OCR GCSE Economics: Economic groups, factors of production and scarcity (J205) – 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 1.1 and 1.2 of the OCR GCSE (9-1) Economics specification (J205, version 2.0, first assessment 2019): economic groups, factors of production, scarcity and opportunity cost. J205 has no tiers. Every figure is made up. Start with the guide or the revision notes first, and see the course hub and checklist.

Questions

1. Explain what is meant by scarce resources. [2]

2. A student has £40 and ranks her options: concert ticket (£40), trainers (£35), computer game (£25). She buys the ticket. Identify her opportunity cost and explain why it is not the trainers and the game together. [2]

3. A small farm in Country A uses a field, a tractor, two farmhands and an owner who risked her savings to start it. Identify the factor of production each represents: (a) the field; (b) the tractor; (c) the farmhands; (d) the owner. [4]

4. Country B can produce bricks and timber using all its resources, as shown.

Option	Bricks (millions)	Timber (thousand tonnes)
A	0	90
B	20	80
C	40	64
D	60	40
E	80	0

(a) Calculate the opportunity cost, in thousand tonnes of timber, of increasing bricks from 40 to 60 million. [2]

(b) Calculate the opportunity cost of each extra million bricks over that change. [1]

(c) Using the table, explain what happens to the opportunity cost of bricks as output rises. [2]

5. Explain how producers and the government are interdependent. [4]

6. A tea estate owner compares two harvesting methods. Pickers earn £70 a day.

	Method 1: by hand	Method 2: cutting machine
Workers	10	4
Equipment cost per day	£40	£440
Output per day	5 tonnes	8 tonnes

(a) Calculate the output per worker for each method. [2]

(b) Calculate the cost per tonne for each method. [2]

(c) Suggest one reason the owner might still choose Method 1. [2]

7. A government builds a new clinic for an ageing population. Explain how this decision involves the questions of what, how and for whom goods and services should be produced. [6]

8. A laptop costs £250 before a sales tax of 12%.

(a) Calculate the price a consumer pays. [2]

(b) 400 laptops are sold. Calculate the tax revenue. [1]

(c) Explain one way the government’s spending of this revenue could benefit producers. [2]

9. Explain, using an example, how opportunity cost differs from the total cost of a choice. [3]

10. Country C’s government is deciding whether to allow a larger fishing fleet. At present the catch is 40,000 tonnes a year. With the larger fleet it would be 55,000 tonnes a year for 5 years, then 25,000 tonnes a year for the next 5 years as fish stocks fall. Evaluate whether the government should allow the larger fleet, referring to economic, social and environmental sustainability. [9]

11. A council can turn a derelict site into a car park or a community garden. The car park costs £360,000, has 120 spaces, and earns £3 per space per day for 300 days a year. The garden costs £60,000 and earns nothing. Evaluate which the council should choose. [8]

Answers

1. Resources (land, labour, capital, enterprise) are limited in supply [1], so they cannot produce everything people want, because wants are unlimited [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A good answer says limited relative to wants; “there is not much of them” alone leaves the contrast unstated.

2. Her opportunity cost is the trainers [1], the next best alternative. She could only spend the £40 once, so she would not have had the game as well; only the single best alternative given up counts [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Naming the item is not enough for the second point; show you understand why the others are excluded.

3. (a) Land [1]. (b) Capital [1]. (c) Labour [1]. (d) Enterprise [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Take care with the tractor: it is capital, not money, and it is man-made.

4. (a) Timber falls from 64 to 40 [1], so the opportunity cost is 24 thousand tonnes [1]. [2] (b) 24 ÷ 20 = 1.2 thousand tonnes of timber per million bricks [1]. [1] (c) Cost per tonne is 0.5 (A to B), 0.8, 1.2, then 2.0 [1]: it rises, because later resources are less suited to making bricks [1]. [2] Examiner insight: When a question says use the table, quote its figures. Include units in each calculation.

5. Producers pay taxes to the government [1], which funds roads and training that producers use [1]. The government depends on producers for tax revenue and for jobs that raise incomes [1]. The government makes laws, such as safety rules, that producers must follow, while their output supports the economy [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Show a two-way link; describing only what the government does for firms gives one direction only.

6. (a) Method 1: 5 ÷ 10 = 0.5 tonnes [1]; Method 2: 8 ÷ 4 = 2.0 tonnes [1]. [2] (b) Method 1: (10 × £70 + £40) ÷ 5 = £740 ÷ 5 = £148 [1]; Method 2: (4 × £70 + £440) ÷ 8 = £720 ÷ 8 = £90 [1]. [2] (c) Demand may be uncertain [1], so the machine’s high daily cost is a risk if fewer tonnes are needed [1]. Other reasons, such as keeping local jobs, also work if developed. [2] Examiner insight: Show the total cost before dividing; a bare answer gives the reader nothing to follow if one figure is slightly wrong.

7. What: the government chooses health care instead of other services [1], so it gives up another use of its limited funds [1]. How: it chooses methods, for example more nurses (labour) or more scanners (capital) [1], to fit its budget [1]. For whom: the clinic is aimed at older people [1], and who benefits depends on how it is funded and its location [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Apply each question to the clinic; definitions of what, how and for whom earn little without the context.

8. (a) Tax = 12% × £250 = £30 [1]; price = £280 [1]. [2] (b) 400 × £30 = £12,000 [1]. [1] (c) It could fund training courses [1], which give producers more skilled workers [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Finish the chain of reasoning; “it benefits producers” with no link is only an assertion, so spell out how.

9. The opportunity cost is the benefit of the best alternative not chosen [1]. For example, a firm spends £50,000 on a van, so the total cost is £50,000 [1], but the opportunity cost is the best other use of that money, such as a machine [1]. [3] Examiner insight: An example without the contrast between the two ideas does not complete the explanation.

10. Larger fleet: 5 × 55,000 + 5 × 25,000 = 400,000 tonnes [1]. Present catch: 10 × 40,000 = 400,000 tonnes, so there is no gain in total [1]. Economic: income and jobs rise early, but the extra boats cost money and later income falls, so it is not economically sustainable [2]. Social: fishing communities face job insecurity once catches fall [1]. Environmental: stocks decline and future generations inherit fewer fish [2]. Judgement: it should not be allowed without limits, because the timing of the benefits is poor and the total catch is the same [1]; a quota would address this [1]. [9] Examiner insight: Use the data, then weigh the effects against each other; a list of pros and cons with no conclusion cannot show evaluation.

11. Car park income = 120 × £3 × 300 = £108,000 a year [1]. Payback = £360,000 ÷ £108,000 = 3.3 years [1]. The garden costs £300,000 less but earns nothing [1]. Economic: the car park gives lasting income [1]. Social: the garden gives recreation and health benefits [1]. Environmental: it keeps green space; cars add pollution [1]. Opportunity cost: the option not chosen [1]. Judgement: the garden if the council values well-being over revenue, or the car park if it needs income; justify which [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Reach a decision and say what it depends on; both options can be defended if you justify the choice.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining capital as money.
• Naming several alternatives as the opportunity cost.
• Forgetting units or the working in a calculation.
• Describing a shortage of one product as scarcity.
• Writing about a group’s role but not the link to another.
• Listing costs and benefits without a judgement.
• Mentioning sustainability without saying which type.
• Ignoring the context given in the question.

Next steps

• Recap with the revision notes and the study guide
• Go to the course hub and the checklist
• Try the free 10-minute diagnostics
• Book a free trial class

Official syllabus

OCR GCSE (9-1) Economics (J205), specification version 2.0 (June 2026), first assessment 2019, published by OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA). Sections 1.1 and 1.2 of Introduction to Economics.