How is a production possibilities frontier that illustrates a 1-for-1 trade-off depicted?

A production possibilities frontier (PPF) illustrates the maximum efficient production levels of two goods that an economy can achieve, given the available resources and technology. When the trade-off is described as a 1-for-1 trade-off, it implies that for every unit of one good produced, exactly one unit of the other good must be given up.

This kind of linear relationship is represented graphically by a straight, downward-sloping line. The slope of this line indicates the opportunity cost of producing one good over the other. Since the trade-off is 1-for-1, the slope will be constant, illustrating that the opportunity cost remains the same regardless of the quantity being produced. Each point along the line reflects a different combination of the two goods, maintaining a balance in resource allocation where producing more of one good directly equates to producing less of the other good.

In contrast, an upward-sloping line would suggest that increasing production of one good would require increasing the other good, which contradicts the nature of a trade-off. Vertical and horizontal lines represent situations where one good can be produced without any loss of the other (perfect substitutes) or where production of one good is fixed regardless of the level of the other good, neither of which apply