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

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.1.3-5 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Costs a Government Chooses

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.