OCR GCSE Economics: Markets, specialisation, demand and elasticity (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 2.1 (The role of markets) and 2.2 (Demand) of OCR GCSE (9-1) Economics (J205), Version 2.0 (June 2026). All firms, countries and figures are invented for practice. Learn the content first from the study guide or the revision notes. Course links: hub, checklist, diagnostics.

Questions

1. Explain what is meant by a market. [2]

2. Classify each activity as primary, secondary or tertiary: a quarry, a furniture factory, a hairdresser. [3]

3. Distinguish factor markets from product markets and show one link between them. [4]

4. Country B (illustrative) had 8.0 million jobs in Year 1, of which 45% were in the tertiary sector. In Year 2 it had 9.0 million jobs, of which 70% were tertiary.

(a) Calculate the number of tertiary jobs in each year. [2] (b) Work out by what percentage the number of tertiary jobs changed. [2]

5. A candle workshop (illustrative) has 4 workers. Each makes 15 candles a day alone. With separate stages the team makes 96 candles a day. Wages total £360 a day.

(a) Calculate the percentage rise in output. [2] (b) Find the wage cost of each candle before and after. [2] (c) State one risk of specialisation for the business. [2]

6. Evaluate whether specialisation benefits workers. [8]

7. Two customers’ weekly demand for takeaway coffee (illustrative):

Price (£)	Dev	Ella
5	2	0
4	4	1
3	6	3
2	8	5

(a) Calculate market demand at each price. [2] (b) Describe how to draw the market demand curve. [1] (c) Price falls from £4 to £3. State what happens on the curve and calculate the percentage change in quantity demanded. [2]

8. For tea, say whether each event moves buyers along their demand curve or shifts it, and which way: (a) the price of tea falls; (b) the price of coffee, a substitute, rises; (c) incomes fall and tea is a normal good. [3] (d) Analyse one consequence for a tea producer of an increase in demand. [2]

9. A monthly bus pass rises from £40 to £48. Passes sold fall from 3,000 to 2,520. Calculate PED and explain what it shows. [4]

10. A cafe cuts the price of a sandwich from £4.00 to £3.60 and sales rise from 250 to 325 a day.

(a) Calculate PED. [2] (b) Calculate revenue before and after. [2] (c) Give one reason why the cafe’s profit may not rise. [2]

11. A ferry operator (illustrative) charges £10 a ticket. Islanders buy 20,000 tickets a year and have PED of −0.3. Tourists buy 10,000 tickets and have PED of −1.8. The operator plans a 10% price rise for everyone. Evaluate the plan. [9]

Answers

1. Wherever buyers meet sellers [1] to swap goods, services or resources for payment; it need not be a physical place [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Answers usually do better with an example, such as an online marketplace, because it shows you know a market is not only a building.

2. Quarry: primary [1]. Furniture factory: secondary [1]. Hairdresser: tertiary [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Give one word per activity. A reason is rarely needed when the question says classify.

3. Factor markets trade the factors of production, such as labour [1]; product markets trade finished goods and services [1]. Interdependence: households earn wages in the factor market [1] and spend them in product markets, so falling product demand reduces demand for labour [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A common way to lose credit is to name the two markets without linking them; the link needs a flow such as wages becoming spending.

4. (a) Year 1: 8.0 × 0.45 = 3.6 million [1]. Year 2: 9.0 × 0.70 = 6.3 million [1]. [2] (b) Change = 6.3 − 3.6 = 2.7 million; 2.7 ÷ 3.6 × 100 [1] = +75% [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Use jobs, not shares: the share rose 25 percentage points, which is a different answer from the 75% rise in the number of jobs.

5. (a) Before: 4 × 15 = 60 [1]. Rise = (96 − 60) ÷ 60 × 100 = 60% [1]. [2] (b) Before £360 ÷ 60 = £6.00 [1]; after £360 ÷ 96 = £3.75 [1]. [2] (c) Workers depend on each other, so a breakdown or absence at one stage slows the whole line [1], which reduces output and sales [1]. [2] Examiner insight: For a “state” part worth two marks, a developed point (risk plus consequence) is the safer response.

6. Benefits: skills improve with practice [1]; higher productivity can support higher pay [1]. Costs: repetitive work reduces satisfaction [1]; narrow skills make it hard to change jobs if the firm or industry declines [1]. Chain: productivity rises, so the firm earns more, so pay can rise; but if demand for the product falls, specialised workers are most exposed [2]. Judgement: it depends on whether the firm is secure and whether training is available; with retraining, benefits probably outweigh costs, without it the risk to workers is large [2]. [8] Examiner insight: In an evaluate question, a conclusion that names the condition deciding the outcome usually reads as more convincing than a bare “it depends”.

7. (a) Add each row: 2 + 0, 4 + 1, 6 + 3, 8 + 5 [1]. Market demand is 2, 5, 9 and 13 [1]. [2] (b) Put price on the vertical axis and weekly quantity on the horizontal axis, plot the market points and join them into a downward-sloping line labelled D [1]. [1] (c) A movement along the curve (an extension) [1]. Quantity rises from 5 to 9: 4 ÷ 5 × 100 = 80% [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Show the addition line by line; a correct list with no working leaves nothing to credit if one value is wrong.

8. (a) Movement, extension [1]. (b) Shift right [1]. (c) Shift left [1]. (d) The producer sells more at every price [1], so revenue rises and it may raise price or take on workers [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Part (a) is about the good’s own price, so do not call it a shift. Part (d) needs the effect developed beyond “sells more”.

9. Price change = 8 ÷ 40 × 100 = +20% [1]. Quantity change = −480 ÷ 3,000 × 100 = −16% [1]. PED = −16 ÷ 20 = −0.8 [1]. It is inelastic, as quantity falls proportionately less than price rises [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Quoting the figure alone leaves the interpretation unmade, so say “inelastic” and explain what that means for buyers.

10. (a) Price change = −0.40 ÷ 4.00 = −10% [1]. Quantity change = 75 ÷ 250 = +30%; PED = −3.0 [1]. [2] (b) Before 4.00 × 250 = £1,000 [1]; after 3.60 × 325 = £1,170 [1]. [2] (c) Making 75 more sandwiches costs more in ingredients and labour [1], which may exceed the £170 rise in revenue [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Revenue and profit are different; answers that separate the two are more convincing in part (c).

11. Islanders: quantity falls 3%, to 19,400; revenue 19,400 × £11 = £213,400 against £200,000, up £13,400 [2]. Tourists: quantity falls 18%, to 8,200; revenue 8,200 × £11 = £90,200 against £100,000, down £9,800 [2]. Total revenue £303,600 against £300,000, up only £3,600 (1.2%) [1]. Islanders have few substitutes for an essential journey, so they bear the cost; low-income households lose most [1]. Tourists are elastic, so fewer visit, which may hurt local businesses [1]. Judgement: raising the price for islanders only would gain £13,400, more than the £3,600 from raising it for everyone, though fairness and the costs of running the ferry matter; the plan is weak as designed because the gain is small and tourists are lost [2]. [9] Examiner insight: Strong answers calculate each group before judging, and then use PED to explain why the two groups react differently.

Where marks are usually lost

• Calling a change in quantity “a change in demand” when price caused it.
• Measuring percentage change from the new figure.
• Giving a PED with no interpretation.
• Forgetting that a negative sign does not mean inelastic.
• Mixing up revenue and profit.
• Listing benefits of specialisation with no cost or conclusion.
• Describing factor and product markets without the link between them.
• Leaving a diagram without labelled axes or curves.

Next steps

• Re-read the study guide for any question you missed.
• Use the revision notes for quick recall.
• Check progress on the course hub and the printable checklist.
• Use the diagnostics to spot weak areas.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

Source: Cambridge OCR, GCSE (9-1) Economics specification (J205), Version 2.0 (June 2026), for first assessment in 2019. Covered here: 2.1 and 2.2.