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Costs a Government Chooses is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on comparing the benefits and costs of a public 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 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.

Costs a Government Chooses

D2.Eco.1.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.A country signs a five-year fixed-price supply deal. Cost?
  • A.It loses its ports
  • B.If prices fall it is locked into paying more than the market
  • C.Timber gets heavier
2.A family waits seven years for a council home. What is the cost to them?
  • A.The size of the home
  • B.Seven years living in whatever they can get instead
  • C.The rent they will pay
3.A newspaper prints letters attacking the programme. Benefit to readers?
  • A.They learn what people outside the official figures are experiencing
  • B.Letters are free
  • C.The paper is longer
4.A council builds upward on cleared land. Benefit?
  • A.Lists get shorter by themselves
  • B.More families housed from the same scarce sites
  • C.Bricks are cheaper
5.A council builds upward on cleared land. Cost?
  • A.Waiting lists lengthen
  • B.Higher building costs more per home and changes the street entirely
  • C.Land runs out sooner
6.The government builds through councils rather than firms. Cost?
  • A.It loses the timber
  • B.It loses the land
  • C.It loses whatever speed competing firms might have brought
7.A country signs a five-year fixed-price supply deal. Benefit?
  • A.It knows the cost of timber for five years
  • B.It gains a fleet
  • C.It gains territory
8.The government builds through councils rather than firms. Benefit?
  • A.Materials go where destruction was worst rather than where profit is
  • B.Bricks cost less
  • C.Councils build faster

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.1.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Costs a Government Chooses

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.If prices fall it is locked into paying more than the market
  2. 2.Seven years living in whatever they can get instead
  3. 3.They learn what people outside the official figures are experiencing
  4. 4.More families housed from the same scarce sites
  5. 5.Higher building costs more per home and changes the street entirely
  6. 6.It loses whatever speed competing firms might have brought
  7. 7.It knows the cost of timber for five years
  8. 8.Materials go where destruction was worst rather than where profit is

More practice for D2.Eco.1.3-5

Weigh up what a choice gains against what it costs.

Teaching this next? Costs a Government Chooses is the 55-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.