Which of the following is true about a monopolist's demand curve?

A monopolist's demand curve slopes downward, reflecting the unique market position held by the monopolist. Unlike firms in perfect competition, which can sell an infinite quantity at the market price, a monopolist faces the market demand curve directly. This means that to sell additional units of the product, the monopolist must lower the price, which results in a downward-sloping demand. This characteristic indicates that as the price decreases, the quantity demanded by consumers increases, demonstrating the inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded that is typical in demand theory.

In contrast, a perfectly elastic demand curve reflects a situation where a firm can sell as much as it wants at a particular market price without affecting that price, which does not apply to a monopolist. A demand curve that is independent of price would imply that quantity demanded does not change with price fluctuations, which is not the case for a monopolist. Likewise, a demand curve that reflects perfect competition conditions would not slope downwards because many firms would share the same market price, leading to a horizontal demand curve for each firm. Thus, the nature of a monopolist's demand curve is distinct and fundamentally linked to its price-setting power in the market.