Supply, demand and price: shortages and surpluses

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Pepper in a market town

   (example data, made up for practice), columns Price per pound | Pounds buyers want | Pounds sellers offer: 2 coins | 900 | 300; 4 coins | 600 | 600; 6 coins | 300 | 900. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "When the price is too low": [1] the price is 2 coins a pound; [2] buyers want 900 pounds, but sellers offer 300; [3] a shortage of 600 pounds; [4] sellers can raise the price. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4.

2. 1.

   In Luz's table, at what price do buyers want as much as sellers offer?

   • 6 coins, the highest price on the table
   • No price on the table
   • 4 coins
   • 2 coins, the lowest price on the table
3. 2.

   At 6 coins a pound, how many pounds do sellers offer, Milo asks?

   • 1,200 together
   • 900
   • 600, the amount at 4 coins
   • 300, which buyers want at that price
4. 3.

   As the price rises, what happens to the pounds buyers want, Noah asks?

   • It falls
   • It stays at 600 at each price
   • It rises along with the pounds sellers offer
   • It jumps to 900 at the top price
5. 4.

   Pia reads the word demand. What is demand?

   • A rule from the town's ruler
   • The price of a pound of pepper
   • How much buyers want
   • How much sellers have to offer at each price
6. 5.

   Ren reads the word supply. What is supply?

   • How much sellers offer
   • A ship carrying pepper
   • How much buyers want to buy at each price
   • The coins in a buyer's purse
7. 6.

   Tala reads the word shortage. What is a shortage?

   • The price is exactly right
   • No one wants the good
   • Sellers offer more than buyers want to buy
   • Buyers want more than is offered

8. Pepper in a market town

   (example data, made up for practice), columns Price per pound | Pounds buyers want | Pounds sellers offer: 2 coins | 900 | 300; 4 coins | 600 | 600; 6 coins | 300 | 900. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "When the price is too low": [1] the price is 2 coins a pound; [2] buyers want 900 pounds, but sellers offer 300; [3] ?; [4] sellers can raise the price. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. The box marked ? is blank.

9. 7.

   Ari's chain has a blank: how big is the shortage?

   • 600 pounds
   • 60 pounds
   • 1,200 pounds together
   • 300 pounds, the amount offered

10. Pepper in a market town

    (example data, made up for practice), columns Price per pound | Pounds buyers want | Pounds sellers offer: 2 coins | 900 | 300; 4 coins | 600 | 600; 6 coins | 300 | 900. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "When the price is too low": [1] the price is 2 coins a pound; [2] buyers want 900 pounds, but sellers offer 300; [3] a shortage of 600 pounds; [4] ?. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. The box marked ? is blank.

11. 8.

    Bo's chain has a blank: what can sellers do when there is a shortage?

    • Stop selling pepper for good
    • Give the pepper away
    • Lower the price even further
    • Raise the price

12. Pepper in a market town

    (example data, made up for practice), columns Price per pound | Pounds buyers want | Pounds sellers offer: 2 coins | 900 | 300; 4 coins | 600 | 600; 6 coins | 300 | 900. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "When the price is too low": [1] the price is 2 coins a pound; [2] buyers want 900 pounds, but sellers offer 300; [3] a shortage of 600 pounds; [4] sellers can raise the price. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4.

13. 9.

    Why do sellers offer more at a higher price, Jun asks?

    • Buyers want more at higher prices
    • They earn more per pound
    • Pepper grows faster when prices rise
    • The law makes them offer more
14. 10.

    Where do the numbers in Kira's table come from?

    • A count of pepper in a modern shop
    • Real prices from a market in 1498
    • Vasco da Gama's ship records
    • Made up for practice