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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 21 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 bakery has only enough flour for 20 loaves. What must the baker decide?
  • A.How to make flour from water
  • B.Which loaves to make and who can buy them
  • C.How to close for a year
2.A frost ruins half the orange crop. What happens to the price of oranges?
  • A.It goes up
  • B.It stays the same
  • C.It goes down
3.When water is scarce in summer, what might a city ask people to do?
  • A.Fill extra swimming pools
  • B.Leave the hoses running
  • C.Water their lawns less often
4.A factory runs short of workers. What happens to how much it can make?
  • A.It makes more goods
  • B.It makes exactly the same
  • C.It makes fewer goods
5.A shortage of computer chips slows car factories. What happens?
  • A.Cars become free
  • B.More cars are made than ever
  • C.Fewer new cars are made, and their prices go up
6.Gasoline becomes scarce after a pipeline breaks. What might drivers do?
  • A.Fill up two cars each
  • B.Drive more than before
  • C.Drive less and share rides
7.A drought means farmers grow less wheat. What happens to bread prices?
  • A.They fall
  • B.Bread becomes free
  • C.They rise
8.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

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — When Things Are Scarce

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Which loaves to make and who can buy them
  2. 2.It goes up
  3. 3.Water their lawns less often
  4. 4.It makes fewer goods
  5. 5.Fewer new cars are made, and their prices go up
  6. 6.Drive less and share rides
  7. 7.They rise
  8. 8.Fresh food brought in by truck

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