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The Cost of Building on Credit is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on what an interest rate is, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Eco.10.3-5. 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 4 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.

The Cost of Building on Credit

D2.Eco.10.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.A family borrows to buy rather than wait seven years. What is the risk?
  • A.Rates cannot change
  • B.The debt and its interest remain whatever happens to their income
  • C.The house may move
2.Why does a lender charge interest at all?
  • A.Because notes wear out
  • B.To discourage borrowing
  • C.The money could have earned elsewhere while it was lent
3.Why is a rate expressed as a share rather than a sum?
  • A.Sums are secret
  • B.So loans of different sizes can be compared
  • C.Shares are shorter
4.A government issues bonds. Who receives the interest?
  • A.The builders
  • B.The government
  • C.The people who lent by buying the bonds
5.What does an interest rate measure?
  • A.The cost of borrowing as a share of the amount borrowed
  • B.The size of the lender
  • C.The length of the loan
6.Rates rise sharply. What happens to a building programme funded by borrowing?
  • A.Bricks get cheaper
  • B.Nothing changes
  • C.Each home costs more to finance, so fewer can be built
7.Why might a government be charged less than a company?
  • A.Governments are larger
  • B.Companies pay tax
  • C.It is more likely to repay, so the risk is lower
8.The white paper says cost falls on borrowing. What does borrowing cost?
  • A.Interest, on top of repaying what was borrowed
  • B.A fixed fee
  • C.Nothing, if a government borrows

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.10.3-5 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Cost of Building on Credit

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The debt and its interest remain whatever happens to their income
  2. 2.The money could have earned elsewhere while it was lent
  3. 3.So loans of different sizes can be compared
  4. 4.The people who lent by buying the bonds
  5. 5.The cost of borrowing as a share of the amount borrowed
  6. 6.Each home costs more to finance, so fewer can be built
  7. 7.It is more likely to repay, so the risk is lower
  8. 8.Interest, on top of repaying what was borrowed

More practice for D2.Eco.10.3-5

Explain what an interest rate is.

Teaching this next? The Cost of Building on Credit 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.10.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.