Exam prep

Know what's coming

The exam

Final examination / assessment, as stated in the official syllabus. Ask a senior or your exam office for a past paper to confirm the question pattern.

Graded A+ (85-100) to E (0-24) on a 12-step scale; GPA is credit-weighted (5 credits per course unit).

Practice

Until we have a past paper, practise with the topic quizzes and the likely questions below. Write each essay answer by hand, then check it against its frame.

Mixed quiz and flashcards

Likely questions

Written by us from your syllabus, not copied from any exam paper. Tap one to open its sheet.

Short answers

Define opportunity cost with an example.Unit I What is a mixed economy?Unit I Distinguish a change in demand from a change in quantity demanded.Unit I What is a price ceiling?Unit I Define price elasticity of demand.Unit II What is an inferior good?Unit II Define consumer surplus.Unit II What does a negative cross elasticity of demand show?Unit II State the law of diminishing marginal utility.Unit III What is the marginal rate of substitution?Unit III What is a Giffen good?Unit III Define an isoquant.Unit III Distinguish fixed cost from variable cost with examples.Unit IV What is the shutdown point of a firm?Unit IV What is a natural monopoly?Unit IV What is the kinked demand curve?Unit IV State four goals of macroeconomic policy.Unit V Distinguish GDP from GNP.Unit V Define the multiplier.Unit V What does the LM curve show?Unit V What is the crowding-out effect?Unit VI Name two instruments of monetary policy used by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.Unit VI Define inflation. How is it measured in Sri Lanka?Unit VI What is frictional unemployment?Unit VI

Structured questions

Distinguish between microeconomics and macroeconomics with examples.Unit I Given demand and supply equations, calculate equilibrium price and quantity and the shortage at a lower price.Unit I Explain four determinants of supply with examples.Unit I Calculate arc elasticity when price rises from Rs. 200 to Rs. 250 and quantity falls from 600 to 500, and comment on revenue.Unit II Explain the total revenue test with a numerical example.Unit II Given demand and supply equations and a specific tax, calculate how the tax burden is shared.Unit II Find the consumer's equilibrium combination of two goods from MU schedules, prices and income.Unit III Calculate AP and MP from a total product schedule and identify the three stages of production.Unit III Explain the properties of indifference curves.Unit III Complete a cost table (TC, MC, AFC, AVC, ATC) from fixed and variable cost data.Unit IV Find the profit-maximising output using the total and marginal approaches.Unit IV Explain the internal and external economies of scale.Unit IV From given data, calculate GDP, GNP, NNP and national income at factor cost.Unit V Given a consumption function, investment and government spending, find equilibrium income and the effect of a change in investment.Unit V Explain the factors that shift aggregate demand and aggregate supply.Unit V Calculate a price index from a basket of goods and the inflation rate between two years.Unit VI Explain how a change in the central bank's policy rate affects aggregate demand and inflation.Unit VI Explain the types of unemployment and the short-run and long-run Phillips curves.Unit VI

Essay questions

Compare market, command and mixed economies. Which best describes Sri Lanka?Unit I Explain how market equilibrium is determined and discuss the role of the price mechanism.Unit I Explain the consequences of price fixing by the government, with diagrams.Unit I Explain price elasticity of demand, its determinants and its practical importance to business and government.Unit II Explain income elasticity, cross elasticity and elasticity of supply, and their uses in business.Unit II Explain how the burden of an indirect tax is shared and how it affects consumer and producer surplus.Unit II Explain consumer equilibrium using indifference curve analysis, and the effects of changes in income and prices.Unit III Explain the income and substitution effects of a price fall for normal, inferior and Giffen goods.Unit III Explain the producer's equilibrium with isoquants and isocosts, and the expansion path and ridge lines.Unit III Explain the short-run and long-run equilibrium of a firm under perfect competition.Unit IV Explain price and output determination under monopoly and compare it with perfect competition.Unit IV Compare perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly.Unit IV Explain the three methods of measuring national income and the difficulties involved.Unit V Explain IS-LM equilibrium and the relative effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy.Unit V Using the AD-AS model, explain inflation, unemployment and economic growth.Unit V Explain how fiscal policy works and discuss the crowding-out effect.Unit VI Explain the causes, effects and remedies of inflation, including strategies firms can use.Unit VI Explain the theory of comparative advantage and the gains from international trade.Unit VI

Answer frames

How to lay out a long answer, with a write-up check. 28 frames so far.