Educerie · IB Diploma · Economics
Unit 1 — Topic test · mark scheme
One mark per distinct point unless a band is specified. Terms shown in bold are required. Real-world examples are credited wherever offered; generic examples are not.
1Opportunity cost — 4 marks
(a) [2]
| The value of the next best alternative | 1 |
|---|---|
| forgone / given up when a choice is made | 1 |
"Everything you give up" scores 1 at most — opportunity cost is singular. "The money spent" scores 0.
(b) [2]
| The school | 1 |
|---|---|
| Because it is the next best alternative forgone — the single most valuable option not chosen, not the sum of all options rejected | 1 |
"The school and the road" scores 0 for the first mark. An answer giving the budget figure as the cost scores 0 for both.
2Factors of production and the PPC — 8 marks
(a) [2]
| All four factors named: land, labour, capital, entrepreneurship | 1 |
|---|---|
| All four returns correctly matched: rent, wages, interest, profit | 1 |
Award the first mark only for all four. Defining capital as money loses the first mark.
(b) [4]
| Diagram: both axes labelled with a good and its unit, curve correctly concave to the origin, meeting both axes | 1 |
|---|---|
| States that the PPC shows maximum output combinations when resources are fully and efficiently employed | 1 |
| Identifies increasing opportunity cost, because factors of production are not equally suited to both uses | 1 |
| Links this back to the shape: each additional unit of one good costs progressively more of the other, so the curve bows outward | 1 |
An unlabelled diagram scores 0 for the diagram mark, however correct its shape. A diagram with axes labelled only "goods" and "goods" is not labelled. An answer that explains increasing opportunity cost but never returns to the curvature loses the final mark — this is the most common omission on this question.
(c) [2]
| A movement along the curve is a reallocation between the two goods, with total productive capacity unchanged | 1 |
|---|---|
| An outward shift is an increase in the quantity or quality of the factors of production — economic growth — so capacity itself rises | 1 |
Must be written as a comparison. Two disconnected statements score 1.
3Positive and normative statements — 4 marks
| A positive statement is factual and can be tested against evidence | 1 |
|---|---|
| A normative statement is a value judgement about what ought to be, and cannot be tested | 1 |
| A valid positive example, ideally with real data | 1 |
| A valid normative example, containing should, ought, fair or similar | 1 |
Defining positive as "a true statement" scores 0 for the first mark: a positive statement may be false and remain positive. Award a bonus consideration in banding — not an extra mark — where a candidate notes that agreement on evidence does not produce agreement on policy.
4Free markets — 4 marks (banded)
| Band | Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Both sides developed with accurate terminology, and a genuine judgement identifying the conditions under which the free market allocates effectively (competition, property rights, no significant externalities, rival and excludable goods). Real-world example present. | 4 |
| 3 | Both sides present with accurate terminology, but the judgement is weak, generic, or merely restates that there are advantages and disadvantages. | 3 |
| 2 | One side developed well, or both sides present but superficial. Little or no terminology. | 2 |
| 1 | Some relevant knowledge, largely descriptive, no evaluation. | 1 |
| 0 | Nothing creditable. | 0 |
Indicative content — for the view: price mechanism signals and incentives; allocative efficiency without a planner; competition driving productive efficiency; profit motive and innovation; failures of planned economies. Against: public goods under-provided; externalities; allocation by purchasing power not need (efficiency versus equity); monopoly power.
A one-sided answer cannot exceed band 2, however well informed.
Mark distribution
| Split | Allocation |
|---|---|
| By sub-topic | Scarcity and opportunity cost 4 · Factors of production 2 · The PPC 6 · Positive/normative 4 · Economic systems 4 |
| By objective | AO1 knowledge 6 · AO2 application and analysis 6 · AO3 synthesis and evaluation 4 · AO4 skills and diagrams 4 |
| By command term | Explain 4 · Distinguish 6 · Evaluate 4 · Define 2 · State 2 · List 2 |
Total: 20 marks
Educerie · original mark scheme for original questions, written against the published IB syllabus structure for Economics Unit 1, first assessment 2022. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.