OxfordAQA AS and A-level Economics: Graphs and interpreting information (9640) – 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 practise quantitative skills QS4 and QS9 from section 3.5 of the OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Economics (9640) specification, version 1.2. The skills could be assessed in any assessment, and the specification adds no extra A2 requirement for them. Sections 3.1 and 3.2 are International AS content and sections 3.3 and 3.4 are the extra International A2 content. Every country, firm, town and number is invented. For help first, use the study guide or the revision notes. The OxfordAQA Economics hub, the printable checklist and the free diagnostics are also useful.

Questions

1. Name the most suitable graphical form for each data set and give a reason. (i) Quarterly unemployment over five years. (ii) The shares of household spending in one year. (iii) Price and quantity demanded in ten towns. (iv) GDP of five countries in one year. [4]

2. A small firm (illustrative) has costs of 80 thousand units: wages 32, materials 24, rent 8, energy 10 and other 6. Calculate the pie chart angle for wages and for energy, and the percentage share of materials. [3]

3. Country H (illustrative) has annual inflation of 1.5% in 2018, 2.0% in 2019, 3.5% in 2020, 6.0% in 2021, 4.0% in 2022 and 2.5% in 2023.

(a) State the year of highest inflation. [1] (b) Explain whether prices fell between 2021 and 2023. [2] (c) Taking the price level in 2020 as 100, calculate the price level in 2023. [2]

4. A kiosk (illustrative) records daily temperature (degrees Celsius) and ice-cream sales over seven days.

Temperature	14	16	18	20	22	24	26
Sales	50	55	64	72	79	89	95

(a) Calculate the mean temperature and mean sales. [2] (b) A line of best fit drawn by eye passes through (14, 48) and (26, 96). Calculate its gradient. [2] (c) Use the line to estimate sales at 30 degrees and comment on the estimate. [3]

5. A firm’s annual profit rises from 2.00 million to 2.10 million units. Its bar chart has a vertical axis starting at 1.90 million.

(a) Calculate the true percentage rise. [1] (b) Show how much taller the second bar looks than the first. [2] (c) Suggest one change to make the chart fair. [1]

6. Country J (illustrative) imports 100 in 2019 (food 20, fuels 30, manufactures 50) and 120 in 2024 (food 24, fuels 21, manufactures 75).

(a) Calculate the percentage change in total imports. [1] (b) Identify the fastest-growing category and its percentage change. [2] (c) Calculate the change in the share of fuels, in percentage points. [2]

7. Country L (illustrative) has index numbers (2015 = 100). House prices: 130 in 2020 and 156 in 2024. Wages: 115 in 2020 and 132 in 2024. House prices in 2015 and wages in 2015 are both 100.

(a) Calculate the percentage rise in house prices from 2020 to 2024. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage rise in wages from 2020 to 2024, to one decimal place. [2] (c) Calculate the ratio of the house price index to the wage index in 2024 and interpret it. [2] (d) Explain why the indices do not show that houses cost more than wages in 2015. [1]

8. In a market (illustrative), demand is Qd = 72 - 2P and supply is Qs = 4P - 12. Price is in units and quantity in thousands.

(a) Find the equilibrium price and quantity. [3] (b) State where the demand curve cuts the price axis. [1] (c) Producers now receive a payment of 3 per unit sold from the government. Find the new price paid by consumers, the price received by producers and the cost of the subsidy. [4]

9. An extract from Town K (illustrative) says: “The council raised bus fares by 8% and passenger numbers fell by 12%. The council says that this raised its income.”

(a) Calculate the price elasticity of demand. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in fare revenue. [2] (c) Assess the council’s claim. [3]

10. Country M (illustrative) has eight years of data. Growth (%): -2.0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 1.0, 4.0. Unemployment (%): 9.0, 8.5, 7.8, 7.0, 6.5, 6.2, 7.4, 5.8, in the same order.

(a) Describe the pattern a scatter graph would show, quoting two data pairs. [2] (b) Calculate the mean growth rate. [1] (c) Explain two reasons why the data do not prove that growth causes lower unemployment. [3] (d) Suggest one further piece of evidence you would want. [2]

11. Country N (illustrative) had GDP of 400 and exports of 80 in 2019. In 2024 GDP was 500 and exports 120, both in current prices. A commentator says the economy has become “more dependent on exports”.

(a) Calculate exports as a percentage of GDP in each year. [2] (b) State the change in the export share in percentage points. [1] (c) Calculate the percentage growth of exports and of GDP. [2] (d) Evaluate the commentator’s claim using the data and its limits. [5]

Answers

1. (i) Line graph, because the data are a series over time [1]. (ii) Pie chart, because the parts make up one whole [1]. (iii) Scatter graph, because it shows whether two variables move together [1]. (iv) Bar chart, because the categories are separate and compared at one moment [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Tie each reason to the type of data rather than naming the chart alone.

2. Wages: 32/80 x 360 = 144 degrees [1]. Energy: 10/80 x 360 = 45 degrees [1]. Materials: 24/80 x 100 = 30% [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Show the fraction before the angle and check that your angles total 360.

3. (a) 2021 [1]. (b) Prices did not fall [1]. Inflation was still positive in 2022 and 2023, so prices kept rising, only more slowly [1]. (c) 100 x 1.06 x 1.04 x 1.025 [1] = 113.0 (112.996) [1]. [5] Examiner insight: A common slip is to treat slower inflation as falling prices, so state the distinction between a rate and a level explicitly.

4. (a) Mean temperature = 140/7 = 20 degrees [1]. Mean sales = 504/7 = 72 [1]. (b) Gradient = (96 - 48)/(26 - 14) [1] = 48/12 = 4 units of sales per degree [1]. (c) Sales at 30 = 48 + 4 x (30 - 14) = 112 [1]. This is outside the data range (14 to 26), so it assumes the pattern continues [1]. Sales may level off at high temperatures or be limited by stock, so treat 112 as uncertain [1]. [7] Examiner insight: Take the gradient from two points on the line, as the question says, not from two observed data points, and say why an estimate beyond the data is less reliable.

5. (a) 0.10/2.00 = 5% [1]. (b) Heights above the axis start are 2.00 - 1.90 = 0.10 and 2.10 - 1.90 = 0.20 [1], so the second bar looks twice as tall [1]. (c) Start the axis at zero [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Giving both the true change and the visual change makes the contrast clear.

6. (a) 120/100 - 1 = 20% [1]. (b) Food 24/20 = +20%, fuels 21/30 = -30%, manufactures 75/50 = +50% [1]. Fastest is manufactures, +50% [1]. (c) Fuel share was 30/100 = 30% and is 21/120 = 17.5% [1], a change of -12.5 percentage points [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Use the right total for each year when finding shares, and write “percentage points” for a difference between two shares.

7. (a) 156/130 = 1.20 [1], so a rise of 20% [1]. (b) 132/115 = 1.1478 [1], so a rise of 14.8% [1]. (c) 156/132 = 1.18 [1]. House prices have risen about 18% more than wages since 2015, so housing is less affordable relative to earnings [1]. (d) Both indices are 100 in 2015 whatever the actual price and wage levels, so they show change, not amounts [1]. [7] Examiner insight: A strong answer says that an index compares with a base year and does not give a level, which is the point of the last part.

8. (a) 72 - 2P = 4P - 12 [1], so 84 = 6P and P = 14 [1]. Q = 72 - 28 = 44 [1]. (b) Set Q = 0: P = 72/2 = 36 [1]. (c) Producers receive P + 3, so Qs = 4(P + 3) - 12 = 4P [1]. Then 72 - 2P = 4P gives P = 12 paid by consumers (2 lower) [1] and Q = 48 [1]. Producers receive 15, and the subsidy costs 3 x 48 = 144 [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Keep the consumer price and the producer price apart and state each in words.

9. (a) PED = -12/8 [1] = -1.5, so demand is elastic [1]. (b) 1.08 x 0.88 = 0.9504 [1], so revenue fell by about 5.0% [1]. (c) The claim is not supported, because the figures show revenue fell [1]. The extract gives no costs, so the net income of the council is unknown [1]. Other factors, such as the weather, could also have changed passenger numbers [1]. [7] Examiner insight: Combining the two percentages into a revenue figure is stronger than reasoning from elasticity alone, and the answer should address the council’s actual claim.

10. (a) Higher growth goes with lower unemployment, so the points slope downward [1]. For example (-2.0, 9.0) and (4.0, 5.8) [1]. (b) Sum = 14.0, so mean = 14.0/8 = 1.75% [1]. (c) Eight observations is a small sample, and one unusual year could change the pattern [1]. A third factor, such as a change in labour force participation, could affect both variables [1]. Unemployment may also respond to growth with a lag [1]. (d) Data for more years or for other countries [1], or a breakdown of which sectors added jobs [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Refer to this data set rather than only repeating that correlation is not causation.

11. (a) 2019: 80/400 = 20% [1]. 2024: 120/500 = 24% [1]. (b) +4 percentage points [1]. (c) Exports 120/80 = +50% [1]; GDP 500/400 = +25% [1]. (d) The data support the claim: exports grew twice as fast as GDP, and the share rose [1]. Both series are in current prices, so price changes could affect them differently [1]. Only two years are given, so there is no trend, and the 2024 figure could be unusual [1]. Export share can rise if GDP falls, and a higher share also depends on the exchange rate and on imports [1]. Overall the claim is plausible but not proven, and real figures and more years would give a firmer view [1]. [10] Examiner insight: Reach a supported judgement and tie each limitation to something visible in the data.

Where marks are usually lost

• Calling a change in a rate a “percentage” change when it is in percentage points.
• Reading a falling inflation or growth rate as a falling price level or output.
• Quoting figures without units, years or the base year.
• Using the wrong total when finding a share.
• Predicting beyond the plotted data with no caution.
• Taking a gradient from the wrong pair of points.
• Mixing up the price consumers pay and the price producers receive.
• Stating causation from a pattern in a scatter graph.
• Evaluation that could be pasted onto any data set.

Next steps

• Re-read the revision notes and the study guide.
• Return to the OxfordAQA Economics hub.
• Try all the free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Economics (9640) specification, version 1.2, section 3.5 Quantitative skills, items QS4 and QS9. Published by OxfordAQA.