For those that like to challenge convention.

I dare you to put price on the horisontal axis. In most of science, it is typical to have the independent variable on the horizontal axis and the dependent variable on the vertical axis. But in economics, this is often (traditionally?) flipped around. As an economist (Greg Mankiw) writes: "given the way we now teach supply and demand, it makes more sense to have price on the horizontal axis. The price is viewed as the variable that determines quantity supplied and quantity demanded, and we usually put the dependent variable (which here is quantity) on the vertical axis." Similarly, It seems that it was Alfred Marshall who popularized this convention, though possibly he was merely following Cournot. What precisely is the correct historical account for why price is on the vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal? Why does economics deviate from the rest of science with respect to this particular convention? So go for it and see what your Economics tutor has to say (Make sure that you are in the top 25% of the class before coming up with tricks like this!) For more views on the subject go to https://www.quora.com/Is-putting-output-on-the-horizontal-axis-and-price-on-the-vertical-axis-in-economics-an-improper-practice the second reason is more covincing than the first.

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