O Level Business: Marketing mix (Cambridge 7115) – 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 3.3 Marketing mix of the Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus for examination in 2026. All businesses and figures are invented, and money amounts are in dollars. Read the study guide and revision notes first. Related: Marketing practice set, the Cambridge O Level Business hub and the printable checklist.

Questions

1. Sandalwick Tea sells loose-leaf tea in decorated metal tins. State two roles of packaging for the business. [2]

2. Ironbridge Bikes is known for sturdy, well-finished bicycles. Explain one way a strong brand image could increase customer loyalty for the business. [3]

3. Wensley Ceramics makes a mug at a unit cost of 4.80. It uses cost plus pricing with a mark-up of 50%. (a) Calculate the selling price of one mug. [2] (b) The business sells 600 mugs. Calculate the total profit. [2]

4. Lowdham Games launched a card game. Its annual sales (thousands of units) for eight years are shown.

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Sales	1.5	6	15	24	24.5	24	19	12

(a) Identify the stage of the product life cycle in year 3 and give one reason from the data. [2] (b) Identify the stage in year 8. [1] (c) Explain one extension strategy Lowdham Games could use. [3]

5. (a) Distinguish between price elastic demand and price inelastic demand. [2] (b) A bakery finds that demand for its sourdough bread is price inelastic. Explain how this could influence its pricing decision. [3]

6. Sandalwick Tea plans to launch a rare highland tea blend. No similar product exists, the likely customers are tea enthusiasts, and development cost 18 000. The owner wants to recover this cost. Recommend whether to use skimming or penetration pricing. Justify your answer. [6]

7. Ironbridge Bikes makes a bicycle at a cost of 140. It can sell through bicycle shops or direct online.

• Via shops: sells to the shop at 210. Expected sales are 400 bicycles a year.
• Direct online: sells at 295. Delivery and assembly cost 35 a bicycle and the payment platform charges 3% of the selling price. Expected sales are 220 bicycles a year.

(a) Calculate the profit per bicycle for each channel. [3] (b) Calculate the expected annual profit for each channel. [2] (c) Recommend the better channel and justify your answer. [4]

8. Lowdham Games is planning its marketing budget. (a) State two aims of promotion. [2] (b) Explain why the business should spend its marketing budget cost-effectively. [2]

9. Wensley Ceramics compares two promotion methods. Each extra dinner set sold earns 30 profit before promotion costs.

• Radio advert: costs 1 500 and brings 50 extra sets.
• Social media campaign: costs 600 and brings 40 extra sets.

(a) Calculate the cost per extra set for each method. [2] (b) Calculate the net gain (profit from extra sets minus the cost of the method) for each. [2] (c) Recommend a method and justify your choice. [2]

10. Sandalwick Tea promotes itself on social media. Explain one benefit and one limitation of this for the business. [4]

11. Lowdham Games now sells its card game on its own website. (a) Define e-commerce. [2] (b) Explain one opportunity of e-commerce for consumers. [2] (c) Explain one threat of e-commerce for Lowdham Games. [2]

12. Stonechat Juices is a new business selling cold-pressed fruit juice in glass bottles. A bottle costs 1.20 to produce. Rival juices sell at 2.00 to 2.60. The owner is considering two prices.

• Price A: cost plus with a 60% mark-up. Forecast sales are 5 000 bottles a month.
• Price B: a penetration price of 1.60. Forecast sales are 9 000 bottles a month.

(a) Calculate Price A. [2] (b) Calculate the monthly profit at each price. [2] (c) Recommend which price to use. Justify your answer. [6]

Answers

1. Any two different roles, such as: protects the tea from damage or moisture [1]; keeps it fresh, or gives information such as brewing instructions, or promotes the brand through design [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Two roles are asked for, so two separate ideas should appear; restating one idea in different words is unlikely to earn a second mark.

2. A strong image means customers trust the quality [1]. Buyers who are happy with a sturdy bicycle are likely to return for their next one [1], because they expect the same quality and prefer the brand to unknown rivals, so they also recommend it to friends [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Answers that stop at “people like the brand” are thin. Credit tends to follow when you explain why trust leads to repeat purchase and tie it to the business.

3. (a) Profit per mug = 4.80 × 50% = 2.40 [1]; selling price = 4.80 + 2.40 = 7.20 [1]. [2] (b) 600 × 2.40 [1] = 1 440 [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Show the mark-up working. A correct price with no working can leave you with nothing if the figure is wrong, and the mark-up is on cost, not on selling price.

4. (a) Growth [1]. Sales rose from 6 to 15 thousand, a rise of 150% in one year [1]. [2] (b) Decline [1]: sales fall from 24 to 19 to 12. [1] (c) Any one extension strategy, for example a new expansion pack or variant [1]. It gives existing fans a reason to buy again [1], so sales stay near maturity levels for longer instead of continuing to fall [1]. (Also credit: new packaging, selling in a new market, a price change, fresh promotion.) [3] Examiner insight: Quote figures from the table when naming a stage. A bare stage name without data evidence tends to be less convincing.

5. (a) Price elastic: quantity demanded changes proportionately more than price [1]. Price inelastic: quantity demanded changes proportionately less than price [1]. [2] (b) If demand is inelastic, customers keep buying even if the price rises [1]. The bakery could therefore raise its price [1], which would be likely to raise revenue because the fall in quantity is proportionately smaller [1]. [3] Examiner insight: The syllabus does not assess PED calculations, so a clear verbal link between price change, quantity change and revenue is what the question needs.

6. Recommend skimming [1]. The blend is unique, so there are no close rivals to undercut [1]. Enthusiasts are likely to pay more for something rare [1]. A high price per tin recovers the 18 000 development cost faster from a small customer group [1]. Limitation: a high price may reduce the number of buyers and attract rivals, whereas penetration would build volume but give a low profit per tin in a niche market [1]. Overall, skimming suits a rare product aimed at a small group, provided the price is not so high that sales stall [1]. [6] Examiner insight: A recommend and justify question tends to reward a decision backed by features of the business in the stem, then a limitation. A list of facts about both methods without a choice does not answer it.

7. (a) Shops: 210 − 140 = 70 [1]. Direct: platform fee 3% × 295 = 8.85 [1]; 295 − 140 − 35 − 8.85 = 111.15 [1]. [3] (b) Shops: 70 × 400 = 28 000 [1]. Direct: 111.15 × 220 = 24 453 [1]. [2] (c) Recommend selling through shops [1]. Annual profit is 3 547 higher [1], and shops reach more customers and let buyers see the bike [1]. Direct earns more per bicycle and gives customer data, so it could be worth adding as sales build; the choice depends on whether the 220 forecast is reliable [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Profit per unit and total profit can point to different channels. Strong answers say which measure they are using and why.

8. (a) Any two aims, for example: inform customers [1]; persuade them to buy, remind them, increase sales or market share, or build brand image [1]. [2] (b) A budget is limited [1], so wasting it on methods that bring few extra sales reduces profit and leaves less for other uses [1]. [2] Examiner insight: “Cost-effectively” means comparing money spent with results. Saying “to save money” alone is unlikely to be enough.

9. (a) Radio: 1 500 ÷ 50 = 30 [1]. Social media: 600 ÷ 40 = 15 [1]. [2] (b) Radio: 50 × 30 − 1 500 = 0 [1]. Social media: 40 × 30 − 600 = 600 [1]. [2] (c) Recommend social media [1] because the cost per set is half as much and it makes a net gain of 600, while radio only breaks even [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Support the choice with your calculated figures. A recommendation that ignores the numbers you have just worked out is hard to credit.

10. Benefit: it is low cost compared with television [1], so the business can reach many customers while keeping promotion costs down [1]. Limitation: negative comments can spread quickly [1], which could damage the brand image and cut sales [1]. [4] Examiner insight: One benefit and one limitation are needed, each developed. Two benefits, or a limitation with no consequence for the business, tends to lose marks.

11. (a) Buying and selling of goods and services [1] over the internet [1]. [2] (b) Consumers can compare prices and choices from many sellers [1] without travelling, so they can find a better deal [1]. [2] (c) Many rival sellers are only a click away [1], so customers can switch to a cheaper game and Lowdham may have to cut its prices, reducing profit [1]. (Also credit: website failure, security risks, delivery costs.) [2] Examiner insight: Read who the question is asking about. An opportunity for consumers is different from an opportunity for the business, and mixing them is a common slip.

12. (a) 1.20 × 1.60 [1] = 1.92 [1]. [2] (b) Price A: (1.92 − 1.20) × 5 000 = 0.72 × 5 000 = 3 600 [1]. Price B: (1.60 − 1.20) × 9 000 = 0.40 × 9 000 = 3 600 [1]. [2] (c) Profit is equal, so the decision depends on other factors [1]. Price B is below every rival, so it could win customers and market share quickly as a new entrant [1], but profit per bottle is low and 9 000 is only a forecast, so a shortfall would hurt [1]. Price A sits just below rivals, earns more per bottle and needs fewer sales to reach the same profit [1]. A low price might also suggest lower quality [1]. Overall I would recommend Price A, for lower risk, with a short promotional offer to attract trial [1]. (Credit a reasoned choice of Price B on market share grounds.) [6] Examiner insight: When two options give the same figure, answers tend to gain from using that result and then weighing risk, brand and market factors rather than repeating the calculation.

Where marks are usually lost

• Giving a stage of the product life cycle without evidence from the data.
• Mixing up penetration and skimming.
• Applying the mark-up to the selling price instead of the cost.
• Choosing a channel or pricing method without a reason linked to the business in the stem.
• Failing to include a limitation or alternative in a recommend and justify answer.
• Writing about advantages to the business when the question asks about consumers.
• Attempting PED calculations, which the syllabus says are not assessed.

Frequently asked questions

Are these Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 past paper questions? No. They are original practice questions written for Marlbridge on section 3.3 Marketing mix, with invented businesses and figures. Use them alongside the official past papers.

Do you need to calculate price elasticity of demand in 7115? No. The syllabus does not assess PED calculations, so a clear verbal link between a price change, the change in quantity and the effect on revenue is what is needed.

How do you identify a product life cycle stage from data? Quote figures from the table, such as how fast sales are rising or falling, when naming a stage. A bare stage name without evidence from the data is less convincing.

What is the most common mistake with cost-plus pricing? Applying the mark-up to the selling price instead of the cost. Show the mark-up working, because a correct-looking price with no working can earn nothing if the figure is wrong.

How do you compare distribution channels or promotion methods using figures? Say whether you are judging by profit per unit or by total profit, because they can point to different options. Then support your choice with the figures you have calculated.

Next steps

• Re-read the study guide and the revision notes.
• Course pages: Cambridge O Level Business hub and printable checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class: /trial/.

Official syllabus

Aligned to the Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus for examination in 2026, published by Cambridge International, section 3.3 Marketing mix.