Social Studies: Economics: Supply, Demand, and Markets
How buyers, sellers, and prices affect the market
Social Studies: Economics: Supply, Demand, and Markets
How buyers, sellers, and prices affect the market
Social Studies - Grade 6-8
- 1
Define supply in your own words.
Think about what businesses bring to the market.
Supply is the amount of a good or service that sellers are willing and able to offer for sale at different prices. - 2
Define demand in your own words.
Demand is the amount of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy at different prices. - 3
A new video game becomes very popular, so many more people want to buy it. What happens to demand for the game?
Focus on the number of buyers interested in the product.
Demand for the game increases because more consumers want to buy it. - 4
A factory makes twice as many water bottles as before. What happens to the supply of water bottles?
The supply of water bottles increases because producers are offering more bottles for sale. - 5
If demand for concert tickets increases but supply stays the same, what will most likely happen to the price?
When more buyers compete for the same product, sellers can usually charge more.
The price will most likely rise because more people want the same limited number of tickets. - 6
If the supply of apples increases a lot but demand stays the same, what will most likely happen to the price of apples?
The price of apples will most likely fall because there are more apples available than before while the number of buyers stays about the same. - 7
Explain what a market is in economics.
A market does not have to be a physical store.
A market is any place or system where buyers and sellers exchange goods or services and where prices are set by supply and demand. - 8
A storm damages orange crops, so fewer oranges are available to sell. What happens to the supply of oranges, and what may happen to the price?
The supply of oranges decreases, and the price may increase because fewer oranges are available for consumers to buy. - 9
Why might a store lower the price of winter coats at the end of winter?
Think about how seasons affect what people want to buy.
A store might lower the price because demand for winter coats usually drops as the weather gets warmer, so the store wants to sell the remaining supply. - 10
A local bakery raises the price of cupcakes. After the price increase, fewer customers buy them. What does this show about demand?
This shows that when the price rises, the quantity demanded often falls because some customers are less willing or less able to buy the product. - 11
Describe an example from everyday life of supply and demand affecting price.
Use an item people buy often, such as snacks, shoes, or tickets.
One example is school lunch snacks. If a favorite snack is available in small amounts and many students want it, the price may be higher or it may sell out quickly. If there is a large supply and less interest, the price may be lower. - 12
A market reaches equilibrium when supply and demand are balanced. What does this mean in simple terms?
In simple terms, equilibrium means the amount sellers want to sell is about the same as the amount buyers want to buy at a certain price.