Where Buyers and Sellers Meet

In the picture

1. 1The apple crate: the stock a seller brings to the stall. The higher the price, the more sellers are willing to offer.
2. 2The basket and coin purse: what a buyer is ready to carry home. The higher the price, the less people buy.
3. 3The level beam of the balance: apples in one pan, coins in the other, neither side heavier.
4. 4The chalked price board: the number that makes the two amounts match exactly.

Examples

• Concert tickets: when a small venue sells out in minutes, the price sat below the balancing level, and resale prices jump.
• Strawberries in season: farms harvest all at once, so shops cut the price until the whole crop is sold.

Quiz: Where Buyers and Sellers Meet (Age 15)

1. 1

   A market lets sellers charge a higher price for apples than last week. What happens to the quantity sellers want to offer?

   • They want to offer less than before
   • They want to offer more than before
   • The price does not change how much they offer
2. 2

   Suppose the price is set higher than the level where buying and selling balance. What is most likely to happen?

   • Buyers rush in and some of them go home with nothing
   • The two quantities still match, so nothing is left over
   • Sellers offer more than buyers are willing to take, so some goods go unsold
3. 3

   What is true at the price where a market settles?

   • The quantity offered for sale and the quantity people want to buy are equal
   • It is the highest price buyers could possibly afford
   • It is the price that earns the seller the most profit on each item

The answers, each with its explanation, are in the app. This lesson has left the free week, so its quiz is part of the subscription.