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When Things Are Scarce is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how scarcity affects production and price, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Eco.3.3-5. 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 students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 15 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.

When Things Are Scarce

D2.Eco.3.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.A frost ruins half the orange crop. What happens to the price of oranges?
  • A.It stays the same
  • B.It goes up
  • C.It goes down
2.Gasoline becomes scarce after a pipeline breaks. What might drivers do?
  • A.Fill up two cars each
  • B.Drive less and share rides
  • C.Drive more than before
3.A factory runs short of workers. What happens to how much it can make?
  • A.It makes fewer goods
  • B.It makes exactly the same
  • C.It makes more goods
4.A storm closes the roads into a town for a week. What becomes scarce in its stores?
  • A.Fresh food brought in by truck
  • B.Sunshine
  • C.The town's name
5.A drought means farmers grow less wheat. What happens to bread prices?
  • A.Bread becomes free
  • B.They rise
  • C.They fall
6.Why are diamonds expensive while tap water is cheap in most places?
  • A.Diamonds are easy to dig up
  • B.Diamonds are scarce, while tap water is plentiful
  • C.Water is harder to find than diamonds
7.When water is scarce in summer, what might a city ask people to do?
  • A.Leave the hoses running
  • B.Water their lawns less often
  • C.Fill extra swimming pools
8.Lots of pumpkins grow this year. What probably happens to pumpkin prices?
  • A.They go up
  • B.Pumpkins disappear
  • C.They go down

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — When Things Are Scarce

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It goes up
  2. 2.Drive less and share rides
  3. 3.It makes fewer goods
  4. 4.Fresh food brought in by truck
  5. 5.They rise
  6. 6.Diamonds are scarce, while tap water is plentiful
  7. 7.Water their lawns less often
  8. 8.They go down

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.