Scarcity, opportunity cost, and goods vs services in the ancient world

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Two ancient accounts of one choice

   Columns Account | Money came from | Choice | Ships built: Herodotus, Histories, Book 7, ch. 144 | mines at Laurium | 10 drachmae for each man, or ships | 200 ships; Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution, ch. 22 | mines at Maroneia (profit of 100 talents) | share it among the people, or ships | 100 triremes. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Athens and the mine silver": [1] Mines in Attica earn Athens a large sum of silver; [2] The silver can be shared among the people or spent on ships; [3] The same silver cannot do both; [4] Themistocles persuades Athens to build ships; [5] The payment to each man is given up: this is the opportunity cost; [6] The ships are later at Salamis in 480 BCE. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5, 4 → 6. Below the chain: the two accounts give different numbers of ships, 200 and 100, so sources differ. A trireme was a warship rowed by 170 rowers, and it was costly to keep. Sources: Herodotus, tr. A. D. Godley (1920); Aristotle, tr. F. G. Kenyon (1891); PBS, The Greeks.

2. 1.

   What could Athens do with the silver, by Noah's chain?

   • Spend it on ships and on shares together
   • Share it or spend it on ships
   • Spend it on walls
   • Share it or bury it in the mines
3. 2.

   When are the ships later at Salamis, by Ren's chain?

   • 200 BCE
   • 480 CE
   • 480 BCE
   • 100 BCE
4. 3.

   What is the opportunity cost of building the ships, Tala asks?

   • The payments to each man
   • The mines in Attica
   • The ships themselves
   • Nothing, since silver was free
5. 4.

   Why did Athens face scarcity here, Ari asks?

   • Ships cost nothing to build
   • Silver was not a resource for Athens
   • Athens had no silver left in its mines
   • The same silver could not do both
6. 5.

   What was an effect of Athens choosing ships, Bo asks?

   • Athens sold the ships at once
   • Each man received 10 drachmae at once
   • The ships were later at Salamis
   • The mines closed for good
7. 6.

   What started the choice in Esme's chain?

   • A shortage of rowers
   • A vote to close the mines
   • A large sum of silver from the mines
   • A fleet that was already built and ready to sail
8. 7.

   Which box in Jun's chain leads to two boxes?

   • The payment to each man is given up
   • Mines in Attica earn Athens a large sum of silver
   • Themistocles persuades Athens to build ships
   • The same silver cannot do both
9. 8.

   Why does the table give two numbers of ships, Kira asks?

   • The table adds the two numbers
   • Athens built both 100 and 200 ships
   • One account is a misprint, so 200 counts
   • The accounts differ: 200 and 100
10. 9.

    Which sentence about the ships is careful, Luz asks?

    • Athens built ships, but accounts differ on number
    • Athens built exactly 100 ships, as one account says
    • Athens built exactly 200 ships, as one account says
    • Athens chose to share the silver and built no ships
11. 10.

    Do both accounts agree on what Athens chose, Milo asks?

    • Yes: both say the mines closed
    • No: one says shares, one says ships
    • Yes: shares instead of ships
    • Yes: ships instead of shares