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What It Gains, What It Costs is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on comparing the benefits and costs of a choice, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Eco.1.3-5. 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 14 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

What It Gains, What It Costs

D2.Eco.1.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.A traveller pays 2 shillings for first class. What is the benefit?
  • A.He is not open to the weather on the journey
  • B.He arrives sooner
  • C.He pays no fare
2.The county builds a school in a village. What is the cost?
  • A.The village grows
  • B.Children get older
  • C.The rates every household must pay towards it
3.A farmer sends milk by train instead of by cart. What is the benefit?
  • A.The horse eats less hay
  • B.The cart lasts longer
  • C.The milk reaches the town fresh in one hour
4.A farmer sends milk by train instead of by cart. What is the cost?
  • A.The fare he pays the railway company every day
  • B.The cart is stolen
  • C.The milk goes sour
5.The canal company cuts its charges. What is the cost to the company?
  • A.The canal dries up
  • B.It earns less on every ton it carries
  • C.Barges get slower
6.A traveller pays 6 pence for third class. What is the cost?
  • A.He arrives later
  • B.He travels open to the weather
  • C.He must walk
7.A boatman retrains as a railway porter. What is the cost?
  • A.The railway is loud
  • B.The weeks he spends earning nothing while he learns
  • C.Porters wear uniforms
8.The canal company cuts its charges. What is the benefit to the company?
  • A.It keeps some custom that would have gone to the railway
  • B.Boats get bigger
  • C.Tolls rise

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.1.3-5 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What It Gains, What It Costs

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.He is not open to the weather on the journey
  2. 2.The rates every household must pay towards it
  3. 3.The milk reaches the town fresh in one hour
  4. 4.The fare he pays the railway company every day
  5. 5.It earns less on every ton it carries
  6. 6.He travels open to the weather
  7. 7.The weeks he spends earning nothing while he learns
  8. 8.It keeps some custom that would have gone to the railway

More practice for D2.Eco.1.3-5

Weigh up what a choice gains against what it costs.

Teaching this next? Gains on One Side, Costs on the Other is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.1.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.