UNIT 7 READING QUESTIONS
NAME ________________________________________ BLOCK __________ DUE DATE ____________
Reading #1 – Intro to Economics
1. What is economics?
2. What is difference between a want and a need?
3. What is the fundamental problem in economics?
4. What is scarcity?
5. Fill in the chart below with the three basic economic choices a society must make and what each means.
Economic Choice (Question)
What does it mean?
Reading #2 – Intro to Economics Part 2
1. What is opportunity cost?
2. What are goods?
3. What are services?
4. Fill in the chart below with the factors of production and describe what each means.
Factor of Production
What does it mean?
Reading #3 – Economic Systems – Free and Command Economies
1. What do nations use their resources for?
2. What is scarcity?
(READING QUESTIONS # 3 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
3. What are the three basic questions that nations have to answer to deal with scarcity of resources?
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4. Using the chart, list and describe the characteristics of a “Free Market Economy”.
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5. In a command system, who owns all the resources and makes all the major economic decisions?
6. What do command systems usually focus on producing (making)?
7. Describe a “Traditional Economy” in one sentence.
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Reading #4 – Economic Systems – Mixed Economies
1. Complete the chart by answering all the questions!
Most countries have what kind of economic system?
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Who makes decisions for the public sector?
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Three parts of the public sector include:
 _______________________
 _______________________
 _______________________
Who makes decisions for the private sector?
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Three parts of the private sector include:
 _______________________
 _______________________
 _______________________
(READING QUESTIONS # 4 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
2. Looking at the “Comparing Economic Systems” chart, which major economic system do you think America
uses today? Why?
3. Looking at the “Comparing Economic Systems” chart, which major economic system has the most
government role in the economy?
Section #5 – US Economy and Types of Business Ownership
1. Who shares economic decision-making in the United States?
2. The US economy has competition. What does the US Government try to do with competition?
3. Are there any types of businesses that the government really helps out a lot, even though that stops pure
competition?
4. Nearly all resources in the United States are ________________ owned.
5. Are most airlines, bus lines, and railroads owned publically or privately? _______________
6. An example of publically owned property is ______________________________________.
7. In the United States, we have consumer sovereignty. What does that mean?
8. Fill out the chart below with information about business ownership:
Type of Business
Ownership
Proprietorship
Partnership
Number of owners
Examples
How long do they
exist
How much of the risk
do the owners have to
take on?
How much of the
profit can owner(s)
keep?
9. A corporation is authorized by the law to act as a __________________________ regardless of how
many people actually own shares in it.
(READING QUESTIONS # 5 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
10. How do corporations raise large amounts of money?
11. Can stockholders lose more money than they invested to buy shares? (Can stockholders go into debt
from the stocks?) _______
12. Out of the three types of business ownership, which is the riskiest? __________________
13. Out of the three types of business ownership, which has the LEAST risk? ___________________
Section #6 – Global Economy – Specialization
1. Look at the “Words to Know” box to answer the next few questions:
a. What does it mean to specialize? ___________________________________________________
b. What does a teacher specialize in? __________________________________________________
c. What does a NFL quarterback specialize in? __________________________________________
d. What does a ballet dancer specialize in? _____________________________________________
2. Do nations specialize economically? _________
3. Do states specialize economically? __________
4. What does the US specialize in producing? ________________________________________
5. What are two products that Virginia specializes in producing? _________________________
6. Look specifically at northern Virginia (near Alexandria) – what does Northern Virginia specialize in
producing? ___________________________________________________________________
7. Give an example of one way that new computer technologies have made it easier to communicate
around world:
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8. Give an example of how new technologies lower the cost of production:
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