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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 22 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 boatman retrains as a railway porter. What is the cost?
  • A.Porters wear uniforms
  • B.The weeks he spends earning nothing while he learns
  • C.The railway is loud
2.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 milk goes sour
  • C.The cart is stolen
3.A farmer sends milk by train instead of by cart. What is the benefit?
  • A.The cart lasts longer
  • B.The horse eats less hay
  • C.The milk reaches the town fresh in one hour
4.The canal company cuts its charges. What is the benefit to the company?
  • A.Tolls rise
  • B.Boats get bigger
  • C.It keeps some custom that would have gone to the railway
5.A traveller pays 6 pence for third class. What is the cost?
  • A.He must walk
  • B.He arrives later
  • C.He travels open to the weather
6.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 pays no fare
  • C.He arrives sooner
7.The county builds a school in a village. What is the benefit?
  • A.Children no longer walk four miles to lessons
  • B.Roads improve
  • C.Rates fall
8.The county builds a school in a village. What is the cost?
  • A.Children get older
  • B.The village grows
  • C.The rates every household must pay towards it

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.1.3-5 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What It Gains, What It Costs

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The weeks he spends earning nothing while he learns
  2. 2.The fare he pays the railway company every day
  3. 3.The milk reaches the town fresh in one hour
  4. 4.It keeps some custom that would have gone to the railway
  5. 5.He travels open to the weather
  6. 6.He is not open to the weather on the journey
  7. 7.Children no longer walk four miles to lessons
  8. 8.The rates every household must pay towards it

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.