ECON 102 MIDTERM EXAM - 2026 UPDATE | QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS.
Suppose Sarah was considering between buying a burger or a pizza. She would be willing to pay $10 for
the pizza, which costs around $5. The opportunity costs of buying a burger would be: - (answer)$5
Scarcity - (answer)We don't have sufficient resources to produce all goods and services we want
Opportunity cost - (answer)next best alternative given up
A college student is faced with a difficult decision of how to spend one hour tonight. She could babysit
her professor's child at an hourly wage of $7, she could work at the college library at a wage of $6, or
she could finish her economics homework assignment. If she chooses to complete her homework
assignment, she has incurred an opportunity cost equal to: - (answer)$7
The student center on campus has burritos, bagels, or burgers for lunch, and they all cost the same. You
decide to have a burger today, but if they were out of burgers, you would have bought a bagel. Your
opportunity cost is: - (answer)your enjoyment of the bagel
John spends $40,000 on one year's college tuition. The opportunity cost of spending one year in college
for John is: - (answer)whatever he would have purchased with the $40,000 and whatever he would have
earned had he not been in college.
Say Sarah was choosing between 3 alternatives: working on her job that pays her $50; writing a term
paper which she values at $60; or going out with a friend, which she values at $80. The opportunity cost
of writing the term paper is: - (answer)$80
Suppose you have a choice between studying one more hour for your history exam or studying one
more hour for your psychology exam. Your decision on what to study should be based on: - (answer)the
additional benefits of studying for each class.
Say you took an average of 40 minutes to answer an ECON problem, and 20 minutes to answer a MATH
problem. If you had a limited time left to study, your best strategy would be to solve: - (answer)It
depends
, ECON 102 MIDTERM EXAM - 2026 UPDATE | QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS.
Which of the following demonstrates how people respond to incentives to make themselves better off?
Select one:
a. More students major in economics when they hear that salaries for economists are rising.
b. Students are assigned dorm rooms through a lottery system.
c. Students are encouraged to donate blood because it is the right thing to do.
d. Students and faculty are encouraged to wear college apparel to support the college athletic teams. -
(answer)a
One consequence of equilibrium is that when trying to figure out which checkout line at the college
bookstore is the fastest:
Select one:
a. choose the line farthest from the door.
b. randomly choose a line; if one line were truly faster, everyone would move to it and it would no
longer be faster.
c. choose the middle line.
d. choose the line nearest the door. - (answer)b
Increases in total output realized when individuals specialize in particular tasks and trade are known as -
(answer)the gains from trade
Invisible hand - (answer)when everyone tries to better themselves society is better (choose line with less
people)
When the price of wine decreases, the quantity of wine demanded: - (answer)increases
When the price of wine increases, the quantity of wine demanded: - (answer)Decreases
When we say that the demand curve slopes downward, we mean that
Select one:
ANSWERS | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS.
Suppose Sarah was considering between buying a burger or a pizza. She would be willing to pay $10 for
the pizza, which costs around $5. The opportunity costs of buying a burger would be: - (answer)$5
Scarcity - (answer)We don't have sufficient resources to produce all goods and services we want
Opportunity cost - (answer)next best alternative given up
A college student is faced with a difficult decision of how to spend one hour tonight. She could babysit
her professor's child at an hourly wage of $7, she could work at the college library at a wage of $6, or
she could finish her economics homework assignment. If she chooses to complete her homework
assignment, she has incurred an opportunity cost equal to: - (answer)$7
The student center on campus has burritos, bagels, or burgers for lunch, and they all cost the same. You
decide to have a burger today, but if they were out of burgers, you would have bought a bagel. Your
opportunity cost is: - (answer)your enjoyment of the bagel
John spends $40,000 on one year's college tuition. The opportunity cost of spending one year in college
for John is: - (answer)whatever he would have purchased with the $40,000 and whatever he would have
earned had he not been in college.
Say Sarah was choosing between 3 alternatives: working on her job that pays her $50; writing a term
paper which she values at $60; or going out with a friend, which she values at $80. The opportunity cost
of writing the term paper is: - (answer)$80
Suppose you have a choice between studying one more hour for your history exam or studying one
more hour for your psychology exam. Your decision on what to study should be based on: - (answer)the
additional benefits of studying for each class.
Say you took an average of 40 minutes to answer an ECON problem, and 20 minutes to answer a MATH
problem. If you had a limited time left to study, your best strategy would be to solve: - (answer)It
depends
, ECON 102 MIDTERM EXAM - 2026 UPDATE | QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS.
Which of the following demonstrates how people respond to incentives to make themselves better off?
Select one:
a. More students major in economics when they hear that salaries for economists are rising.
b. Students are assigned dorm rooms through a lottery system.
c. Students are encouraged to donate blood because it is the right thing to do.
d. Students and faculty are encouraged to wear college apparel to support the college athletic teams. -
(answer)a
One consequence of equilibrium is that when trying to figure out which checkout line at the college
bookstore is the fastest:
Select one:
a. choose the line farthest from the door.
b. randomly choose a line; if one line were truly faster, everyone would move to it and it would no
longer be faster.
c. choose the middle line.
d. choose the line nearest the door. - (answer)b
Increases in total output realized when individuals specialize in particular tasks and trade are known as -
(answer)the gains from trade
Invisible hand - (answer)when everyone tries to better themselves society is better (choose line with less
people)
When the price of wine decreases, the quantity of wine demanded: - (answer)increases
When the price of wine increases, the quantity of wine demanded: - (answer)Decreases
When we say that the demand curve slopes downward, we mean that
Select one:
