Lesson Quiz: Industry and Corporations

Which was the most significant effect of the Bessemer process?

• It allowed the production of more steel.

• It produced better steel.

    

• It made steel cheaper.

• It allowed factory production of steel.

Other big businesses followed as entrepreneurs, industrialists, and bankers found new ways to increase economic ______ and the output of goods.

Which was the primary goal of the Standard Oil Company when it decreased its prices?

• to sell stock to investors

• to outcompete rival businesses

•   to form a monopoly

• to pass on lower costs to customers

Which fact is the cause for the principle of scarcity?

• There is a limited supply of resources.

•    Some people are poorer than others.

   

• People always want to buy more.

   

•   People always want to make more money.

By increasing output, big factories were able to earn greater _____ or income earned from a business after covering costs.

Which of these would most likely occur under a free market?

• Government regulators set maximum prices.

•    Political influence determines what products are made.

•   An appointed agency decides where businesses can operate

   

•   Individual business owners set prices to compete for business.

Criticizers of the Sherman Antitrust Act argued that _______.

• with lower production costs, less labor was needed.

• competition between businesses results in an economic balance.

• big business would ultimately lead to a higher standard of living.

•   trusts create an unfair division between the wealthy and the poor.

Some Americans charged that the leaders of big corporations were abusing ____. Under____, businesses are owned by private citizens.

TRUE or FALSE: A principle known as scarcity is when there is a limited supply of resources.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Other companies gave investors ____, or partial ownership of the company, in return for capital.