AQA GCSE Economics: Resource allocation: markets, sectors and specialisation (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 section 3.1.2, Resource allocation, in the AQA GCSE Economics specification (code 8136), which began first teaching in September 2017: markets, factor and product markets, the three sectors, goods and services, and specialisation and the division of labour. There are no tiers, and every firm, country and number here is made up. Use the study guide if a topic is new and the revision notes for definitions. You can also visit the subject hub and the printable checklist, or take the free 10-minute diagnostics.

Questions

1. State what is meant by the term market. [2]

2. A hotel hires a chef. A family books a room at the hotel.

(a) Identify which of these takes place in a factor market and which in a product market. [2] (b) Explain one difference between a factor market and a product market. [2]

3. A fishing company catches fish. A cannery packs the fish into tins. A shop sells the tins. State the sector (primary, secondary or tertiary) in which each of the three businesses operates. [3]

4. Country A (fictional) has total output of 200bn and 3.2 million people in work. Its output shares are primary 5%, secondary 22% and tertiary 73%. Its job shares are primary 4%, secondary 18% and tertiary 78%.

(a) Calculate the value of tertiary output. [2] (b) Calculate the number of people working in the secondary sector. [2] (c) State which sector is the smallest in the UK. [1]

5. (a) Distinguish between a good and a service. [2] (b) A cafe sells sandwiches and serves them at tables. Explain why it can be hard to say whether the cafe sells a good or a service. [2]

6. Explain how a rise in the price of a product can lead to more resources being used to produce it. [4]

7. Lena and Omar each work for 6 hours. Lena can make 6 greetings cards or 3 picture frames in an hour. Omar can make 2 cards or 4 frames in an hour. All figures are invented.

(a) Each spends 3 hours on cards and 3 hours on frames. Calculate their combined output of cards and of frames. [2] (b) Now Lena makes only cards and Omar makes only frames. Calculate the combined output. [2] (c) They then swap 15 cards for 10 frames. Show that each person is better off than in part (a). [3]

8. A kayak workshop has 5 workers, each working 40 hours a week, and a weekly wage bill of 2,000. At present each kayak is built by one worker alone in 10 hours. If the work is split into separate tasks, a kayak takes 8 hours of labour in total.

(a) Calculate the number of kayaks made each week before and after the change. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage increase in output. [2] (c) Calculate the labour cost per kayak before and after the change. [2]

9. Explain one gain and one drawback of the division of labour for a worker. [4]

10. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage that a firm gets from the division of labour. [4]

11. A furniture firm with 12 workers is considering a plan in which each worker does only one stage of production. Evaluate whether the firm should do this. [8]

12. In Country G (fictional), total employment rises from 4.0 million in Year 1 to 5.5 million in Year 5. The primary sector’s share of jobs falls from 20% to 12%.

(a) State the change in the primary sector’s share in percentage points. [1] (b) Calculate the number of primary sector jobs in Year 1 and in Year 5. [2] (c) Calculate the percentage change in the number of primary sector jobs. [2] (d) Explain why the number of primary jobs fell by less than the share suggests at first sight. [2]

Answers

1. An opportunity for buyers and sellers to interact [1] in order to establish a price [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A definition needs both halves: buyers and sellers interacting, and a price being set. “A place where things are sold” leaves out the price.

2. (a) The hotel hiring the chef takes place in a factor market [1]; the family booking a room takes place in a product market [1]. [2] (b) In a product market, goods or services are sold to households [1], whereas in a factor market the services of factors of production, such as labour, are sold to firms [1]. (Or: the price is the item’s price in a product market, but a reward such as a wage in a factor market.) [2] Examiner insight: A difference is stronger when both markets appear in your sentence (“in a factor market… whereas in a product market…”). Listing two facts about one market does not show a contrast.

3. Fishing company: primary [1]. Cannery: secondary [1]. Shop: tertiary [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Naming the sector is enough here. Any reason you add should be about the activity (catching, making, selling), not the firm’s name.

4. (a) 73% of 200 [1] = 146bn [1]. [2] (b) 18% of 3.2 million = 0.18 x 3,200,000 [1] = 576,000 people [1]. [2] (c) The primary sector is the smallest. [1] [1] Examiner insight: Show the percentage of the total before the answer so the method is visible. Give units: billions for output, a count of people for employment, and do not mix the output shares with the job shares.

5. (a) A good is a physical, tangible item [1]; a service is an activity done for someone and is not a physical item [1]. [2] (b) The cafe provides food, which is a good [1], but also cooking and table service, which are services [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Use both parts of the stem: the sandwiches and the table service. Saying “it is both” works best when you point to which part is which.

6. The higher price raises the profit per unit for producers [1]. This encourages existing firms to produce more and other firms to start making the product [1]. They need more resources, so they hire more workers or use more land and capital [1]. Resources therefore move from other uses towards this product, in a market that has signalled that buyers want it [1]. [4] Examiner insight: This is a chain question, so each step must lead to the next: price rises, profit rises, firms supply more, resources move. Missing links turn the answer into a list of facts.

7. (a) Lena: 3 x 6 = 18 cards and 3 x 3 = 9 frames. Omar: 3 x 2 = 6 cards and 3 x 4 = 12 frames [1]. Combined: 24 cards and 21 frames [1]. [2] (b) Lena: 6 x 6 = 36 cards. Omar: 6 x 4 = 24 frames [1]. Combined: 36 cards and 24 frames [1]. [2] (c) After the swap Lena has 36 - 15 = 21 cards and 10 frames [1]. Omar has 15 cards and 24 - 10 = 14 frames [1]. Lena (18 cards, 9 frames before) has 3 more cards and 1 more frame; Omar (6 cards, 12 frames before) has 9 more cards and 2 more frames, so both are better off [1]. [3] Examiner insight: On a “show that” question, write the before and after figures for each person and compare them. A statement that both gain, with no figures, leaves the demonstration unfinished.

8. (a) Total hours = 5 x 40 = 200 [1]. Before: 200 / 10 = 20 kayaks; after: 200 / 8 = 25 kayaks [1]. [2] (b) Increase = 25 - 20 = 5 [1]. 5 / 20 x 100 = 25% [1]. [2] (c) Before: 2,000 / 20 = 100 per kayak [1]. After: 2,000 / 25 = 80 per kayak [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Use the starting value, 20, as the base, and include units.

9. Gain: repeating one task builds skill and speed quickly [1], so the worker becomes more productive and may be able to earn more [1]. Drawback: doing one task repeatedly can be boring [1], which lowers motivation and leaves the worker with narrow skills that make it harder to find other work [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each of the two points needs a reason that follows. “Boring” alone is an identification; “boring, so motivation falls and skills stay narrow” is a developed point. Make sure both points are about the worker.

10. Benefit: workers become faster at their task, so output per worker rises [1], which lowers the cost of each unit and lets the firm charge lower prices or earn more profit [1]. Cost: workers doing repetitive tasks may become bored and be absent more or leave [1], which raises costs of recruitment and training and can stop a stage of production when someone is missing [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Points about the firm should concern output, costs, profit or flexibility. A point about how a worker feels helps only when linked to what happens to the business.

11. Benefit: each worker practises one task, so speed and skill rise [1], which raises output per worker and cuts the cost per piece of furniture [1]. Benefit: new staff learn one task more quickly [1]. Cost: repetitive work can lower motivation and increase absence or staff leaving [1], and a firm with only 12 workers may find that one absence holds up a whole stage [1]. Workers also become less flexible [1]. Judgement: the firm should do it if demand for its furniture is strong enough to sell the extra output, and if it can keep staff motivated, for example through pay or rotating tasks [1]. Because the firm is small, training some workers on two tasks could cut the cost of absence, so a limited division of labour may suit it better [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Evaluation answers gain credit for a reasoned conclusion that depends on stated conditions, using the facts given (here, only 12 workers). Listing advantages and disadvantages and stopping is description.

12. (a) 12 - 20 = -8 percentage points [1]. [1] (b) Year 1: 20% of 4.0 million = 0.80 million [1]. Year 5: 12% of 5.5 million = 0.66 million [1]. [2] (c) (0.66 - 0.80) / 0.80 [1] x 100 = -17.5% [1]. [2] (d) The share fell by 8 points, but total employment grew by 37.5% from 4.0 million to 5.5 million [1], so a smaller share of a larger total is a smaller fall in the number of jobs than the fall in share alone suggests [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Keep percentage points (for a share) separate from per cent (for a number). In part (d), quote the growth in the total, which explains the gap.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining a market without mentioning price, or describing it as a place.
• Mixing up factor and product markets, often by calling workers’ wages a product-market price.
• Putting retail or banking in the secondary sector instead of the tertiary sector.
• Treating a fall in a sector’s share as a fall in its number of jobs.
• Dividing by the end value when working out a percentage change.
• Naming a benefit or cost of the division of labour without explaining why it follows.
• Answering for the firm when the question asks about the worker, or the reverse.
• Listing advantages and disadvantages in an evaluation question without a judgement.

Next steps

• Recheck terms in the revision notes, then return to the study guide for any weak area.
• Mark progress on the printable checklist and browse the subject hub.
• Take a free 10-minute diagnostic to find your next weak spot.
• Ask about a free trial class if this topic still feels shaky.

Official syllabus

AQA, GCSE Economics (code 8136): sections 3.1.2.1 to 3.1.2.3 of the specification, first teaching September 2017.