Supply, demand and price: shortages and surpluses

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Pepper wanted at 4 coins a pound

   (example data, made up for practice), columns When | Pounds buyers want | Pounds sellers offer: before the fashion | 600 | 600; after the fashion | 800 | 600. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "A change in demand (an example)": [1] a new fashion for spicy food makes more people want pepper; [2] demand rises; [3] at the old price, buyers want more than sellers offer: a shortage; [4] the price tends to rise; [5] a higher price leads sellers to offer more. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4, 4 → 5. Below the chain: "tends to" means this is what usually happens if nothing else changes at the same time.

2. 1.

   At 4 coins, how many pounds did buyers want after the fashion, Bo asks?

   • 600, the amount before the fashion
   • 1,400 together
   • 800
   • 600, the amount sellers offer
3. 2.

   After the fashion, how big is the shortage at 4 coins, Esme asks?

   • 200 pounds
   • 1,400 pounds together
   • 800 pounds, the amount wanted
   • 20 pounds
4. 3.

   Which changed in this table: supply or demand, Jun asks?

   • Neither of them changed
   • Demand
   • Supply, since sellers offer more pepper
   • Both rose by 200
5. 4.

   What does the last box say a higher price leads to, Luz asks?

   • The fashion ends at once
   • Sellers offer less pepper than before
   • Sellers offer more
   • Buyers want more as the price climbs
6. 5.

   Compare the two chains. Which one raised supply, and which raised demand, Milo asks?

   • Both raised supply by the same amount
   • Route: supply; fashion: demand
   • Route: demand; fashion: supply
   • Neither changed supply or demand
7. 6.

   Is the fashion for spicy food a real event in the chain, Pia asks?

   • Yes, it happened in Venice in 1498
   • The chain does not say
   • Yes, the table shows it happened
   • No, it is labeled an example
8. 7.

   Suppose a new sea route and a new fashion happen together. What can Ren say for sure about the price?

   • Not for sure: they push opposite ways
   • It must fall, because of the sea route
   • It must rise, because of the fashion
   • It stays exactly the same
9. 8.

   Tala's note says, "When demand rises, the price tends to fall." Which fix is right?

   • Change "demand" to "pepper"
   • Change "fall" to "rise"
   • Leave it: more buyers push the price down
   • Change "price" to "ship"
10. 9.

    Zee's note says, "A shortage means sellers offer more than buyers want." Which fix is right?

    • Change it: buyers want more
    • Change "shortage" to "fashion"
    • Change "sellers" to "cooks"
    • Leave it: that is what a shortage means
11. 10.

    Ari's note says, "Higher prices make sellers offer less." Which fix is right?

    • Change "less" to "more"
    • Leave it: sellers offer less when they earn more
    • Change "prices" to "spices"
    • Change "sellers" to "buyers"