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

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

Answer key — Costs a Government Chooses

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

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