This set has ten original questions, from easier to harder, covering all five lessons in economics data responses. Questions 1 to 3 practise percentage bases, 4 and 5 describing trends, 6 and 7 linking data to a model, 8 alternative explanations, and 9 and 10 balanced analysis.
All businesses, economies and figures are invented, and none of the questions copies an exam paper. Write each answer on paper first, then open the solution.
Note the ones you missed and use the routing list at the end. The mistake log and retest queue helps you retry a fresh question later, and the percentage-base explorer lets you test your bases.
Questions
1. The number of customers at a fictional café fell from 250 a day to 200 a day. Calculate the percentage fall.
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Change = 250 − 200 = 50. The base is the starting value, 250. 50 ÷ 250 × 100 = 20% fall.
2. In a fictional market with total sales of RM600,000, Firm X sells RM150,000 and Firm Y sells RM210,000. Find each firm’s market share.
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The base is the total, RM600,000. Firm X: 150,000 ÷ 600,000 × 100 = 25%. Firm Y: 210,000 ÷ 600,000 × 100 = 35%. Together they hold 60%, leaving RM240,000 for other firms.
3. A fictional country’s savings rate rose from 8% of income to 10% of income. Give the change as percentage points and as a percentage of the original rate.
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Percentage points: 10 − 8 = 2 percentage points. As a percentage of the original rate: 2 ÷ 8 × 100 = 25%. Say which one you mean.
4. The output of a fictional farm cooperative (RM million) was 200, 210, 231 and 220 over four years. Write a one-sentence description, with a percentage for the overall change.
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Overall: 220 − 200 = 20, and 20 ÷ 200 × 100 = 10%. The exception is the final year: 11 ÷ 231 ≈ 4.8% fall.
“Output rose overall by 10%, from RM200 million to RM220 million, although it fell by about 4.8% in the fourth year.” The largest rise was in year 3: 21 ÷ 210 = 10%.
5. A student writes: “Prices rose steadily” for the index 100, 102, 108, 107. Explain the problem and rewrite the sentence.
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The final change is a fall (108 to 107), and the rises are unequal (+2 then +6), so “steadily” is inaccurate.
Rewrite: “Prices rose overall by 7%, from 100 to 107, although they fell slightly in the final period.” Check: 7 ÷ 100 = 7%.
6. After a storm damaged trees, the price of a fictional fruit rose from RM10 to RM12 per kg and the quantity sold fell from 500 kg to 400 kg. Describe the chain from evidence to model.
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Evidence: price rose by 2 ÷ 10 = 20% and quantity fell by 100 ÷ 500 = 20%. Revenue changed from RM5,000 to RM4,800.
Interpretation: price up and quantity down points to a fall in supply. Model: the storm raised costs and cut the harvest, so the supply curve shifts left. Result: a higher equilibrium price and a lower quantity.
7. Before a festival, a fictional shop sold 200 kites a month at RM20. During the festival month it sold 260 at RM25. What happened to demand, and what is the revenue change?
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Price and quantity both rose, which points to a rise in demand, with the festival as the cause. Revenue: 20 × 200 = RM4,000, then 25 × 260 = RM6,500, a rise of RM2,500, or 62.5% (2,500 ÷ 4,000).
8. A fictional company ran a new advertisement and its sales rose by 15%. State one alternative explanation and what extra data would help.
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Alternative: a rival’s shop closed, or consumers’ incomes rose, or the month was a seasonal peak. Useful extra data: sales of the same product in a comparable period last year, or sales at a competitor over the same months. The advert may not be the cause.
9. In the fictional country of Delmar, a tax of RM2.00 per unit raised the price paid by buyers from RM10.00 to RM11.50, and quantity fell from 2,000 to 1,700 units. Calculate the tax revenue and each side’s share of the tax.
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Revenue = 1,700 × 2.00 = RM3,400. Buyers pay 11.50 − 10.00 = RM1.50 more, which is 1.50 ÷ 2.00 = 75% of the tax. Sellers receive 11.50 − 2.00 = RM9.50, which is RM0.50 less, or 25%. Check: 1.50 + 0.50 = 2.00.
10. A student writes about Delmar: “The tax is clearly unfair to farmers.” Rewrite it as a balanced statement using the data that a farmer’s monthly sales income fell from RM4,000 to RM3,600.
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The fall is 400 ÷ 4,000 × 100 = 10%.
“Farmers’ monthly sales income fell by 10%, from RM4,000 to RM3,600, and they bear a share of the tax. The government gains RM3,400 in revenue. Whether the tax is beneficial overall depends on how that revenue is used and how much the fall in income matters to farmers.” The sentence names effects, sizes and a condition.
If you got these wrong
- Wrong percentage, or confusion between percentage and percentage points (1 to 3): go back to select an appropriate percentage base.
- Description lacks an exception or a figure (4 and 5): revisit describe a trend with a qualification.
- Chain stops at “price rose” without a curve shift (6 and 7): try build a chain from evidence to a model.
- Only one cause is considered (8): read state an alternative explanation.
- Verdicts without evidence (9 and 10): study write a balanced economic analysis without unsupported political verdicts.
For a different angle on the same skills, the ratios tool with interpretation limits is a useful partner. When the same error returns across several sets, a short online one-to-one Economics tuition session can help you find the cause in your own working.