Inflation, Unemployment and Growth · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Inflation, Jobs, and Growth: An Economy's Vital Signs

Civics & Economics · Economics · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What does 'inflation' mean?

    • Prices going up over time
    • Prices going down over time
    • The number of people who have jobs

  2. When prices rise a lot, the same amount of money buys less than it used to.

    Circle one:   True   False

  3. Look at the chart of bread prices from 2022 to 2025. What is happening to the price?

    2022220232.420242.820253.2
    • It is going down
    • It is going up
    • It never changes

  4. A jacket costs $40. The store has a sale with 25% off. What is the sale price in dollars?

    Answer: ______________

  5. Prices are rising fast this year. Which person is hurt the most by this?

    • A retired person on a fixed pension
    • A worker who just got a big raise
    • A company selling goods at higher prices

  6. Inflation means prices creep up over time. Imagine prices are doubling every 20 years. A basketball costs $12 today. About how much will the same basketball cost in 20 years, in dollars?

    Answer: ______________

  7. Two stores sell the same video game. Store A charges $50 with 10% off. Store B charges $45 with 5% off. Which store has the lower final price?

    • Store A
    • Store B
    • Both stores cost exactly the same
    • You cannot tell without more information

  8. This chart shows the unemployment rate over four years while the economy grew steadily. In this story the labour force stays the same size. What is the trend?

    20226202352024420253.5
    • More people are losing their jobs each year
    • The rate never changes
    • Fewer people are looking for work without finding it

  9. A country's shops sold $100 worth of toys last year and $106 worth this year, while toy prices also rose 6%. In this story the shops sell the same type of toy and sell all toys made that year. Did the country really make more toys, or does it just look that way?

    • There is no way to know from these numbers
    • Yes, real growth happened, many more toys were made
    • It just looks that way, the same amount of toys sold at higher prices

  10. Prices have been dropping for two years in a row (deflation). Who does this hurt the most?

    • Someone who kept cash saved under their mattress
    • Someone who borrowed a large loan and must pay it back
    • Someone with no debt and no savings
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Inflation, Jobs, and Growth: An Economy's Vital Signs W1-mt_Zr0YyQwtKy-s1

  1. Prices going up over time · Inflation is a rise in prices over time, which means each dollar buys a little less.
  2. True · That's what inflation does: the money amount stays the same, but it stretches over fewer goods.
  3. It is going up · Each bar is taller than the last, so the price is rising year after year.
  4. 30 · When a price falls by 25%, you pay 75% of the old price. Falling prices mean your money buys more than before.
  5. A retired person on a fixed pension · The pension stays the same size while prices climb, so it buys less and less.
  6. 24 · When prices double, everything costs twice as much, so each dollar you saved buys only half as much as before.
  7. Store B · Comparing final prices shows how much your money can really buy at each store.
  8. Fewer people are looking for work without finding it · The bars get shorter each year, so the rate is falling as the economy grows.
  9. It just looks that way, the same amount of toys sold at higher prices · The shops sell the same toys and sell all made that year. Sales value rose exactly as much as prices did, so the actual number of toys made stayed the same.
  10. Someone who borrowed a large loan and must pay it back · As prices fall, money becomes worth more, so the borrower's debt gets harder to pay off.
Worksheet · LightMySky