Worksheet

The Silver Run Mitten Market

Compare two mitten makers in a snowy U.S. town and use demand and supply graphs to explain market choices and competition.

Grade 5Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toECO.5.2

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Single worksheet
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1 C3 Framework standard
Printable answer key
14 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students explain how buyers and sellers interact in a market.
Students use supply and demand data to predict changes in prices and quantities.
Students describe how competition gives buyers choices and encourages sellers to respond.

How to use

Read the passage and study each graph together. Ask students to support their final explanations with details and numbers from the page.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

ECO.5.2

Explain markets, competition, and supply and demand in the U.S. economy.

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The Silver Run Mitten Market

Use a winter market story and graphs to explain competition, supply, and demand.

Read about the mitten market

Read the passage. Then answer the questions using details from the passage.

Two Mitten Makers in Silver Run

Silver Run is a snowy town in northern Maine. Each winter, families, school groups, and road workers look for warm mittens. The town's mitten market includes the people who buy mittens and the businesses that make and sell them. The mittens are made and sold in the United States, so this small exchange is one example of the U.S. economy.

Two businesses serve many of the same buyers. Polar Loop Cooperative employs six local knitters. Its mittens use thick wool and come in several colorful patterns. Summit Stitch Works is in Northfield, a town about 30 miles away. Machine operators there make lined mittens with waterproof cuffs. Both businesses send mittens to a Silver Run outdoor store. A shopper can compare the price, fit, warmth, and design before choosing a pair.

The two businesses make some different choices. Polar Loop makes small batches and can change a pattern quickly. Summit Stitch can use its machines to make many pairs in a short time. If one business offers a lower price or a useful feature, some buyers may choose its mittens instead of the other business's mittens. The store keeps track of which pairs sell and shares that information with both makers.

Conditions can change during the season. One week, a truck carrying yarn to Polar Loop arrived late. The cooperative had fewer pairs ready for the store. Summit Stitch had extra yarn and offered to send more mittens. Later, a school snowshoe club ordered 20 pairs for a trip. The store asked both makers whether they could prepare additional pairs. After two weekends when nearly every mitten sold, Polar Loop's members discussed training two more knitters. Summit Stitch considered running its machines for an extra evening.

The owners also watch the weather. During a very warm January, fewer people may want thick mittens, so the store may order fewer pairs. During a long stretch of deep cold, more people may look for them. The two makers must decide how many mittens to make, what features to offer, and what price will attract buyers while covering their costs. Buyers and sellers respond to one another as they make these decisions.

What makes Polar Loop and Summit Stitch competitors in the mitten market?

A. They both employ workers who live in northern Maine.
B. They offer similar mittens to buyers who can choose between them.
C. They both receive every shipment of yarn from one truck.
D. They both make patterns that are exactly the same.

Select the two details that show buyers have choices in this market.

Two businesses offer warm mittens to the store.Polar Loop employs six local knitters.A shopper can compare price, fit, warmth, and design.A truck carrying yarn arrived late one week.

Word bank: supply · demand · competition

The amount of a product that buyers are willing to purchase is called .

Sort each change into the part of the market it directly affects.

A school club orders 20 more pairs.A warm winter makes fewer families want thick mittens.A truck brings an extra load of yarn.Two new knitting machines are installed.

Changes demand	Changes supply

Suppose Summit Stitch raises its price while Polar Loop keeps a similar quality and price. What is most likely to happen?

A. Buyers will probably purchase more pairs from Summit Stitch.
B. Some buyers may choose Polar Loop instead.
C. Both businesses will have the same price.
D. The store will remove both kinds from its shelves.

Which change would most likely increase competition in Silver Run's mitten market?

A. A new mitten business begins offering similar mittens.
B. The town receives fewer winter storms.
C. The school buys fewer pairs for its trip.
D. A yarn truck arrives later than expected.

Study what buyers want

Read the graph. It shows the number of pairs buyers in Silver Run would buy at different prices.

At a price of $24 per pair, buyers would buy pairs.

Which statement is best supported by the demand graph?

A. Buyers would buy more pairs as the price rises.
B. The number buyers buy stays at 48 pairs.
C. Buyers would buy fewer pairs as the price rises.
D. Sellers would offer fewer pairs as the price rises.

A long cold spell causes more people to want mittens at every price. What would most likely happen to this demand graph?

A. Each bar would become lower because prices changed.
B. Only the $18 bar would change.
C. The bars would show the number sellers offer instead.
D. The bars would become higher at each price.

Study what sellers offer

Read the graph. It shows the total number of pairs sellers in this market would offer at different prices. Then explain your thinking.

10.

At a price of $30 per pair, sellers would offer pairs.

11.

At $36 per pair, the supply graph shows 48 pairs offered, while the demand graph shows 12 pairs wanted. What would be a reasonable response from sellers with many unsold pairs?

A. Raise the price to $42 per pair.
B. Make even more pairs at the same price.
C. Lower the price or reduce the number made.
D. Stop comparing their mittens with other products.

12.

Which event would most likely increase the supply of mittens that sellers can offer at each price?

A. A late yarn delivery leaves fewer materials.
B. New machines and trained workers join the production process.
C. A warm winter causes fewer buyers to want mittens.
D. A school club places a large order for mittens.

13.

Use the passage and at least one graph. Explain one way competition can help buyers and one way it can affect Polar Loop or Summit Stitch.

14.

At $24 per pair, the demand graph shows 36 pairs wanted and the supply graph shows 24 pairs offered. What pressure might this create in the market? Use both numbers and explain what sellers might do next.