Scarcity, opportunity cost, and goods vs services in the ancient world
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Jun reads the word scarcity. What does it mean?
- A city is too poor to buy anything
- Anything that costs a coin
- People want nothing more than they have
- Wants are greater than the resources available
Kira reads the word resource. What is a resource?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Workers or stone used to make things
- A wish for something new
- Something that cannot be used
- A loaf of bread on a table
Orlath ranks a canal, a wall and a gate in that order. What is the opportunity cost of the canal, Luz asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The gate, its third choice
- The wall and the gate, both given up
- The wall alone, its second choice
- The coins and stone spent
What does Orlath have only enough of, in Milo's chain?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Grain for a whole year
- Coins for ten projects
- Workers and stone for three projects
- Workers and stone for one project
Which project does Orlath choose, by Noah's chain?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The canal
- The canal, the wall and the gate
- Neither one
- The wall
What does Orlath give up, in Pia's chain?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The wall
- The stone and the workers
- The gate
- The canal
Ren's chain has a blank: what must Orlath do when it cannot build all three?
Table "Orlath's workers (invented city)" (an example, made up for practice), columns Worker | What the worker provides: a potter | clay jars; a ferry worker | rides across the river; a baker | loaves of bread; a weaver | cloth. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Orlath's choice (invented city)": [1] Orlath has only enough workers and stone for one big project this year; [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order; [3] ?; [4] Orlath chooses the canal; [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost. Arrows: 1 → 3, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. The box marked ? is blank. Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. Table "Orlath's workers (invented city)" (an example, made up for practice), columns Worker | What the worker provides: a potter | clay jars; a ferry worker | rides across the river; a baker | loaves of bread; a weaver | cloth. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Orlath's choice (invented city)": [1] Orlath has only enough workers and stone for one big project this year; [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order; [3] ?; [4] Orlath chooses the canal; [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost. Arrows: 1 → 3, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. The box marked ? is blank. Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. Orlath's choice (invented city) [1] Orlath has only enough workers and stone for one big project this year [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order [3] ? [4] Orlath chooses the canal [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. - Build three projects anyway
- Choose one project
- Wait for stone to appear
- Build nothing for years
Zee's chain has a blank: what is true of Orlath's workers and stone?
Table "Orlath's workers (invented city)" (an example, made up for practice), columns Worker | What the worker provides: a potter | clay jars; a ferry worker | rides across the river; a baker | loaves of bread; a weaver | cloth. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Orlath's choice (invented city)": [1] ?; [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order; [3] Orlath cannot build all three, so it must choose; [4] Orlath chooses the canal; [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost. Arrows: 1 → 3, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. The box marked ? is blank. Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. Table "Orlath's workers (invented city)" (an example, made up for practice), columns Worker | What the worker provides: a potter | clay jars; a ferry worker | rides across the river; a baker | loaves of bread; a weaver | cloth. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Orlath's choice (invented city)": [1] ?; [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order; [3] Orlath cannot build all three, so it must choose; [4] Orlath chooses the canal; [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost. Arrows: 1 → 3, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. The box marked ? is blank. Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. Orlath's choice (invented city) [1] ? [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order [3] Orlath cannot build all three, so it must choose [4] Orlath chooses the canal [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. - More than the city can use
- Enough for one big project
- Nothing, so Orlath is poor
- Enough for each project it wants
Table "Orlath's workers (invented city)" (an example, made up for practice), columns Worker | What the worker provides: a potter | clay jars; a ferry worker | rides across the river; a baker | loaves of bread; a weaver | cloth. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Orlath's choice (invented city)": [1] Orlath has only enough workers and stone for one big project this year; [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order; [3] Orlath cannot build all three, so it must choose; [4] Orlath chooses the canal; [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost. Arrows: 1 → 3, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. Table "Orlath's workers (invented city)" (an example, made up for practice), columns Worker | What the worker provides: a potter | clay jars; a ferry worker | rides across the river; a baker | loaves of bread; a weaver | cloth. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Orlath's choice (invented city)": [1] Orlath has only enough workers and stone for one big project this year; [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order; [3] Orlath cannot build all three, so it must choose; [4] Orlath chooses the canal; [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost. Arrows: 1 → 3, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. Orlath's choice (invented city) [1] Orlath has only enough workers and stone for one big project this year [2] Orlath wants a canal, a wall and a gate, and ranks them in that order [3] Orlath cannot build all three, so it must choose [4] Orlath chooses the canal [5] The wall, the next-best choice, is given up: this is the opportunity cost Below the chain: Orlath is an invented city, made up to show how a choice works. A resource is anything used to make goods or give services. In Ari's table, what does the ferry worker provide?
- A service: work done for others
- A want: a wish for more
- A resource: stone or wood
- A good: a thing people can hold
In Bo's table, what does the potter provide?
Use the picture in question 9.
- A good: a thing people can hold
- A service: work done for others
- A resource: stone or wood
- A want: a wish for more