Scarcity means people must choose how to use limited resources. Which step helps a person make a good choice?

A person picks one option and gives up several others. What does the opportunity cost of that decision measure?

Maya has one free hour. She would most like to ride her bike, her next choice is reading a book, and her last choice is drawing. She rides her bike. What is her opportunity cost?

Ben spends his savings on a soccer ball. He would have liked goalie gloves second, and a jump rope third. What is the opportunity cost of the soccer ball?

New England's thin, rocky soil made good farmland hard to find, so many colonists there turned to fishing, shipbuilding, and trade. A shortage of which kind of resource best explains that choice?

A wealthy town has a large budget and plenty of open land. A poorer town nearby has neither. Which statement about scarcity is true of both towns?

A town council can build only one thing on an empty lot. Its first choice is a library, its second choice is a playground, and its third is a parking lot. The council builds the library. What is the opportunity cost?

A dry summer leaves a region with a much smaller apple harvest, while shoppers still want just as many apples as before. What most likely happens to the price of apples?

A colonial shipyard needed timber, saws and hammers, and trained carpenters. The saws and hammers are an example of what kind of resource?

A Southern Colonies planter used one field for tobacco. He would have chosen wheat second, and pasture for cattle third. What was the opportunity cost of growing tobacco?

Why is time a scarce resource even for a person who has plenty of money?

In some colonial settlements coins were scarce, so colonists traded corn or furs directly for the tools they needed. What is this kind of direct trade called?

New England sent dried cod south, and the Southern Colonies sent back rice and indigo. Neither region could easily produce what the other sent. What does this trade best show?

A pioneer family can fit only one large item in the wagon, and they pack the plow. They would have taken a cast-iron stove second and a rocking chair third if there were room. What is the opportunity cost?

True or False: When workers specialize, they usually need to trade with others to get the goods they do not make.

A print shop uses paper, a printing press, and a skilled printer to make books. The skilled printer is an example of what kind of resource?

A country has large amounts of farmland, timber, and oil, yet scarcity still exists there. What best explains why?

In a colonial town, one worker spends the whole day making barrels while another spends it making candles, and then they trade. Each worker producing one kind of good is called what?

A colonial family owns one ox and can plow only one field this spring. They plow the river field. Their second choice was the low meadow and their third the hillside. Why is the hillside NOT their opportunity cost?

A new road lets growers bring many more oranges into a town, and shoppers want the same number of oranges as before. What most likely happens to the price of oranges?

What does scarcity mean in economics?

A family, a bakery, and a town council each have a budget that will not cover everything they want this year. What does this show about scarcity?

Leo has one hour after school. He can either practice soccer or read a book. If he chooses soccer, what is his opportunity cost?

Which is the best example of a choice caused by scarcity?

What is an opportunity cost?

True or False: If a resource is limited, people may need to make trade-offs.

A city wants both a new playground and a library. It could pay for the library too by raising taxes. If it does, what do the people of the city give up?

A bakery has three ovens, six workers, and enough flour for only 50 cupcakes. Customers want 80 cupcakes today. Which resource is scarce?

True or False: Opportunity cost is always measured only in dollars.

Sara has $5. She can buy a notebook or a pack of markers, but not both. This situation shows that Sara has to make a choice because of what?

Why do governments make budgets?

A farmer has one field and can plant either corn or wheat this season. If the farmer plants wheat, the corn is the farmer’s what?

True or False: Barter works only when each person has something the other person wants.

Which situation shows no scarcity?

A school can spend its fundraiser money on new art supplies or new sports equipment. Which question would best help students think about opportunity cost?

True or False: Scarcity is only a problem for people who do not have jobs.

Which example best shows a trade-off?

A family puts part of each paycheck into savings for a vacation next summer. What are they giving up by saving?

A school library has shelf space for 500 new books this year, but the teachers have asked for 900 titles. Why must the librarian choose?

True or False: The choice you make is the same thing as the opportunity cost.