($2, 6), ($1, 10).

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Which way does the pattern slope—upward or downward?

Connect these points with a smooth line and voilà - you've built a demand curve! The line slopes downward from left to right, showing the inverse relationship between price and quantity.

This is your first real demand curve from actual data.

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What does the downward slope tell you about buyer behavior?

This pattern has a name: the Law of Demand. It states that when price increases, quantity demanded decreases (and vice versa), all else being equal.

Notice that key phrase: "all else being equal." That's crucial for understanding demand curves.