Free Microeconomics MCQs with Answers

1,742 Microeconomics MCQs from Economics, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Individual consumers, firms and markets are examined through demand and supply, elasticity, consumer choice, production, costs, revenue and the determination of prices and output. The topic also covers market structures such as perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly, plus market failure, externalities and the distinction between microeconomic decisions and economy-wide outcomes.

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1,742 questions · page 16 of 88

  • A. has no relation to symbols?
  • B. illustrates the evolution of tools and includes all objects made by humans
  • C. is of limited importance to humans
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Material culture consists of physical objects produced or used by humans, including tools, clothing, buildings, and machines.

Correct answer: illustrates the evolution of tools and includes all objects made by humans
  • A. the structure of a language shapes a people view of the world
  • B. language has no part in mental attitudes
  • C. languages are limited to the number of words for any given object
  • D. preverbal communication is more important than verbal

Explanation: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis holds that the structure and categories of language influence how people perceive and interpret the world.

Correct answer: the structure of a language shapes a people view of the world
  • A. instinct
  • B. simple learning only
  • C. learning thorough symbols
  • D. genetic heredity

Explanation: Culture is acquired through social learning rather than inherited biologically or driven by instinct, and symbols are central to…

Correct answer: learning thorough symbols
  • A. biology
  • B. species separation
  • C. culture
  • D. physical aspect

Explanation: Human groups share the same basic biological species, but differ greatly in learned customs, beliefs, language, and practices.

Correct answer: culture
  • A. the welfare system
  • B. religions
  • C. government
  • D. institutions

Explanation: Institutions are organized systems of beliefs, roles, and behavior that meet recurring social needs, such as family, education, religion…

Correct answer: institutions
  • A. the family
  • B. marriage
  • C. wedding rings
  • D. BOTH rings and exchanging wedding vows

Explanation: A culture trait is a smallest identifiable element of culture, such as wearing a wedding ring or exchanging wedding vows.

Correct answer: BOTH rings and exchanging wedding vows
  • A. what is right
  • B. what is most feared
  • C. rules for behavior
  • D. systems of rewards and punishment

Explanation: Norms are shared rules or standards that guide how people are expected to behave.

Correct answer: rules for behavior
  • A. their culture is still at a primitive stage
  • B. they have not yet reached the industrial stage of evolution when time is money
  • C. like all lower-class persons they focus on the present
  • D. time is not an important value in their culture

Explanation: The absence of a grammatical way to express time suggests that time may not have the same cultural importance or meaning in that society.

Correct answer: time is not an important value in their culture
  • A. every time a new administration comes into office
  • B. when they inadvertently see a pornographic movie
  • C. when they come in contact with an unfamiliar culture
  • D. when they witness atrocities committed in wars

Explanation: Culture shock is the confusion, discomfort, or disorientation people may feel when they encounter unfamiliar customs, values, and social…

Correct answer: when they come in contact with an unfamiliar culture
  • A. history
  • B. sociology
  • C. political science
  • D. psychology

Explanation: Sociology studies social life broadly, including institutions, religion, politics, crime, organizations, and environmental relations.

Correct answer: sociology
  • A. verification
  • B. generalization
  • C. replication
  • D. validation

Explanation: Replication means repeating a research study, usually to see whether the same results can be obtained.

Correct answer: replication
  • A. are conducted in both field and laboratory setting
  • B. involve the risk that people may modify their behavior
  • C. must involve control groups of some kind
  • D. all of the above

Explanation: Experiments may be conducted in laboratories or in the field, and participants can alter their behavior when they know they are being…

Correct answer: all of the above
  • A. knows what to expect
  • B. knows which data are relevant to the research problem
  • C. records everything that he or she sees
  • D. is most a home in experimental settings?

Explanation: A trained observer distinguishes information relevant to the research question from irrelevant detail and records it systematically.

Correct answer: knows which data are relevant to the research problem
  • A. the value of scientific objectivity
  • B. his or her own credentials
  • C. his or her own findings
  • D. the usefulness of scientific inquiry

Explanation: Scientific skepticism requires researchers to question and test their own findings rather than accepting them automatically.

Correct answer: his or her own findings
  • A. law
  • B. concept
  • C. value
  • D. constant

Explanation: A variable can take different values, whereas a constant remains fixed. Law and concept are general terms, not opposites of variable.

Correct answer: constant
  • A. the American Revolution
  • B. the French Revolution
  • C. the Russian Revolution
  • D. the Industrial Revolution

Explanation: The Industrial Revolution created major changes in urban life, labour, class relations and social organisation, prompting systematic study…

Correct answer: the Industrial Revolution
  • A. a universal truth
  • B. the scientist's conclusions
  • C. a tentative statement of a topic that is subject to testing
  • D. disagreement with a generally accepted theory

Explanation: A hypothesis is a provisional explanation or statement that can be tested against evidence.

Correct answer: a tentative statement of a topic that is subject to testing
  • A. have been totally replaced the scientific method
  • B. are all equally valid tools of inquiry
  • C. are still used as tools of inquiry
  • D. are just as exact as the scientific method

Explanation: Intuition, authority, tradition and common sense continue to influence inquiry, but they are less systematic and less testable than the…

Correct answer: are still used as tools of inquiry
  • A. is as effective as in the natural sciences
  • B. is hampered by difficulties in attaining objectivity
  • C. has led to great discoveries in the human knowledge of the physical universe
  • D. has been found to be totally useless

Explanation: Social research faces greater difficulties with objectivity because people interpret situations, change their behaviour and are also the…

Correct answer: is hampered by difficulties in attaining objectivity
  • A. the social sciences deal with the behavior of people
  • B. the social sciences deal with the extraterrestrial
  • C. the social sciences have developed concrete laws of behavior while the natural sciences have only theories
  • D. people behavior is predictable while the behavior of inanimate objects is not

Explanation: Social sciences observe human behaviour, which is influenced by meanings, choices and social settings.

Correct answer: the social sciences deal with the behavior of people