Higher Order Thinking Questions- a Necessity

In the Boards question paper in Economics of Class XII, there will be higher order
thinking questions of 15 to ! marks" #he ob$ecti%e is to assess the students
understanding, anal&tical abilit& and interpretation"
In the course content for Economics, an attempt is made to introduce basic concepts used
in the stud& of this sub$ect" 'an& of these concepts are also interrelated"
'emorising these concepts and their relationship will not help in understanding the
economic laws and principles" #hese ha%e to be understood in totalit& b& asking
questions such as wh& and how and going a step further b& appl&ing them to %arious
situations"
(ome of these concepts are)
o 'arginal and a%erage cost etc and their relationship"
o Concept of equilibrium in microeconomics and in macroeconomics"
o Concepts of elasticit&"
o Concepts of domestic product and national product"
o Intermediate and final products"
o Concepts of inflation, depreciation of domestic currenc&, etc"
*ust memorising the meaning of concepts does not help in understanding the sub$ect and
the use of these concepts" +or instance $ust memorising the meaning of a%erage and
marginal costs and their relationship will not help &ou in answering question, like"
o ,h& must marginal cost cur%e pass through the minimum point of a%erage cost
cur%e- .r
o If marginal re%enue falls, will total re%enue fall- .r
o /re the wages and salaries recei%ed b& Indians working in /merican Embass& in
India a part of 0omestic 1roduct of India- .r
o ,hat are the main reasons for the present price rise in India- .r
o ,h& must aggregate demand and aggregate suppl& be equal when the econom& is
in an equilibrium-
#o gi%e a practice of the application of these concepts and to test whether the students
ha%e reall& understood them, the situations from da& to da& life should be put before
them" #he& should then be asked to anal&se them" (ome topics can also be taken up for
debate, such as 2/re borrowings bad-3 or 2Is inflation harmful-3
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Some examples of higher order thinking questions in Economics for class X are
gi!en "elo#$-
1 ,hen price of a good rises from 4s"5 per unit to 4s"5 per unit, 6
its demand falls from ! units to 1! units" Compare e7penditures
on the good to determine whether demand is elastic or inelastic"
,hat is the relation between good X and good 8 in each case, if 6
with fall in the price of X demand for good 8 9i: rises and 9ii: falls-
;i%e reason"
6 ;i%ing reasons e7plain how the following are treated while estimating ,,
national income)
9i: 1a&ment of fees to a law&er engaged b& a firm"
9ii: 4ent free house to an emplo&ee b& an emplo&er"
9iii: 1urchases b& foreign tourists"
< E7plain what happens to the profits in the long run if the firms are free to 6
enter the industr&"
5 ;i%en market equilibrium of a good, what are the effects of simultaneous 5
increase in both demand and suppl& of that good on its equilibrium price
and quantit&-
5 E7plain the implications of the following )
9i: #he feature =differentiated products under monopolistic competition"
9ii: #he feature>arge number of sellers under perfect competition"
? /t a gi%en market price of a good a consumer bu&s 1! units" ,hen price
falls b& 5! percent he bu&s 15! units" Calculate price elasticit& of demand"
@ E7plain, b& gi%ing e7amples, how do the following determine price elasticit&

of demand)
9i: nature of the good
9ii: a%ailabilit& of substitutes
A In the following table, identif& the different phases of the law

of %ariable proportions and also e7plain the causes)

Bariable input 9units: 1 6 < 5 5
#otal product 9units: 1! 6 <! <! 65
1! ;i%ing reasons, e7plain how the following are treated in estimating 5
Cational Income)
9i: 1urchase of a truck to carr& goods b& a production unit"
9ii: 1a&ment of income ta7 b& a production unit"
9iii: (er%ices rendered b& famil& members to each other"
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