40 Essential Economics Vocabulary Terms (High School Level)

Harper is trying to decide how to spend her weekly allowance. She wants to buy snacks, save for a new game, and go to the movies, but she doesn't have enough money for everything. What is the term for the study of how people use limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants?

• Economics

• Biology

• Geography

• Psychology

Henry wants to buy several new gadgets, but he only has a limited amount of money. What is the condition where his limited resources are insufficient to meet his unlimited wants?

• Scarcity

• Abundance

• Equilibrium

• Sufficiency

Abigail is deciding whether to spend her evening studying for an exam or going to a movie with friends. What is the value of the next best alternative that is given up when she makes her choice?

• Opportunity Cost

• Sunk Cost

• Marginal Benefit

• Fixed Cost

Lily has $10 and wants to buy either a book or a movie ticket, but she can't afford both. What is the decision to give up one thing in order to gain another called?

• Trade-off

• Investment

• Profit

• Substitution

Arjun goes to a store to purchase items like a book, a shirt, and a toy. What are these physical items that can be bought or sold called?

• Goods

• Services

• Ideas

• Experiences

Michael hires a plumber to fix his kitchen sink and pays a fee for the work. What are actions or activities performed for a fee called?

• Services

• Goods

• Donations

• Investments

Aria is starting a small bakery. She needs land for her shop, workers to help bake and sell, money to buy equipment, and her own ideas to run the business. What are these resources used to produce goods and services called?

• Factors of Production

• Consumer Goods

• Public Services

• Natural Monopolies

Jackson manages a factory and wants to measure how efficiently his workers are producing goods. What is the efficiency of producing goods and services, often measured as output per worker, called?

• Productivity

• Inflation

• Liquidity

• Monopoly

Jackson is shopping for a new phone. He notices that when a lot of people want a certain model, the price goes up, and when fewer people want it, the price drops. What type of economic system is at work, where decisions are driven by supply, demand, and prices?

• Market Economy

• Command Economy

• Traditional Economy

• Mixed Economy

Nora lives in a country where the government decides what goods are produced, how much is produced, and the prices for those goods. What is this type of economy called?

• Command Economy

• Market Economy

• Traditional Economy

• Mixed Economy