OxfordAQA International GCSE Economics: Demand, supply and equilibrium price (9214) – 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 3.1.3.1 to 3.1.3.3 of the OxfordAQA International GCSE Economics (9214) specification (Paper 1, How markets work), for exams from May/June 2025 onwards. All countries, firms and figures are invented. Mark allocations are Marlbridge’s own.

Revise first with the study guide and revision notes. See also the course hub, the printable checklist and the free diagnostics.

Questions

1. (a) Define demand. [2] (b) State one factor, other than price, that could increase the demand for sports shoes. [1]

2. Lena’s monthly cinema visits (illustrative):

Ticket price (cu)	10	8	6	4	2
Visits	1	2	3	5	8

(a) Describe how to construct Lena’s demand curve from the table and state its shape. [3] (b) Cinema owners cut the ticket price from 8 cu to 4 cu. State the change in her visits and the term for this kind of change. [2]

3. Classify each event below in the market for electric scooters in Country C: say which curve is involved and whether it moves or the market slides along it. [4] (i) The price of scooters falls and more are bought. (ii) New battery technology cuts the cost of making scooters. (iii) Incomes rise. (iv) The price rises and firms plan to make more.

4. A tailoring workshop (illustrative) makes shirts in batches of 20. The extra cost per shirt of each batch is 8, 10, 14 and 20 cu.

(a) Complete the supply schedule for prices of 8, 10, 14 and 20 cu. [2] (b) State how many shirts it supplies at 12 cu and explain why. [2] (c) Wages rise, adding 2 cu to the extra cost per shirt of every batch. State the quantity supplied at 14 cu. [1]

5. Daily bike hire in a city in Country D (illustrative):

Price (cu)	2	3	4	5	6
Demand	900	700	500	300	100
Supply	100	300	500	700	900

(a) State the equilibrium price and quantity. [2] (b) At 6 cu, state whether there is excess demand or excess supply, give its size and explain what happens to price. [3] (c) Calculate revenue at equilibrium. [1]

6. Dried fish in Country E (illustrative):

Price (cu)	20	25	30	35	40
Demand	100	90	80	70	60
Supply	40	60	80	100	120

(a) State the equilibrium price and quantity. [2] (b) A health report cuts demand by 30 at every price. Write the new demand schedule. [1] (c) Explain how the market moves from the old price to the new equilibrium. [3] (d) Calculate revenue before and after the report. [2]

7. Explain, using a supply and demand diagram described in words, the effect of a bumper harvest on the price and quantity of rice in Country A. [5]

8. A farm sells 250 kg of beans at 36 cu per kg. The price then falls to 30 cu and it sells 290 kg. (a) Calculate revenue before and after. [2] (b) State the change in revenue. [1] (c) State how revenue is shown on a supply and demand diagram. [1]

9. A festival (illustrative) has 8,000 tickets. Demand on day one is 12,000, 10,000, 8,000, 6,000 and 4,000 at 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 cu. (a) State the price at which day one sells out and calculate revenue. [2] (b) A famous act adds 4,000 to demand at every price on day two. State the new price and calculate revenue. [3] (c) Explain why the supply curve is vertical. [1] (d) Explain why price, not quantity, changes on day two. [2]

10. Evaluate how far a supply and demand diagram can predict the effect of poor weather on the price of apples in Country G. [8]

Answers

1. (a) The amount buyers are both willing and able to purchase [1] at each possible price over a set time [1]. (b) A rise in income, or successful advertising [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Definitions tend to gain credit when they include both “willing” and “able” and refer to a range of prices, not a single price.

2. (a) Price on the vertical axis and visits on the horizontal axis, both labelled [1]. Plot the five points, for example (1, 10) and (8, 2) [1]. Join them: the curve slopes downward [1]. (b) Visits rise from 2 to 5, an increase of 3 [1]. It is an extension of demand, because only the good’s own price changed [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Giving the reason for “movement” (own price changed) is what turns a label into an explanation.

3. (i) Extension along the demand curve [1]. (ii) Shift of the supply curve to the right [1]. (iii) Shift of the demand curve to the right [1]. (iv) Extension along the supply curve [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Name the curve every time. “Shift” alone leaves open which curve moved.

4. (a) At 8 cu, 20 shirts; at 10 cu, 40; at 14 cu, 60; at 20 cu, 80 [2]. (b) 40 shirts [1], because the third batch costs 14 cu per shirt, which is more than 12 cu [1]. (c) New costs are 10, 12, 16 and 22, so the firm supplies 40 shirts [1]. [5] Examiner insight: The reason in part (b) should compare price with the extra cost of the next batch, not just say “costs are higher”.

5. (a) 4 cu [1] and 500 bikes [1]. (b) Excess supply [1] of 900 − 100 = 800 [1]. Unhired bikes build up, so firms cut price [1]. (c) 4 × 500 = 2,000 cu [1]. [6] Examiner insight: State both the price and the quantity when asked for equilibrium; one without the other is incomplete.

6. (a) 30 cu [1] and 80 [1]. (b) New demand: 70, 60, 50, 40, 30 [1]. (c) At 30 cu demand is 50 and supply is 80, so excess supply is 30 [1]. Price falls [1]. Buyers’ quantity extends and sellers’ quantity contracts until both reach 60 at 25 cu [1]. (d) Before: 30 × 80 = 2,400 cu [1]. After: 25 × 60 = 1,500 cu [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Starting from the original price and giving the size of the gap shows the adjustment rather than just stating the result.

7. The harvest raises supply: the supply curve moves right [1]. Before price adjusts, sellers hold more rice than buyers want, so there is excess supply [1]. Unsold rice pushes price down [1]. Quantity demanded extends along the demand curve [1]. New equilibrium: lower price and greater quantity [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Answers that say “the curve moves” without direction or cause are weaker than ones that name the curve, the direction and the reason.

8. (a) Before: 250 × 36 = 9,000 cu [1]. After: 290 × 30 = 8,700 cu [1]. (b) A fall of 300 cu [1]. (c) As a rectangle, price multiplied by quantity, with corners at the origin, the price and the quantity [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Include units, and show both multiplications; a correct final figure is easier to credit when the working is visible.

9. (a) 80 cu [1]; revenue 80 × 8,000 = 640,000 cu [1]. (b) New demand: 16,000, 14,000, 12,000, 10,000, 8,000 [1]. Price 120 cu [1]; revenue 120 × 8,000 = 960,000 cu [1]. (c) The number of seats is fixed whatever the price [1]. (d) At 80 cu demand is 12,000 against 8,000 seats: excess demand of 4,000 [1]. Price rises until demand falls to 8,000; supply cannot rise [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Linking the answer to the fixed capacity in the context is what separates this from a generic “demand rises, price rises” reply.

10. Poor weather cuts the supply of apples, shifting supply left [1]. At the starting price buyers want more than sellers offer: excess demand [1]. Price rises and quantity falls [1]. The prediction is limited if: other factors change at once, such as demand [1]; stored apples or imports soften the shift [1]; prices are fixed by contracts for a time, or the government intervenes [1]. Judgement: the diagram gives a reliable direction for price, but the size and timing depend on the market’s features [1], for example how quickly and how much supply or demand changes [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Evaluation earns credit when each limit is tied to apples or to Country G rather than listed generically, and when the answer ends with a judgement.

Where marks are usually lost

• Calling a move caused by the good’s own price a shift.
• Naming a shift without saying which curve moved or in which direction.
• Skipping the old-price step: excess demand or excess supply and its size.
• Using the wrong quantity for revenue when price is not at equilibrium.
• Giving an equilibrium price without the quantity, or the reverse.
• Leaving out units, such as cu or kg.
• Giving a supply determinant as a demand determinant, such as costs in a demand answer.
• Evaluating in general terms rather than for the market given.

Next steps

• Re-read the study guide and the revision notes.
• Check the course hub and the printable checklist.
• Try the other markets practice, then all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International GCSE Economics (9214), specification Version 1.0, first teaching September 2023, first examined May/June 2025. Published by OxfordAQA.