Economics 9708 · AS & A Level
Demand and supply curves
100 practice questions on Demand and supply curves, with worked solutions and instant marking.
If the price of a good goes up and the quantity demanded also increases, what might account for this?
Feb/March 2016
What would cause the demand curve for an inferior good to shift rightward?
Feb/March 2016
For price to function as a rationing mechanism for a final product, an increase in price has to
Feb/March 2017
On a demand and supply diagram, assuming everything else stays unchanged, a decrease in the price of a commodity will usually shift
Feb/March 2017
Which factor is considered the variable when a market demand curve is drawn?
Feb/March 2018
The diagram illustrates a supply curve for beef. What explains why the supply curve for beef slants upwards?
Feb/March 2019
Good X is related to good Y. Incomes rise and the price of good Y drops. Which combination would lead to the biggest rise in demand for good X?
Feb/March 2020
The diagrams illustrate the original demand curve D1 and supply curve S1 for steel in the European Union (EU). In 2018, European steel firms faced increasing energy prices. Which diagram indicates the likely effect of this?
Feb/March 2021
Which of the following would not lead to a shift in an individual’s demand curve for good Z?
Feb/March 2021
An increase in the price of a good is followed by a rise in the quantity demanded. What might account for this?
Feb/March 2022
The diagram illustrates a supply curve for chicken. What accounts for the upward slope of the supply curve for chicken?
Feb/March 2022
Demand curves are drawn ceteris paribus. Which ‘other things’ do not need to stay unchanged when an individual’s demand curve for ice cream is drawn?
Feb/March 2022
The supply curve is described by quantity supplied = 10 + 5P, where P denotes the price of the product. Which increase in price would make the quantity supplied double?
Feb/March 2023
Which statement accurately describes the shape of the demand curve for a normal good?
Feb/March 2023
Which curve is displayed in the diagram?
Feb/March 2023
How is effective demand defined?
Feb/March 2024
The diagram illustrates two straight-line demand curves, X and Y. Which statement about curves X and Y is correct?
Feb/March 2024
What is more likely to influence an individual demand curve than a market demand curve?
Feb/March 2025
Using Fig. 1.1, calculate the percentage change in the world price of olive oil from May 2022 to January 2023.
Feb/March 2025
Which statement correctly describes the downward-sloping demand curve for an inferior good?
Feb/March 2025
A disease in 2008 caused a significant number of sheep used to produce wool to die. How would the short-run effect be shown on a demand and supply diagram for wool?
May/June 2010
The government sets a maximum price of P2 for a product. What would the situation be after this action?
May/June 2010
The diagram illustrates a demand curve for trips along a toll road. If the toll falls from $5 to $3, what increase in the daily consumer surplus results?
May/June 2010
What is not the case when price operates as a way of allocating resources?
May/June 2010
The diagram illustrates the demand and supply curves for a good. The government imposes a maximum price of OJ for the good. What effect will this have on the consumers and producers of the good?
May/June 2010
Which of the following statements about inflation is correct?
May/June 2010
At what time is a deficit in the current account of the balance of payments likely to deteriorate?
May/June 2010
The table gives the number of Jamaican dollars that could be exchanged for one unit of other currencies in June and July 2001. What conclusion might be drawn from the table?
May/June 2010
The table gives the market supply of a raw material and the separate demand of the three firms, X, Y and Z, who are the only purchasers. What is the equilibrium market price of the raw material?
May/June 2010
In 2008, the demand curve for new cars in the European Union moved leftwards. Which change might have led to this shift?
May/June 2010
Across the world, the film industry now spends more than $1 billion each year on effective anti-piracy measures, and it funds this by levies on DVD products. How would this be represented on a demand and supply diagram for the market in legally produced DVDs?
May/June 2010
The demand for a commodity has unitary price elasticity. Which diagram illustrates how total expenditure on the commodity varies with its price?
May/June 2010
In 2008, the demand curve for new cars in the European Union moved leftwards. Which change might have led to this shift?
May/June 2010
In 2008, a disease caused a large number of sheep that were kept for wool production to die. How would the short-run impact be illustrated on a demand and supply diagram for wool?
May/June 2010
In 2008, the demand curve for new cars in the European Union moved leftward. Which change might have brought about this shift?
May/June 2010
Across the world, the film industry has raised its spending to more than $1 billion per year on effective anti-piracy measures, and it funds this through charges on DVD products. How would this be represented in a demand and supply diagram for the market for DVDs produced legally?
May/June 2010
In 2008, a disease led to the death of a large number of sheep that were used for wool production. How would the short-run impact be represented on a demand and supply diagram for wool?
May/June 2010
The diagram illustrates the demand curves and supply curves for loanable funds. Which changes might lead the equilibrium in the loanable funds market to shift from E1 to E2?
May/June 2010
Which statement is in line with an individual demand curve that slants downward from left to right?
May/June 2011
Which factor would make the demand curve for cars made domestically shift left?
May/June 2011
The diagrams illustrate changes in the market for a good. Which diagrams indicate ‘a change in the quantity demanded’?
May/June 2011
In the diagram, D and S represent the demand and supply curves for a good. What might lead the supply curve to move in the short run to S1?
May/June 2011
What would be consistent with an individual demand curve that slopes downward from left to right?
May/June 2011
Which factor will make the demand curve for cars produced domestically move to the left?
May/June 2011
The diagrams illustrate changes in the market for a product. Which diagrams indicate ‘a change in the quantity demanded’?
May/June 2011
On the diagram, D and S are the demand and supply curves for a good. What might cause the supply curve to move in the short run to S1?
May/June 2011
What is compatible with an individual demand curve that slopes downward from left to right?
May/June 2011
What factor would shift the demand curve for cars made domestically to the left?
May/June 2011
The diagrams illustrate changes in the market for a good. Which diagrams indicate ‘a change in the quantity demanded’?
May/June 2011
In the diagram D and S represent the demand and supply curves for a good. What might cause the supply curve to shift in the short run to S1?
May/June 2011
Discuss whether demand schedules and budget line diagrams are alike in the way they show the effect of
May/June 2011
Discuss whether demand schedules and budget line diagrams are similar in the way they illustrate the effect of
May/June 2011
What does the term market demand curve mean?
May/June 2012
The table shows the short-run supply schedules for three firms X, Y and Z, which make up an industry. Which option is a point on the industry’s short-run supply schedule?
May/June 2012
How is a market demand curve defined?
May/June 2012
The table shows the short-run supply schedules for three firms, X, Y and Z, that together make up an industry. Which option is a point on the industry’s short-run supply schedule?
May/June 2012
The table shows the short-run supply schedules for three firms X, Y and Z, which together make up an industry. Which point lies on the industry’s short-run supply schedule?
May/June 2012
In 2009, why might demand for used cars in Venezuela have risen?
May/June 2013
During 2008, Ansell, the producer of surgical products and rubber gloves, saw profits rise by 2.6 %, in part due to greater concerns about safety and health in Brazil, Mexico, China and Russia. What would happen to the demand and supply curves on a diagram for Ansell’s products?
May/June 2013
Firm Z is one of several firms making televisions. What would lead to firm Z’s supply curve moving to the left while the market supply curve for televisions moves to the right?
May/June 2013
In the diagram, D shows the demand curve for an agricultural commodity, while S represents the original supply curve. The government undertakes to keep farmers’ incomes at no less than this starting level. The harvests in the four later years are represented by the supply curves S1 – S4. In which years will the government have to pay additional income to farmers?
May/June 2013
What would lead to a shift in the demand curve for a computer?
May/June 2013
When the price of maize goes up, the quantity of maize demanded is expected to decrease. When demand for maize falls, the price of maize is expected to increase. What can be said about these two statements?
May/June 2013
The supply curve is given by the equation, quantity supplied = 10 + 5P, where P is the price of the product. What rise in price would make the quantity supplied double?
May/June 2013
Palm oil and sunflower oil are substitutes. Palm oil and palm kernel cake for animal feed are in joint supply. If all other factors stay the same, what effects will a fall in the price of sunflower oil have?
May/June 2013
An increase in the price of a good is followed by a larger quantity demanded. What might account for this?
May/June 2013
Which change does not immediately affect the position of a product’s demand curve?
May/June 2013
The diagram illustrates the demand curve for a product. Which statement is correct?
May/June 2013
Three businesses (X, Y and Z) provide goods to a market. The table lists how much each supplies at four separate price levels. What change in price is needed for market supply to fall to half its original level?
May/June 2013
In 2010, weak harvests cut fruit crops, and furniture producers offered substantial discounts on furniture products. How could these changes have affected the position of the supply curve for the products?
May/June 2014
If a country has a summer that is very wet and cold, how could this affect the price of umbrellas and the price of ice creams?
May/June 2014
In the diagram, D1 shows the original demand curve for student places at universities. What might cause the demand curve to move to D2?
May/June 2014
The demand curve in the diagram illustrates how the number of car journeys is related to the cost of a car journey. What might cause the demand curve to move left?
May/June 2014
What could cause a market supply curve to move to the right?
May/June 2014
Which factor would not make the demand curve for foreign holidays shift to the left?
May/June 2014
A change in position along a supply curve for a product is likely to happen if there is an increase in
May/June 2014
The market for sugar is initially at equilibrium. A disease damages the sugar crop, and newspapers report adverse health consequences from eating sugar. Which combination of changes in demand and supply corresponds to these events?
May/June 2015
In the diagram, D1D1 represents an individual’s original demand curve for public transport. What might cause the demand curve to shift to D2D1?
May/June 2015
The market is supplied by four firms. At $20, the market supply is 50 units and at $40 it is 100 units. The table gives each firm’s market share at those two prices. Which firm has no normal upward-sloping supply curve?
May/June 2015
In the past, many people smoked in restaurants. Restaurant owners have noticed that a fall in smoking, brought about by a tax on cigarettes, has lowered their meal sales. How would this be illustrated on demand and supply diagrams for cigarettes and for meals?
May/June 2015
The diagram illustrates a demand curve for a product. Which statement explains the nature of this demand curve?
May/June 2015
Suppose that Tiger Woods, the well-known golfer, says that his last golf appearance will take place at the next US Open Tournament. How could this change the demand for tickets to the tournament?
May/June 2015
Why does the quantity demanded rise when the price of a normal good decreases?
May/June 2015
Identify two areas of microeconomic theory that rely on the idea of equilibrium, and explain how equilibrium is reached in each one.
May/June 2015
In the diagram shown, D1 and S1 represent the original demand and supply curves for the US car market. Which change would move the demand curve for cars to D2 and the supply curve for cars to S2?
May/June 2016
A US study advised teenagers to cut the quantity of fizzy drink that they drink. If this advice was followed, how could the outcome be shown on demand and supply diagrams for fizzy drinks and for sugar?
May/June 2016
How can a market supply curve be described?
May/June 2016
In a country, the demand curve for new cars moved to the left. Which change could have caused this shift?
May/June 2016
For a market in one good, the quantity supplied (QS) and the quantity demanded (QD) are QS = P – 30 and QD = 240 – 2P, where P = price in dollars. After a tax change on the good, QS becomes P – 36. What effect will this change have on equilibrium price?
May/June 2016
Which change does not have an instant impact on the position of the demand curve for a product?
May/June 2016
Which statement about market supply is correct?
May/June 2016
Why does a normal demand curve for a product slope downward from left to right?
May/June 2016
Economists refer to indifference analysis when analysing consumer choice. Does this theory of consumer behaviour suggest that a consumer is always indifferent when deciding between two products?
May/June 2016
The diagram illustrates a change in a firm’s supply curve from S1 to S2. What may have led to the shift from S1 to S2?
May/June 2017
When the price of a good changes, the quantity of that good demanded rises. What kind of good must it be, and in which direction must price have moved, for this outcome to be guaranteed?
May/June 2017
A local government is considering raising parking charges and adding more lanes reserved for buses only. One official stated that higher parking charges ought to lead to more bus travel. Another official stated that increasing how often buses run will not make demand for bus travel increase. Are these officials’ statements correct or incorrect?
May/June 2017
In what way would an economist determine the market demand curve for a private good?
May/June 2017
Why does an individual’s demand curve usually slope downwards from left to right?
May/June 2017
Ethiopia is Africa’s biggest producer of coffee. S1 and D1 are the initial supply and demand curves for Ethiopian coffee. D2 is a fresh demand curve. What would have led to the change shown in the diagram?
May/June 2017
Which curve is represented in the diagram?
May/June 2017