Build and check a monthly budget
Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Use this
Card A. Compare chart "Prices and average hourly pay" (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U and average hourly earnings, annual averages, through FRED, retrieved Nov 14, 2026), columns Year | CPI-U (1982–84 = 100) | Average hourly pay | Pay in 2019 dollars | Pay in 2021 dollars: 2019 | 255.657 | $28.00 | $28.00 | $29.68; 2020 | 258.811 | $29.36 | $29.00 | $30.74; 2021 | 270.970 | $30.61 | $28.88 | $30.61; 2022 | 292.655 | $32.26 | $28.18 | $29.87; 2023 | 304.702 | $33.70 | $28.28 | $29.97; 2024 | 313.689 | $35.06 | $28.57 | $30.29. Note: pay is the average hourly earnings of all private-sector employees. The last two columns were calculated for this sheet by multiplying pay by the 2019 or 2021 CPI-U and dividing by that year's CPI-U.
Milo reads card A. A 2019 job paid $28.00 an hour. Which 2024 wage keeps its buying power, and what does it show?
- $35.06, since the average pay is the wage the 2019 job should now pay
- $28.00 is enough, because a dollar of pay is worth the same in any year
- About $34.36; the 2024 average of $35.06 is just above that wage
- $44.24, since the index rose 58 points and the wage should rise 58 percent
A writer claims real pay fell from 2021 to 2024. Noah tests the claim with card A. What is the verdict?
- Supported: each worker's buying power fell between 2021 and 2024, just as the average pay did
- Supported: pay rose about 14.5 percent, prices about 15.8, so real pay slipped about 1 percent
- Supported: pay fell in 2022 and 2023, which pulled the average down
- Not supported: pay rose from $30.61 to $35.06, so workers could buy more
Pia reads card A, where a union quotes real pay in 2019 dollars and an employer in 2021 dollars. Which statement holds?
- Both show real pay down about 1 percent; the base year changes the dollar amounts, not the change
- The two quotes use different dollars, so one of them must be wrong about what happened to real pay
- The union's figures show a bigger fall, because 2019 is the older base year
- The employer's figures are the real ones, since they match the 2021 pay of $30.61
Ren sees that real pay in 2021 dollars rose from $29.68 in 2019 to $30.74 in 2020. Which claim is best supported?
- Real pay fell in 2020, since prices rose 1.2 percent that year
- Average real pay jumped in 2020, but card A cannot tell raises from a change in who had jobs
- Workers received a real raise of about 3.6 percent in 2020
- The 2020 jump shows that the downturn itself raised wages, as pay rose while many firms cut jobs
Use this
Card A. Compare chart "What each outing is worth to Sam" (made up for practice), columns Outing | Worth to Sam: 1st | $30; 2nd | $22; 3rd | $15; 4th | $9; 5th | $4. Note: made up for practice. Each outing costs $12, and the fun budget is $60.
Tala buys outings at $12 each. Using card A, how many outings should Tala choose?
- Three: the 3rd is worth $15 for $12, but the 4th is worth only $9 for $12
- Four: through four outings the total worth, $76, is above their $48 cost
- Five: the $60 budget pays for five outings, and their total worth is $80
- Two: stop at the last outing worth nearly twice its cost
The price of an outing rises to $18. Using card A, how many outings should Zee now choose?
- Three: the first three outings together are worth $67, above their $54 cost
- Three: the 3rd is worth $15, close enough to the $18 price
- Two: the 2nd is worth $22 for $18, but the 3rd is worth only $15 for $18
- One: the 1st outing is worth the most, so it is the only one to buy
A coupon cuts each outing to $6. Using card A, how many outings should Ari choose?
- Five: a cheaper outing makes each outing worth more to Sam
- Four: the 4th is worth $9 for $6, but the 5th is worth only $4 for $6
- Five: half-price means the $60 budget buys ten, so all five are worth it
- Three: a coupon does not change how many outings are worth buying
Bo claims that spending the whole $60 on five outings must leave Sam better off than stopping sooner. Using card A, what is the verdict?
- Not supported: five outings net below zero, since the 4th and 5th are worth less than $12 each
- Not supported: five outings net $20 ($80 of worth less $60), but three net $31 ($67 less $36)
- Supported: five outings give the largest total worth, $80
- Supported: a budget is meant to be spent, so unspent money is wasted
Use this
Card A. Compare chart "A market for one good, per week" (made up for practice), columns Price | Quantity buyers want | Quantity sellers offer: $3 | 90 | 0; $4 | 80 | 20; $5 | 70 | 40; $6 | 60 | 60; $7 | 50 | 80; $8 | 40 | 100; $9 | 30 | 120. Note: invented market, made up for practice. With no tax, the market settles where the two quantities are equal. Card B, "A $3 tax" (made up). The town charges sellers a tax of $3 on each unit sold. Buyers then pay a price; sellers keep that price minus $3. After the tax, buyers want to buy exactly as many units as sellers will offer at the price sellers keep. Card C, "A register tax" (made up). Suppose the town charged the $3 to buyers at the register instead. Sellers would keep the shelf price, and buyers would pay the shelf price plus $3.
Esme applies card B to card A. After the $3 tax, what do buyers pay and what do sellers keep per unit?
- Buyers pay $8, up $2, and sellers keep $5, down $1, with 40 units sold
- Buyers pay $6 and sellers keep $3, because the law charges sellers the tax
- Buyers pay $9, up $3, and sellers keep $6, because price rises by the whole tax
- Buyers pay $7.50 and sellers keep $4.50, which splits the tax evenly
A council member says charging the $3 to buyers at the register would put the burden on sellers instead. Luz tests it with cards A to C. What is the verdict?
- Not supported: buyers would pay $11 in all, since $8 plus the $3 tax is $11
- Supported: the town would collect $120 from buyers instead of from sellers
- Supported: with the tax at the register, sellers keep the old $6 and buyers pay $9 in all, a $3 gap
- Not supported: with the tax at the register, buyers still pay $8 in all and sellers still keep $5