The Price of Borrowing is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on what an interest rate is, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Eco.10.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.A boatman borrows to buy a barge in 1845. Why was that a risk?
A.Barges float
B.If his trade fell he would still owe the money and its interest
C.Interest cannot be charged
2.What does an interest rate measure?
A.How long you take to repay
B.How much you earn
C.How much it costs to borrow, as a share of what you borrowed
3.Why does a lender charge interest at all?
A.Because the money could have been used elsewhere while it was lent
B.Because coins wear out
C.To be unkind
4.Why might a lender charge one borrower more than another?
A.Because one lives nearer
B.Because one is less likely to repay
C.Because one is taller
5.A rate rises from 3 to 8 in a hundred. What happens to borrowing?
A.Borrowing costs more, so fewer people borrow
B.Nothing changes
C.Borrowing gets cheaper
6.The railway company borrows to lay track. What must it plan for?
A.Never repaying
B.Charging no fares
C.Earning enough from fares to repay the loan and its interest
7.You save 100 pounds and are paid 3 pounds a year. What is that?
A.Interest paid to you for lending your money to the bank
B.A gift
C.A wage
8.You borrow 100 pounds and repay 105. What is the 5 pounds?
A.Interest: the price of borrowing the money
B.A tax
C.A fine
LessonPrint · D2.Eco.10.3-5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — The Price of Borrowing
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.If his trade fell he would still owe the money and its interest
2.How much it costs to borrow, as a share of what you borrowed
3.Because the money could have been used elsewhere while it was lent
4.Because one is less likely to repay
5.Borrowing costs more, so fewer people borrow
6.Earning enough from fares to repay the loan and its interest
7.Interest paid to you for lending your money to the bank
8.Interest: the price of borrowing the money
Questions about The Price of Borrowing
What does the The Price of Borrowing worksheet cover?
It practises what an interest rate is — 8 questions for Grade 3 to Grade 5, all on Common Core D2.Eco.10.3-5: Explain what an interest rate is. The instruction to pupils is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does The Price of Borrowing practise?
D2.Eco.10.3-5 — D2.Eco.10.3-5, in the Economics domain for Grade 3 to Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Explain what interest rates are.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
The Price of Borrowing is written for Grade 3 to Grade 5, typically ages 40-41. It is one of the sheets on D2.Eco.10.3-5, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does The Price of Borrowing come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of The Price of Borrowing can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is The Price of Borrowing free to print and photocopy?
Yes. The Price of Borrowing, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach D2.Eco.10.3-5?
Yes — “What Borrowing Costs” is a 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 plan for D2.Eco.10.3-5, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. The Price of Borrowing is the practice that follows it.
More practice for D2.Eco.10.3-5
Explain what an interest rate is.
Teaching this next? What Borrowing Costs is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.