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Social Studies Lessons 10-15

Last updated about 4 years ago
15 questions
Lesson 10: Specialization and Interdependence
Read the paragraphs and answer the questions
When a person makes or grows just one type of thing, it’s called specializing. Most workers specialize in certain goods or services. Many people specialize in making a single thing. Others provide one type of service.

All these specialized producers depend on other producers to provide goods and services to meet their needs. This idea is called interdependence. Interdependence means relying on each other for some needs.

Because most people specialize, they cannot supply all their own needs. People need other people to meet some of their needs and wants. Specialization leads to interdependence. Specialized workers make or supply only one thing. As a result, people rely on other people to meet their needs and wants.
1

A police officer needs others to supply food. Is this a specialization or interdependence?

1

A person washes dishes in a restaurant where others cook food. Is this a specialization or interdependence?

1

Which shows how specialization can lead to interdependence?

Lesson 11: Scarcity and Choice
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Scarcity means we don't have enough resources for everything we need or want. For a person, scarcity might mean not being able to find a special item. They might have to choose whether to wait for a special item, or get a different item. When scarcity forces us to make choices, we make a trade-off. A trade-off is when someone gives up one thing to get something else. People make trade-offs. We give up one thing to get another thing. I only have room in my bag for a coffee cup or a water bottle. My trade-off is I give up packing my coffee cup, so I can pack my water bottle.

What we give up is called an opportunity cost. It is the cost of our choice, or trade-off. A customer may only have enough money to buy one toy, the doll or the race car. The opportunity cost is the toy they were not able to buy.
1

Which is an example of scarcity?

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Which is an example of a trade-off?

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A girl only has enough money for one book. There are two she wants, a fairy book and a pirate book. They are the same price. She decides to get the pirate book. In her trade-off, what is the opportunity cost?

Lesson 12: Costs and benefits
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Serena’s mother needed a new printer. She asked Serena to help her find the best one. She has $350 to spend on the printer and supplies.

“We should look at the cost,” said her mother.“ Cost is the amount of money we must pay for something. How much will I have to pay?”

“We need to look at the benefits, too,” said Serena’s mom. “A benefit is what a person gains from buying something. What do the printers do? How will they help me?”

Serena’s mom compared the costs and benefits of the two printers. She chose the $250 printer. She used the extra money for paper and ink. The printer takes longer to print, but money she saved will help her buy the supplies.
1

Which is an example of a cost?

1

Which is an example of a benefit?

Lesson 13:Inports and Exports
Read the paragraphs and answer the questions
Today, most communities make or grow only some things. The people in the community get much of what they need and want from other places.

To import means to buy things from other countries.Communities specialize. If a country has no communities that grow cranberries, it must import cranberries. Because countries specialize, some things come from other countries. The opposite of importing is exporting. To export means to sell goods to other countries. An American company that imports cocoa beans might export chocolate bars to Canada.
1

What is an import?

1

What is an export?

Lesson 14: Supply and Demand
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Winnie wants to buy a soccer goal. She visits a lot of stores and cannot find the goal. She learns that many stores do not have a soccer goal because the demand for them is very low. The demand is how many people are wanting to buy a soccer goal. Because the demand is low, the supply of them is low too. The supply is how many soccer goals are made. Winnie finaly finds the soccer goal at a store and she is able to get the goal to play a game with her friends.
1

Which is an example of demand?

1

Which is an example of supply?

Lesson 15: Money and Me
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What do people do with the money they earn? They use it to meet their needs. People buy food, shelter, and clothing. Sometimes some money is left over after we meet our needs. What do people do with that money? One choice is to save the leftover money. Saving means to keep money for later, instead of spending it now.

People save for big expenses, like buying a new car. People save in case of an emergency. If your refrigerator breaks, you need to be able to repair or replace it quickly. People save for a special item, such as a book or game.

People save money for big purchases or big emergencies. Many people put their money in bank accounts at banks. Banks keep our money safe. They also pay interest on savings. It can be hard to decide to save money for tomorrow. It seems easier to spend money on things we want today. It’s important to remember that saving money makes us more secure. We know that we are prepared for accidents. We know that we have planned for important big expenses.
1

Saving money for college is an example of what reason to save money?

1

Saving money in case your car breaks down is an example of what reason to save money?

1

What does a bank do?