Unit 3 of 5

Unit 3: Economics

Study guide for CLEP CLEP Social Sciences & HistoryUnit 3: Economics. Practice questions, key concepts, and exam tips.

42

Practice Questions

12

Flashcards

4

Key Topics

Key Concepts to Study

Supply and demand, market equilibrium
Macroeconomic indicators: GDP, inflation, unemployment
Fiscal and monetary policy
International trade and comparative advantage

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 5 questions from this unit. Sign up for full access to all 42.

Q1MEDIUM

A small business owner, Alex, has to decide how to utilize her limited resources. She can either expand her existing bakery or open a new café. If Alex chooses to open the new café, she will have to forgo the opportunity to expand her bakery. The cost of forgoing the expansion of her bakery is an example of what economic concept?

A) Sunk cost
B) Diminishing returns
C) Opportunity cost
D) Comparative advantage
Show Answer

Answer: CThe correct answer is C) Opportunity cost, because it refers to the value of the next best alternative that is given up when a choice is made. In this scenario, Alex is giving up the opportunity to expand her bakery to open the new café. The other options are incorrect because sunk cost (A) refers to a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be changed, diminishing returns (B) refers to the decrease in marginal output when more units of a variable input are added, and comparative advantage (D) refers to the ability of a country or individual to produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than others.

Q2MEDIUM

A small business owner, Alex, has to decide how to use their limited resources to produce either cookies or cakes. If Alex chooses to produce 100 more cookies, they will have to give up producing 50 cakes. What is the opportunity cost of producing 100 more cookies?

A) The opportunity cost is the cost of ingredients for the cakes.
B) The opportunity cost is the profit made from selling the cookies.
C) The opportunity cost is the 50 cakes that could have been produced.
D) The opportunity cost is the time it takes to produce the cookies.
Show Answer

Answer: CThe correct answer is C because the opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative that is given up as a result of making a decision. In this case, Alex gives up producing 50 cakes to produce 100 more cookies, so the opportunity cost is the 50 cakes. The other options are incorrect because they do not accurately represent the concept of opportunity cost. Option A is incorrect because the cost of ingredients is a direct cost, not an opportunity cost. Option B is incorrect because the profit made from selling the cookies is a benefit, not a cost. Option D is incorrect because the time it takes to produce the cookies is a direct cost, not an opportunity cost.

Q3MEDIUM

A small business owner, Maria, has to decide how to utilize her limited resources. She can either expand her existing bakery or open a new café. If Maria chooses to open the new café, she will have to forgo the opportunity to expand her bakery. In this scenario, the cost of opening the new café is best represented by which of the following?

A) The purchase price of the café equipment
B) The salary of the café staff
C) The forgone revenue from not expanding the bakery
D) The rent of the café location
Show Answer

Answer: CThe correct answer, C, represents the opportunity cost, which is the value of the next best alternative that is given up when a choice is made. In this case, the opportunity cost of opening the new café is the forgone revenue from not expanding the bakery. The other options are incorrect because they represent explicit costs (A, B, and D) rather than the opportunity cost.

Q4EASY

A consumer has $100 to spend on either a new video game or a concert ticket. If the consumer chooses to buy the video game for $100, what is the opportunity cost of this decision?

A) The concert ticket
B) The money spent on the video game
C) The time spent playing the video game
D) The consumer's happiness
Show Answer

Answer: AThe correct answer is A) The concert ticket, because the opportunity cost of a decision is the next best alternative that is given up. In this case, the consumer gives up the opportunity to buy the concert ticket. Option B is incorrect because the money spent on the video game is the cost of the decision, not the opportunity cost. Option C is incorrect because the time spent playing the video game is a benefit of the decision, not the opportunity cost. Option D is incorrect because the consumer's happiness is a subjective outcome of the decision, not the opportunity cost.

Q5MEDIUM

A small town has decided to convert an old factory into a museum. The factory could have been sold to a company that would have created 50 new jobs in the town. However, the town council believes that the museum will attract more tourists and increase local business revenue. What is the opportunity cost of the town's decision to convert the factory into a museum?

A) The number of tourists that will visit the museum
B) The revenue generated by the museum
C) The 50 jobs that could have been created if the factory was sold to the company
D) The cost of building a new factory in a different location
Show Answer

Answer: CThe correct answer is C because the opportunity cost of a decision is the value of the next best alternative that is given up. In this case, the town gave up the opportunity to create 50 new jobs by selling the factory to the company. The other options are incorrect because they do not represent the value of the alternative that was given up. Option A is incorrect because the number of tourists that will visit the museum is a potential benefit of the decision, not the opportunity cost. Option B is incorrect because the revenue generated by the museum is also a potential benefit, not the opportunity cost. Option D is incorrect because the cost of building a new factory is not relevant to the opportunity cost of the decision.

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Study Tips for Unit 3: Economics

  • Focus on understanding concepts, not memorizing facts — CLEP tests application
  • Practice with timed questions to build exam-day speed
  • Review explanations for wrong answers — they reveal common misconceptions
  • Use flashcards for key terms, practice questions for deeper understanding

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