Building Blocks in Economics — Class 9 MCQs with Answers
Class 9 CBSE Social Science · Chapter 8
81 practice questions · 25 Easy · 29 Medium · 27 Hard · Updated
Jump to the 6 solved questions
Practise the most important Class 9 CBSE Social Science questions from Chapter 8, "Building Blocks in Economics". You get 10 timed quizzes made from 81 NCERT-based MCQs, with answers and explanations. The questions are split into 25 Easy, 29 Medium and 27 Hard. Warm up on the basics, then move on to the exam-level questions that top scorers in CBSE Board exams get right.
To score well in "Building Blocks in Economics", focus on dates, cause and effect, and reading maps and sources. Each MCQ here is timed and uses exam-style marking (+4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 skipped). This helps you stay accurate when time is short, just as real papers need. Every question has a short explanation, so a wrong answer becomes a quick lesson. It is the fastest way to fix gaps before a test.
Use this chapter for focused revision. Start with the Easy set to check your basics on Building Blocks in Economics, then move to Medium and Hard to practise applying them. Your accuracy, streaks and XP save automatically. This chapter also adds to your overall Class 9 Social Science mastery score. Try the 6 sample questions below: tap an option to see the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in free to start practising.
Building Blocks in Economics — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 9 Social Science)
6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.
0 of 6 answered
- Q1 of 6Easy
Which of the following is a basic human NEED?
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Answer: Food
Explanation: Food is a basic need essential for survival, while the others are wants that add comfort or pleasure but are not necessary for living.
- Q2 of 6Easy
Opportunity cost is the value of the ______ that is given up when a choice is made.
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Answer: next-best alternative
Explanation: Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative that is foregone when one option is chosen over others.
- Q3 of 6Medium
Match the factor of production with its reward: Labour, Capital, Entrepreneur. The correct rewards are:
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Answer: Wages, Interest, Profit
Explanation: Labour earns wages, capital earns interest, and the entrepreneur earns profit.
- Q4 of 6Medium
Assertion (A): In a planned economy, enterprises have little motivation to improve quality or innovate. Reason (R): Strict permits and licences stop many enterprises from operating, which restricts competition among private enterprises.
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Answer: Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
Explanation: Both are true, and R explains A. The chapter says that because competition is restricted in a planned economy, there is little motivation to improve quality or innovate.
- Q5 of 6Hard
During a drought, a town that earlier treated water as a free good begins charging for it and rationing supply. The BEST economic explanation is that:
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Answer: increased scarcity has turned a free good into an economic good
Explanation: When a once-abundant good becomes scarce relative to demand, it acquires a price and is managed as an economic good.
- Q6 of 6Hard
Read the case: 'Using all her land, water and labour, a farmer can grow these combinations of rice and cotton (in quintals): P = 0 rice, 60 cotton; Q = 10 rice, 55 cotton; R = 20 rice, 45 cotton; S = 30 rice, 30 cotton; T = 40 rice, 0 cotton.' If she moves from R to S, what is the opportunity cost of the extra 10 quintals of rice?
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Answer: 15 quintals of cotton
Explanation: Opportunity cost is the value of what is given up. Moving from R to S raises rice from 20 to 30 quintals but cuts cotton from 45 to 30, so the extra 10 quintals of rice cost 15 quintals of cotton. Each point on this production possibility curve is the maximum output from the available resources, so more of one crop means less of the other.
Building Blocks in Economics notes: key concepts (Class 9 Social Science)
Economics begins with a simple fact: wants are unlimited but the means of satisfying them are scarce. This chapter builds from needs, wants and scarcity to choice and opportunity cost, then introduces economic activities and the four factors of production.
| Factor | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Land | All natural resources: soil, water, forests, minerals |
| Labour | Human effort, physical or mental |
| Capital | Human-made means of production: tools, machines, factory buildings |
| Technology | The fourth factor; producers mix all four, labour-intensive or capital-intensive |
| Who | Chose | Opportunity cost |
|---|---|---|
| Ravi, with 50 rupees | A notebook | The comic book |
| Anil: book, then movie, then snack | The book | The movie ticket only, not the snack too |
| A farmer: 20 quintals rice or 15 wheat | Rice | 15 quintals of wheat |
| Sita | A free training class | 400 rupees of wages for the day |
| A government with a fixed budget | A new hospital | The highway that could have been built |
| Anyone breathing | Freely available air | None: air is a free good |
| Free goods | Economic goods | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | Available without limit, like air and sunlight | Scarce |
| Price | Free of cost | Have a price |
| Water | Free at home; free in a spring | Sold at a railway station; bottled and sold by a plant |
| What changes one into the other | Plenty | Scarcity, as when a drought makes a town charge for water |
| Sector | What it does | Tea | Cotton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Uses natural resources directly | Leaves plucked on an estate | Cotton grown |
| Secondary | Turns raw materials into finished goods | Processed into packaged tea in a factory | Cloth woven |
| Tertiary | Provides services | Sold in a supermarket | Cloth sold in a shop |
- Economics
- The study of how individuals and societies use limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants.
- Needs and wants
- Needs are essential for survival, such as food, clothing and shelter; wants are desires beyond that, and they are unlimited.
- Scarcity
- The central economic problem: resources are limited relative to the wants they must satisfy, which forces choices to be made.
- Choice
- Because resources are scarce, every individual and society must decide what to produce, how to produce it and for whom.
- Opportunity cost
- The value of the next-best alternative given up when a choice is made — the real cost of any decision.
- Economic and non-economic activities
- Economic activities are undertaken for money or livelihood; non-economic activities, such as caring for one's own family, are done from affection or duty.
- Production, consumption and exchange
- Production creates goods and services, consumption uses them, and exchange moves them between people through markets.
- Goods and services
- Goods are tangible items that can be stored; services are intangible and are consumed as they are produced.
- Factors of production
- The four inputs used to produce goods and services: land, labour, capital and technology. Producers choose a mix of them, either labour-intensive or capital-intensive.
- Land
- All natural resources used in production, including soil, water, forests and minerals; its reward is rent.
- Labour
- Human effort, physical or mental, applied to production; its reward is wages, and its productivity depends on health and skill.
- Physical capital
- Human-made means of production such as tools, machines and factory buildings, unlike natural resources such as water and coal.
- Human capital
- The stock of skill, knowledge and health embodied in people, built by education and healthcare and raising what labour can produce.
- Sectors of the economy
- Primary activities extract from nature, secondary manufacture goods, and tertiary provide services.
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Building Blocks in Economics — FAQs
What are the key concepts in Class 9 Social Science Building Blocks in Economics?+
Economics begins with a simple fact: wants are unlimited but the means of satisfying them are scarce. This chapter builds from needs, wants and scarcity to choice and opportunity cost, then introduces economic activities and the four factors of production. Key ideas include Economics, Needs and wants, Scarcity, Choice, Opportunity cost, Economic and non-economic activities.
What does Class 9 Social Science Chapter 8 (Building Blocks in Economics) cover on XamBaaz?+
It has 81 NCERT-based MCQs on "Building Blocks in Economics": 25 Easy, 29 Medium and 27 Hard. Together they make 10 timed quizzes, and you never get the same set twice. Every question has an instant explanation. They help you prepare for CBSE Board exams.
Are these "Building Blocks in Economics" questions free to practise?+
Yes. Sign in with Google to practise "Building Blocks in Economics" free. Full unlimited access is ₹999/year. One year from the day you pay. You stay in Class 9 till 31 March; on 1 April your account moves up to Class 10 and the rest of your year carries over. No chapter is charged separately.
How should I revise "Building Blocks in Economics" for the exam?+
Start with the Easy quiz to check your basics, then try Medium and Hard to practise applying them. There are 10 timed quizzes on this chapter, so you can come back for a fresh set instead of one you have seen. Read each explanation, retry the questions you miss, and track your accuracy until it stays high.
Are these "Building Blocks in Economics" MCQs available with answers?+
Yes. 6 sample questions are on this page with answers: tap an option, or "Show answer", to see the correct option and a step-by-step explanation. Sign in free with Google to start practising, with instant scoring.
Is there negative marking in the "Building Blocks in Economics" quizzes?+
Yes. The timed quizzes use exam-style marking: +4 for a right answer, −1 for a wrong one and 0 for a skip. MHT-CET and CBSE board papers have no negative marking. Our mocks for those are scored their way.
What are the important questions from Building Blocks in Economics (Class 9 Social Science)?+
The questions that matter most test Economics, Needs and wants, Scarcity, Choice, Opportunity cost, Economic and non-economic activities. This page shows 6 solved important MCQs with answers and explanations. Sign in to practise all 81 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.
Is there an online quiz for Building Blocks in Economics?+
Yes — Class 9 Social Science Building Blocks in Economics has timed online quizzes at Easy, Medium and Hard levels, with instant scoring and a worked explanation on every question. The first quiz on the chapter is free.
Are there question answers and extra questions for Building Blocks in Economics (Class 9 Social Science)?+
Yes. This page has 6 solved questions on Building Blocks in Economics, each with the correct answer and a short explanation. Sign in to practise all 81 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.
Are there assertion–reason and case study questions for Building Blocks in Economics (Class 9 Social Science)?+
Yes. The Building Blocks in Economics question bank has 6 assertion–reason questions and 1 case-based (case study) question in the CBSE board format, alongside the regular MCQs. Each comes with the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in to practise them in timed quizzes.