📚 Case Study Practical Exercises for Year 7 SQA Economics | Year 7 SQA 经济：案例分析实战演练
Welcome to this practical case study guide for Year 7 SQA Economics. Case studies are a brilliant way to link classroom theory with the real world. By working through short scenarios, you can test your understanding of economic ideas such as scarcity, choice, supply and demand, incentives, and public goods. Each section presents a mini case followed by thought‑provoking questions and explanations. Let's dive in and start building your analytical skills!
欢迎来到这份 Year 7 SQA 经济案例分析实战指南。案例分析是将课堂理论与现实世界联系起来的绝佳方法。通过短小的情景练习，你可以检验自己对稀缺性、选择、供需、激励和公共物品等经济概念的理解。每个小节都呈现一个微型案例，然后提出引人思考的问题并给出解释。让我们开始吧，一起培养你的分析技能！
1. Understanding Scarcity and Choice | 理解稀缺性与选择
Picture a small island where only 100 fish can be caught each day. The islanders want fish for food, but they also want time to build shelters and make clothes. Because there are only 24 hours in a day, they cannot do everything. This is the economic problem of scarcity: unlimited wants but limited resources. They must choose how to use their time.
想象一个小岛，每天只能捕到 100 条鱼。岛民需要鱼作为食物，但他们也需要时间来建造住所和制作衣物。由于一天只有 24 小时，他们无法做完所有事情。这就是经济学的稀缺性问题：无限的欲望，但资源有限。他们必须选择如何利用时间。
Economists say that every choice involves a cost. If the islanders spend three hours fishing, those three hours cannot be used for building. Scarcity forces us to make decisions. Even a billionaire faces scarcity of time. Understanding this helps us see why societies must decide what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom.
经济学家指出，每一个选择都涉及成本。如果岛民用三小时捕鱼，这三小时就不能用来建造。稀缺性迫使我们做出决策。即使是亿万富翁也面临时间的稀缺。理解这一点有助于我们明白，为什么每个社会都必须决定生产什么、如何生产以及为谁生产。
2. Opportunity Cost in Everyday Decisions | 日常决策中的机会成本
Emma has two hours of free time after school. She can either go to hockey practice, which she enjoys and keeps her fit, or she can study for a maths test taking place the next day. The opportunity cost of choosing hockey is the benefit she would have gained from studying: a better test result. Opportunity cost is the next best alternative given up.
艾玛放学后有两小时空闲。她可以去参加自己喜欢的曲棍球训练，保持健康；或者为第二天的数学测验复习。选择曲棍球的机会成本，就是她放弃学习所带来的好处：更好的测验成绩。机会成本就是所放弃的次佳选择。
In a real case, a school decided to build a new music room. The playing field had to be reduced by one‑third. The opportunity cost of the music room was the lost outdoor space for sports and games. Whenever you choose, always ask: 'What am I giving up?'
在一个真实案例中，一所学校决定建造一间新音乐室。操场因此必须缩小三分之一。这间音乐室的机会成本，就是失去的用于运动和游戏的户外空间。每当你做选择时，总要问一句：“我放弃了什么？”
3. Supply and Demand Basics: The Market for Lemonade | 供需基础：柠檬水市场
On a hot summer day at the park, Jenny sets up a lemonade stand. At first she charges £1.50 per cup and sells 8 cups in an hour. Sensing high demand, she raises the price to £2.00. Sales drop to 5 cups per hour. This simple case shows the law of demand: as price rises, quantity demanded usually falls.
在公园里一个炎热的夏日，珍妮摆了一个柠檬水小摊。起初她每杯卖 1.50 英镑，一小时内卖出 8 杯。察觉到需求旺盛，她把价格提高到 2.00 英镑，销售量降到每小时 5 杯。这个简单案例展示了需求法则：价格上升，需求量通常会下降。
Meanwhile, another seller, Tom, sees that at £2.00, he is willing to bring more lemonade because he can earn more. This illustrates the law of supply: higher prices encourage producers to supply more. The market price settles where the amount buyers want equals the amount sellers offer — the equilibrium.
与此同时，另一个卖家汤姆发现，在 2.00 英镑的价位上，他愿意多带些柠檬水，因为能赚得更多。这说明了供给法则：更高的价格会激励生产者供应更多。市场价格会在买方需求量与卖方供应量相等时稳定下来，即均衡。
4. Analysing a Local Business: The Corner Shop | 分析本地企业：街角小店
Mrs. Khan runs a small corner shop that sells groceries, newspapers, and sweets. Her monthly revenue comes from sales. Her costs include rent for the shop, electricity, stock, and one employee's wages. The case is about calculating profit: total revenue minus total costs.
卡恩太太经营着一家小街角店，出售食品杂货、报纸和糖果。她的月收入来自销售。她的成本包括店铺租金、电费、进货成本以及一名雇员的工资。这个案例是计算利润：总收入减去总成本。
Last month, the shop made £5,000 in sales. Total costs were £4,200. So the profit was £800. If costs rise, say electricity prices go up, profit will fall unless revenue increases. The corner shop case teaches us that businesses must monitor both revenue and costs to survive.
上个月，店铺销售额为 5,000 英镑，总成本为 4,200 英镑，所以利润是 800 英镑。如果成本上升，比如电价上涨，除非收入增加，否则利润就会下降。街角店的案例告诉我们，企业必须同时关注收入和成本才能生存下去。
5. Public Goods and Services: Why Do We Need Taxes? | 公共物品与服务：为什么需要税收？
A street lamp lights the pavement at night. Once it is installed, anyone walking by can benefit, even if they did not pay for it. It is difficult to stop non‑payers from using the light. This makes street lighting a public good — non‑rival and non‑excludable. The private market would not provide enough of it.
路灯在夜晚照亮人行道。一旦安装好，任何路过的人都能受益，即使他们没有付钱。很难阻止未付费者使用灯光。这使得路灯成为公共物品——非竞争性和非排他性。私人市场无法提供足够的公共物品。
In our case, the local council funds street lights through taxes collected from households. Without taxes, our streets would be dark and unsafe. Other examples include flood defences and public parks. Public goods are a key reason why governments must raise revenue.
在我们的案例中，地方议会通过向家庭征收的税款来资助路灯。没有税收，街道将一片黑暗，十分危险。其他例子包括防洪设施和公园。公共物品是政府必须筹集收入的一个关键原因。
6. The Role of Incentives: A School Award Scheme | 激励的作用：学校奖励计划
Oakwood School wants to improve litter recycling. It launches a scheme: for every kilogram of paper recycled, the class earns 5 house points. At the end of term, the class with the most points gets a pizza party. This creates a positive incentive to recycle more paper.
奥克伍德学校希望改善垃圾回收。它发起了一项计划：每回收一公斤废纸，班级就能获得 5 个学院积分。学期结束时，积分最高的班级能得到一次披萨派对。这就形成了一种正向激励，鼓励大家多回收废纸。
Incentives can also be negative. If the school announced that any class caught wasting paper would lose 10 points, that is a negative incentive — it discourages a behaviour. Understanding incentives helps economists predict how people will respond to policy changes.
激励也可以是负向的。如果学校宣布，任何被发现浪费纸张的班级将被扣除 10 分，这就是一种负向激励——它抑制某种行为。理解激励有助于经济学家预测人们会如何应对政策变化。
7. Externalities: A Case of Recycling in School | 外部性：学校回收案例
When a class recycles paper, the whole school benefits from a cleaner environment, even though the class bears the effort of collecting and sorting. This spillover benefit is called a positive externality. The community gains more than the private reward suggests.
当一个班级回收废纸时，尽管该班级承担了收集和分类的辛劳，但全校都受益于更清洁的环境。这种外溢的好处被称为正向外部性。社会获得的好处超过了个人所得回报所显示的程度。
However, consider a group of pupils who drop crisp packets in the playground. The cost of cleaning up falls on janitors and teachers, not the litterers. This is a negative externality — the action imposes costs on others. The school may introduce fines or extra duties to reduce this externality.
然而，想象一群学生在操场上乱扔薯片袋。清理的成本落在了保洁人员和老师身上，而非乱扔者。这就是负向外部性——这一行为给他人带来了成本。学校可能会采取罚款或额外值日措施来减少这种外部性。
8. Interpreting Data: Charts on Pocket Money Spending | 解读数据：零花钱支出图表
A survey of 50 Year 7 pupils asked how they spend their weekly pocket money. The results are shown in the table below. Such data helps us spot trends in consumer behaviour.
一项针对 50 名 Year 7 学生的调查询问了他们如何支配每周的零花钱。结果如下表所示。这类数据有助于我们发现消费者行为的趋势。
| Item 项目 | Average Spend per Week 每周平均花费 |
|---|---|
| Sweets & snacks 糖果零食 | £2.30 |
| Mobile phone credit 手机充值 | £1.80 |
| Saving for big items 为大件物品储蓄 | £1.50 |
| Magazines & books 杂志书籍 | £1.20 |
| Other 其他 | £0.70 |
We can see that sweets and snacks take the largest share. From an economic viewpoint, this might mean that at this age, immediate satisfaction (utility) is highly valued. If the price of sweets rose by 20%, we could predict that quantity demanded might fall, perhaps shifting spending towards savings or magazines — a substitution effect.
我们可以看到糖果零食占比最大。从经济学角度看，这可能意味着在这个年龄段，即时满足（效用）被高度重视。如果糖果价格上涨 20%，我们可以预测需求量可能下降，也许支出会转向储蓄或杂志——这是一种替代效应。
9. Decision-making: A Family Budget Case | 决策制定：家庭预算案例
The Morrison family has a monthly income of £2,500. Their fixed expenses are rent £900, utilities £200, and council tax £150. They have £1,250 left for food, transport, clothing, and leisure. Last month they overspent on eating out and had to use savings. This example shows a household's budget constraint.
莫里森一家月收入为 2,500 英镑。他们的固定支出是房租 900 英镑，水电 200 英镑，市政税 150 英镑。剩下 1,250 英镑用于食品、交通、服装和休闲。上个月他们外出就餐超支，不得不动用积蓄。这个例子展示了一个家庭的预算约束。
To stay within budget, the family created a spending plan: food £450, transport £200, clothing £100, and leisure £100. This still left £400 as a buffer or for saving. The process of ranking wants and allocating limited income is what economics calls 'allocative efficiency' at the household level.
为了不超预算，这家人制定了一份支出计划：食品 450 英镑，交通 200 英镑，服装 100 英镑，休闲 100 英镑。这样仍留有 400 英镑作为缓冲或储蓄。这种排列需求并分配有限收入的过程，就是经济学在家庭层面的“配置效率”。
10. Trade-offs: Choosing a School Trip Destination | 权衡取舍：选择学校旅行目的地
The Year 7 class can win a school trip, but they must vote for one destination from three options: a science museum, a wildlife park, or a historical castle. Each option has benefits: the museum supports science learning, the park offers nature experience, the castle builds history knowledge. They cannot go to all three — a trade‑off is necessary.
Year 7 班级有机会赢得一次学校旅行，但他们必须从三个选项中选择一个目的地：科学博物馆、野生动物园或历史城堡。每个选项都有好处：博物馆有助于科学学习，动物园提供自然体验，城堡增长历史知识。他们无法三个都去——权衡取舍是必然的。
The class discussed the opportunity cost of each choice. If they choose the castle, the opportunity cost is the combined benefit of the museum and wildlife park not chosen. After a debate, they voted for the wildlife park because it was the most inclusive for all pupils. Trade‑offs are present in all economic decisions, from personal to national level.
班级讨论了每个选择的机会成本。如果选择城堡，机会成本就是未选择的博物馆和动物园带来的综合收益。经过辩论，他们投票选择了动物园，因为它对所有学生来说包容性最强。从个人到国家层面，权衡取舍存在于所有经济决策中。
Published by TutorHao | Economics Revision Series | aleveler.com
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