Economics Vocabulary
What is something good gained from making a choice?
Benefit
What do we call a physical item that people make, buy, or use?
Good
Sarah spends $10 on a new book. What is the monetary cost of her decision?
$10
What do we call focusing on making one particular good or doing one particular task?
Specialization
What do we call the exchange of goods or services?
Trade
What is something given up or paid to get something?
Cost
What do we call work someone does for another person?
Service
Marcus studies for his test instead of playing video games. What is one possible benefit of his decision?
A better test grade
What economic term describes the amount produced using a certain amount of resources or time?
Productivity
What economic term means depending on others for goods, services, or resources?
Interdependent
What economic term describes not having enough resources to satisfy all wants?
Scarcity
A farmer grows corn, a carpenter builds houses, and a teacher teaches students. Which person provides a service rather than producing a physical good?
Teacher
Emma chooses swimming instead of riding her bike. If riding her bike was her next best choice, what did she give up?
Riding her bike
A furniture company uses wood, workers, and machines to build tables. Which of these is a natural resource?
Wood
What do we call a trade that both sides choose because they expect to benefit?
Voluntary exchange
What do we call the next best choice given up when making a decision?
Opportunity cost
A bakery uses flour, water, ovens, and workers to make bread. What economic term describes these things used in production?
Productive resources
A school has enough money for either new computers or new playground equipment, but not both. What economic problem forces the school to choose?
Scarcity
A factory begins making 30 chairs per hour instead of 15 using the same resources. How many additional chairs does it now make each hour?
15 chairs
A grocery store buys apples from a farmer and sells them to customers. How does the farmer benefit from this relationship?
The farmer earns money by selling apples.
What economic term describes the level of material comfort people have based on the goods and services available to them?
Standard of living
A student buys a notebook for $4. In this situation, what role does the student have in the economy?
Consumer
A family has $50 to spend. They can buy groceries for $35 or a board game for $30, but they cannot afford both. What is the main reason they must make a choice?
They have a limited amount of money.
At a car factory, one worker installs tires while another installs windows. Why might assigning workers specific tasks help the factory?
Workers can become more efficient and produce cars faster.
A shoe company in the United States purchases rubber from another country. Why might the company need to rely on another country?
The other country provides a resource the company needs to make shoes.