Civics Vocabulary - Unit 10

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key economic concepts for Unit 10 in Civics.

economics

The study of how people make decisions when resources are scarce.

microeconomics

The behavior and decision-making of individuals and businesses.

macroeconomics

Deals with the economy as a whole and decisions made by governments, whole industries, and societies.

economic model

A theory that tries to explain human economic behavior.

economic system

A way of producing goods/services that people want and need.

resources

The things used in making goods and providing services.

scarcity

When there are not enough resources to produce the things people want.

trade-off

The alternative one gets if they choose one thing over another.

opportunity cost

The cost in time and money when one does one thing rather than another.

marginal cost

The additional cost of producing one additional unit of output.

marginal benefit

The additional benefit received when one additional unit is produced.

goods

Things that are produced to be sold.

services

work performed for someone else for a price

factors of production

Resources necessary to produce goods and services.

natural resources

Things in nature that are used to produce goods or services.

labor

Anyone who works to produce goods or services.

capital

Manufactured goods used to make other goods or services.

market

The free and willing exchange of goods and services between buyers and sellers.

productivity

The measure of the amount of output (goods and services) produced by a given set of inputs (land, labor, and capital) in a given amount of time.

specialization

When producers concentrate on goods and services they can produce better than anyone else.

division of labor

Breaking down a task into smaller tasks performed by different workers.

capitalism

An economic system in which private citizens own and use the factors of production for profit.

free enterprise

An economy that functions with minimum government interference.

competition

The struggle between buyers and sellers to get the best products at the lowest prices.

profit

The amount of money left over after all the costs of production have been paid.

laissez-faire economics

Philosophy that states that government should not interfere in the marketplace.

demand curve

A graph that shows the amount of a product that would be bought at all possible prices in the market.

law of demand

States that the quantity demanded and price move in opposite directions.

substitutes

A competing product customers can use in place of another.

complements

Products used together so that the demand for one moves in the opposite direction as the price of the other.

demand elasticity

The extent to which a change in price causes a change in the quantity demanded.

law of supply

The principle that states that suppliers will produce more at higher prices and less at lower prices.

supply curve

Graph that shows the amount of a product that would be supplied at all possible prices in a market.

supply elasticity

Measure of how the quantity supplied of a good or service changes in response to changes in price.

surplus

The amount by which the quantity supplied is higher than the quantity demanded.

shortage

The amount by which the quantity demanded is higher than the quantity supplied.

equilibrium price

The price at which there is neither a surplus nor a shortage.

price ceiling

The maximum price set by the government that can be charged for goods or services.

price floor

A government minimum price that can be charged for goods or services.