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7th grade Inflation: why prices rise and what a dollar buys worksheet

6 printable versionsChallenge Me10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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Inflation: why prices rise and what a dollar buys

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    How fast prices rose each year

    (computed from Bureau of Labor Statistics annual averages), columns Year | Rise in the index from the year before: 2020 | 1.2%; 2021 | 4.7%; 2022 | 8.0%; 2023 | 4.1%; 2024 | 2.9%. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Why prices rose fast in 2021 and 2022": [1] shipping and factory delays left fewer goods ready to sell; [2] energy prices rose; [3] people's spending on goods grew quickly; [4] prices rose faster than in the years before. Arrows: 1 → 4, 2 → 4, 3 → 4. Below the chain: economists debate how much each cause added. To slow inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in 2022 and 2023; economists debate the size of the effects.

  2. In Esme's table, how much did prices rise in 2022?

    • 4.7%
    • 258.8%
    • 4.1%
    • 8.0%

  3. In which year shown did prices rise the least, Jun asks?

    • 2022, the year with the biggest rise
    • 2020
    • 2023
    • 2024

  4. In an example, a $50 basket rose by the 2022 rate. About what did it cost after, Luz asks?

    • About $58
    • About $4
    • About $46
    • About $54

  5. Did prices fall in 2023, when the rate dropped to 4.1%, Milo asks?

    • The table does not say
    • No: they rose more slowly
    • Yes: a lower rate means prices fell
    • Yes, by 4.1%

  6. How many causes in the chain point to faster price rises, Noah asks?

    • One, the shipping delays
    • Two
    • Four
    • Three

  7. Which cause in the chain is about having fewer goods to sell, Pia asks?

    • Shipping and factory delays
    • Energy prices rising
    • People's spending growing quickly
    • Prices rising faster

  8. Ren reads the words rate of inflation. What do they mean here?

    • How fast prices rose in a year, as a percent
    • The price index number for one year
    • A bank's interest rate
    • The price of fuel

  9. Why did the Federal Reserve raise interest rates in 2022 and 2023, by the note, Tala asks?

    • To slow inflation
    • To make prices rise faster
    • To lower fuel prices directly
    • To end shipping delays

  10. Which sentence about the Federal Reserve's actions is careful, by the note, Ari asks?

    • The effects are proved to be zero
    • Raising rates ended inflation in one month
    • Economists debate the size of the effects
    • It lowered rates

  11. Bo's note says, "Prices went down in 2024 because the rate fell to 2.9%." Which fix is right?

    • Leave it: prices went down
    • Change it: prices rose 29%
    • Change it: prices rose more slowly
    • Change it: prices stayed the same
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7th grade Inflation: why prices rise and what a dollar buys worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Inflation: why prices rise and what a dollar buys. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can read the Consumer Price Index for 1970 to 2024 and explain why prices rise.
  • I can say what $1 from a past year equals in 2024 dollars and bring a past price to today.
  • I can read yearly inflation rates for 2020 to 2024, tell a rate from a price level, and explain the 2021–2022 rise as economists describe it.

Standard: D2.Eco.5.6-8 (partial)

Common mistakes

Your child chose a claim that says more than the evidence shows. Keep the claim as small as the evidence.

Your child treated a debated idea as settled. When scholars disagree, a careful answer says so.

Your child gave one reason when several worked together. Look for each reason in the chart.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with inflation: why prices rise and what a dollar buys?

Your child chose a claim that says more than the evidence shows. Keep the claim as small as the evidence.

Are these 7th grade social studies worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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