Grade 10 Economics Exam Study Guide

Vocabulary-based flashcards covering fundamental concepts, factors of production, economic systems, and historical figures from the Grade 10 Economics study guide.

Economics

The study of how individuals, businesses, and governments make choices about using limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants.

Scarcity

The key economic problem occurring when unlimited wants are combined with limited resources.

Goods

Tangible items that can be seen and touched, such as a phone, desk, or shoes.

Services

Intangible activities provided for others, such as teaching, haircuts, or medical care.

Consumer Goods

Goods purchased for personal use.

Capital Goods

Goods used to produce other goods, such as machines, tools, and factory equipment, which help increase productivity.

Land

Natural resources from nature used in the production of goods and services.

Labor

Human effort used in the production process.

Capital (Factor of Production)

Tools, machinery, and buildings used to produce goods and services.

Entrepreneurship

The ability to organize resources and take risks to produce goods or services.

Human Capital

Knowledge and skills gained through education, training, and experience that make workers more productive.

Microeconomics

The study of individual parts of the economy, such as business decisions or why specific prices increase.

Macroeconomics

The study of the economy as a whole, focusing on issues like rising unemployment or increasing inflation.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private ownership, profit motive, competition, and market forces determining prices.

Communism

An economic system where the government owns resources and controls production and distribution.

Mercantilism

An economic goal to increase national wealth, build up the state's treasury, and encourage exports while discouraging imports.

Market Economy

An economy characterized by private property, voluntary exchange, competition, consumer choice, and guidance by supply and demand.

Laissez-Faire

A French phrase meaning "Let things alone," referring to the belief that government should interfere as little as possible in the economy.

Classical Economics

An economic school of thought believing that free markets work best, competition improves efficiency, and government intervention should be limited.

Adam Smith

An important thinker associated with Classical Economics.

Law of Demand

The principle stating that as price increases, quantity demanded decreases; as price decreases, quantity demanded increases.

Law of Supply

The principle stating that as price increases, quantity supplied increases; as price decreases, quantity supplied decreases.

Equilibrium

The point where $\text{Quantity Demanded} = \text{Quantity Supplied}$, resulting in no shortage or surplus.

Price Ceiling

A maximum legal price which, when set below equilibrium, leads to a shortage because quantity demanded increases and quantity supplied decreases.

Price Floor

A minimum legal price which, when set above equilibrium, leads to a surplus because quantity supplied increases and quantity demanded decreases.

Substitution Effect

When consumers switch to alternative goods because the price of one good rises.

Division of Labor

Breaking production into smaller tasks.

Specialization

When workers focus on one specific task, leading to higher productivity, greater efficiency, and lower costs.

Saving

Postponing present consumption to allow resources to be used for capital goods; described as the engine of economic growth.

Balance of Trade

The difference between $\text{Exports} - \text{Imports}$.

Exports

Goods sold to other countries.

Imports

Goods purchased from other countries.

Profit

Money earned after costs are subtracted from revenue.

Productivity

The amount produced per worker or per unit of input.

Alexander Hamilton

The first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury who helped establish the American financial system.

Karl Marx

An influential thinker associated with communism.

John Maynard Keynes

An economist who developed Keynesian economics.