AQA GCSE Economics: Demand and supply: factors, curves, shifts and movements (8136) – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover sections 3.1.3.1 (demand) and 3.1.3.2 (supply) of the AQA specification for GCSE Economics (8136), first taught from September 2017, part of Paper 1, How markets work. The specification has no tiers. All firms, places and figures are invented. For explanations see the study guide and the revision notes. Further links: the course hub, the printable checklist and the free 10-minute diagnostics.

Questions

1. (a) State what economists mean by demand. [2] (b) Distinguish between a change in quantity demanded and a change in demand. [2]

2. Dev buys plant pots each month. His demand is shown below (invented data).

Price per pot (£)	2	4	6	8	10
Pots demanded	14	11	8	5	2

(a) State the quantity demanded at £6. [1] (b) Calculate the percentage change in quantity demanded when the price rises from £6 to £8. [2] (c) Describe how you would draw Dev’s demand curve from the table. [3] (d) Say whether the change in (b) is a move along the same curve or a move of the curve. [1]

3. Decide whether each event below moves the market along its demand curve or shifts the curve, and give the direction. Assume the good is normal. [4]

• (i) The price of the good falls.
• (ii) Incomes in the town fall.
• (iii) A rival good becomes cheaper.
• (iv) A successful advertising campaign for the good.

4. Pasta and pasta sauce are used together. Explain how a rise in the price of pasta sauce affects the demand for pasta. [3]

5. A bakery’s cost of making each extra batch of 10 loaves is shown (invented data).

Batch	1	2	3	4	5	6
Cost (£)	12	14	17	21	26	33

(a) Calculate the number of batches the bakery will supply at a price of £21 per batch. [2] (b) Complete the supply schedule for prices of £12, £17, £26 and £33. [2] (c) Describe the shape of the bakery’s supply curve and explain it. [2]

6. Energy prices rise and add £3 to the cost of every batch in question 5. (a) Calculate the number of batches supplied at £21 after the rise. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in the quantity supplied at £21. [2] (c) State the direction of the shift of the supply curve. [1]

7. Decide whether each event below moves the market along its supply curve or shifts the curve, and give the direction. [4]

• (i) A cheaper machine is introduced.
• (ii) The government imposes a tax on producing the good.
• (iii) The price of the good rises.
• (iv) Frost destroys much of a farm crop.

8. Explain why a supply curve slopes upwards. [4]

9. Three households buy jars of honey (invented data).

Price (£)	Household A	Household B	Household C
3	9	7	4
5	6	5	0

(a) Calculate market demand at £3 and at £5. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in market demand when the price rises from £3 to £5. [2] (c) A fourth household moves in and buys 5 at £3 and 3 at £5. Calculate the new market demand at each price and explain whether this is a movement or a shift. [3]

10. A firm makes garden gates. The cost of each extra gate is £40, £48, £58, £70 and £85. The government pays the firm a grant of £8 on each gate (invented data). (a) Calculate the number of gates supplied at £62 before and after the grant. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in quantity supplied at £62. [2] (c) State the direction of the shift of the supply curve. [1]

11. A café chain says, “Cutting our price is the best way to increase the demand for our coffee.” Evaluate this view. [9]

Answers

1. (a) How much of a good or service consumers are both willing and able to purchase [1] at a particular price over a stated period [1]. (b) A change in quantity demanded happens when the good’s own price changes and nothing else does [1]; a change in demand is caused by any other factor and shifts the whole curve [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Include both “willing” and “able”; a definition that says only “wants to buy” is incomplete.

2. (a) 8 pots [1]. (b) Change = 5 − 8 = −3 [1]. Percentage = −3 / 8 × 100 = −37.5% [1]. (c) Put price on the vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal axis, using even scales [1]. Plot each price and quantity pair as a point, for example (14, £2) and (2, £10) [1]. Join the points and label the axes with units and the curve D [1]. (d) A movement along the curve (a contraction) [1]. Examiner insight: Work the percentage change from the starting figure, here 8; dividing by 5 gives a different answer and is the usual slip.

3. (i) Movement, an extension down the curve [1]. (ii) Shift left [1]. (iii) Shift left [1]. (iv) Shift right [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Both the type (movement or shift) and the direction are needed in each case; naming only one does not complete the statement.

4. Pasta sauce is a complement to pasta [1]. A higher sauce price makes the pair costlier to use together, so buyers buy less pasta [1]. Demand for pasta falls, so its curve shifts left [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Take the chain one link at a time: say what buyers do, then which curve moves and in which direction.

5. (a) Batches with a cost of £21 or less are batches 1, 2, 3 and 4 [1], so the bakery supplies 4 batches [1]. (b) At £12: 1 batch [1]. At £17: 3. At £26: 5. At £33: 6 (all three correct) [1]. (c) The curve slopes upward from left to right [1]. A higher price covers the greater cost of the extra batches and gives more profit, so the bakery supplies more [1]. Examiner insight: Counting every batch whose cost is at or below the price is the method; stopping one batch early is the usual slip.

6. (a) New costs are £15, £17, £20, £24, £29 and £36 [1]. At £21, batches 1, 2 and 3 qualify, so 3 batches [1]. (b) Change = 3 − 4 = −1 [1]. −1 / 4 × 100 = −25% [1]. (c) The curve shifts left [1]. Examiner insight: A rise in costs lowers supply at each price. Show the new costs first, so a slip in counting does not hide your method.

7. (i) Shift right [1]. (ii) Shift left [1]. (iii) Movement, an extension up the curve [1]. (iv) Shift left [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A tax and a frost both reduce supply; check that you have not treated the good’s own price rise as a shift.

8. A higher price brings more profit on each unit [1], so firms have a reason to produce more [1]. Extra units usually cost more per unit to make as resources are stretched [1], so a higher price is needed before firms will supply them [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Give two linked reasons, each developed, not a list of single words such as “profit” and “costs”.

9. (a) At £3: 9 + 7 + 4 = 20 [1]. At £5: 6 + 5 + 0 = 11 [1]. (b) Change = 11 − 20 = −9 [1]. −9 / 20 × 100 = −45% [1]. (c) At £3: 20 + 5 = 25. At £5: 11 + 3 = 14 [1]. Demand has risen at every price [1], and the cause is a new buyer, not the price, so the curve shifts right [1]. Examiner insight: Add the quantities at each price; adding the prices is wrong. Say why the cause is not the price.

10. (a) Before the grant, gates costing £62 or less are the first three, so 3 [1]. After the grant the effective costs are £32, £40, £50, £62 and £77, so 4 gates [1]. (b) Change = 4 − 3 = 1 [1]. 1 / 3 × 100 = 33.3% [1]. (c) The supply curve shifts right [1]. Examiner insight: Subtract the grant from each cost before counting; a final answer without the new costs shown is harder to credit if it is wrong.

11. Cutting the price raises the quantity demanded: an extension along the curve, not an increase in demand [1]. More people buy because the coffee is cheaper than substitutes such as tea or rival cafés [1]. This works only if enough buyers respond to the lower price [1]. A shift of the curve comes from other factors: an advertising campaign makes the coffee fashionable, so demand shifts right at every price [1]. Rising incomes mean customers can afford more coffee [1]. A rise in the price of a rival’s coffee moves buyers to the chain [1]. A price cut lowers the profit on each cup sold, and rivals may match it [1]. Which is best depends on the café’s costs, how strong its rivals are and its aims [1]. Judgement: a price cut is a quick way to raise sales, but it is a movement and not a rise in demand, so lasting growth in demand is more likely to come from other factors such as advertising [1]. [9] Examiner insight: An evaluation gains credit by weighing points against each other and reaching a reasoned conclusion; a list of factors with no judgement stays descriptive.

Where marks are usually lost

• Saying “demand falls” after a price rise, where “quantity demanded falls” is correct.
• Shifting a curve for a change in the good’s own price.
• Giving the type of change (movement or shift) but no direction.
• Calculating a percentage change from the new figure rather than the starting figure.
• Adding prices instead of quantities when building a market demand curve.
• Counting units whose cost is above the price when building a supply schedule.
• Forgetting to subtract a subsidy (or add a cost rise) before counting units.
• Drawing an axis with no label, units or curve label.
• Confusing substitutes and complements and so reversing the direction of the shift.

Next steps

• Revise with the revision notes.
• Learn the full explanations in the study guide.
• See the AQA GCSE Economics hub and the printable checklist.
• Take the free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

This page follows the AQA GCSE Economics (8136) specification for first teaching in 2017, published by AQA, sections 3.1.3.1 and 3.1.3.2. Check the current specification at aqa.org.uk/8136.