Economics · Unit 3
Money and Trade
From barter to money and prices
Money solves a specific problem: barter requires both parties to want what the other has at the same moment, and that coincidence is rare.
The unit covers barter and its limits, what money is, forms money has taken, buying and selling, and prices.
This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 23
- Questions
- 120
- Difficulty
- 1-5
What this unit covers
- Buying and Selling
- Prices
- Forms of Money
- What Money Is
- Barter
Where this fits
Follows Needs, Wants and Resources.
Where people slip
Money has value because people accept it, not because of what it is made from. Modern currency is backed by confidence and legal status rather than by metal.
How the unit is structured
Money and Trade runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.
Barter
- Fill the blankLevel 1
1. Swapping your apples for someone else's bread, with no money, is called ____.
- bartercorrect
- banking
- saving
- lending
Trading goods directly for other goods is barter.
- True or falseLevel 1
2. Barter means swapping one kind of goods for another kind of goods, with no money involved.
Answer: True
That is exactly what barter is, a direct trade of goods for goods.
- Type the answerLevel 1
3. Trading things directly for other things, without using any money, is called what?
Answer: barter
Barter is swapping goods for goods with no money in between.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
4. Which of these are examples of barter? (Pick all that are true)
- Swapping a toy car for a toy truckcorrect
- Trading two apples for one orangecorrect
- Fixing a bike in exchange for a home cooked mealcorrect
- Buying a bike with a ten dollar bill
Barter is any direct swap of goods or services with no money used.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
5. Barter works best when...
- both people want what the other person hascorrect
- one person has lots of coins
- a bank is open nearby
- prices are printed on a sign
A swap only happens if each person wants what the other one is offering.
- Odd one outLevel 2
6. Three of these are examples of barter. Which one does NOT belong?
- Paying for a book with a five dollar billcorrect
- Swapping a drawing for a sandwich
- Trading a comic book for a video game
- Exchanging a bag of nuts for some fruit
Paying with a bill uses money, so it is not barter like the others.
Buying and Selling
- Fill the blankLevel 1
7. At a shop, the customer who pays for the goods is the ____.
- buyercorrect
- seller
- owner
- maker
The buyer is the customer who pays money for the goods.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
8. The person who gives money to get something is the...
- buyercorrect
- seller
- banker
- farmer
The buyer is the one who pays money to get the goods.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
9. Match each word to what it means when we buy and sell.
Answer: Buyer = Pays money to get goods; Seller = Gives goods for money; Price = How much money the goods cost
The buyer pays, the seller gives goods, and the price is how much money it costs.
- Odd one outLevel 2
10. Three of these happen when you buy a toy. Which one does NOT belong?
- You plant the toy to grow more toyscorrect
- You agree on a price
- You give the seller money
- You take the toy home
You cannot plant a toy to grow more, but the other three are real steps in buying.
- Put in orderLevel 2
11. Put these steps of buying a snack at a shop in the right order.
Answer: Pick the snack you want -> Check its price -> Hand the money to the seller -> Take your change and the snack
You pick the item, check the price, pay the money, then take your change and the snack.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
12. Which of these are things a seller might do to sell more? (Pick all that are true)
- Offer a lower price or a salecorrect
- Advertise the productcorrect
- Give friendly, helpful service
- Hide the shop so nobody finds it
Sellers lower prices, advertise, and offer good service to attract more buyers.
Forms of Money
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
13. Round pieces of metal money are called what?
- Coinscorrect
- Notes
- Cards
- Checks
Coins are the small, round, metal form of money.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
14. Which of these are kinds of money people use today? (Pick all that are true)
- Coinscorrect
- Paper notescorrect
- Bank cardscorrect
- Leaves picked from a tree
Coins, paper notes, and bank cards are all real forms of money.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
15. Match each form of money to what it is.
Answer: Coin = Round metal money; Note = Paper money; Bank card = Plastic you tap or swipe to pay
Coins are metal, notes are paper, and a card is plastic you tap or swipe.
- Odd one outLevel 2
16. Which of these is NOT a form of money?
- A pebble from the gardencorrect
- A coin
- A ten dollar note
- A bank card
A pebble from the garden is not money, but coins, notes, and cards are.
- Fill the blankLevel 4
17. Money that a law says must be accepted to pay debts within a country is called legal ____.
- tendercorrect
- barter
- weather
- receipt
Legal tender is money that must be accepted as payment for debts by law.
- Put in orderLevel 5
18. Put these forms of money in the order they generally appeared through history, earliest first.
Answer: Barter of goods -> Commodity money like salt or shells -> Metal coins -> Paper notes -> Digital money
Trade moved from barter to commodity money, then metal coins, paper notes, and finally digital money.
Prices
- Fill the blankLevel 1
19. If a toy costs 5 dollars, then 5 dollars is its ____.
- pricecorrect
- weight
- color
- name
The price is the amount of money the toy costs.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
20. What does the price of something tell you?
- How much money you must pay for itcorrect
- How heavy it is
- What color it is
- How old it is
The price tells you how much money you must pay to buy it.
- True or falseLevel 1
21. A higher price means you have to pay more money.
Answer: True
The bigger the price, the more money you must hand over.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
22. Which of these could be a price you see in a shop? (Pick all that are true)
- 2 dollarscorrect
- 50 centscorrect
- 10 dollarscorrect
- Sunny and warm
Prices are amounts of money, like 2 dollars or 50 cents, not the weather.
- Odd one outLevel 2
23. Three of these words are about the cost of things. Which one does NOT belong?
- Weathercorrect
- Price
- Discount
- Sale
Weather is not about cost, but price, discount, and sale all are.
- Put in orderLevel 2
24. Put these prices in order from cheapest to most expensive.
Answer: 1 dollar -> 5 dollars -> 10 dollars -> 50 dollars
1 dollar is the least money and 50 dollars is the most, so they go in that order.
What Money Is
- Fill the blankLevel 1
25. Instead of swapping goods, we can use ____ to pay for what we want.
- moneycorrect
- grass
- wishes
- clouds
Money is what we hand over to pay for goods instead of trading other goods.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
26. What is the main job of money?
- To make buying and selling easiercorrect
- To decorate our homes
- To grow into plants
- To keep us warm at night
Money makes trading easier because almost everyone accepts it for goods.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
27. Which of these can you do with money? (Pick all that are true)
- Buy things you needcorrect
- Save it to use latercorrect
- Pay for a bus ridecorrect
- Turn it into sunshine
Money lets you buy things now and also save it to use later.
- Guess the numberLevel 3
28. Economists say money has this many main jobs, or functions. How many are there?
Answer: 3 functions
Money has three main jobs: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value.
- Match the pairsLevel 3
29. Match each job of money to an everyday example.
Answer: Medium of exchange = Paying for a bus ticket; Unit of account = A price tag showing 4 dollars; Store of value = Saving coins in a jar for later
Money trades goods, prices things, and holds value for later.
- Odd one outLevel 4
30. Three of these are good qualities for money to have. Which one is NOT?
- It spoils quicklycorrect
- It is durable
- It is portable
- It is divisible
Good money should not spoil quickly, but being durable, portable, and divisible all help.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Choose all that apply
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Money and Trade
120 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Money and Trade
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- Why Does Money Have Value? Paper, Trust and the StateA banknote costs pence to print and is worth what it says because everyone accepts it. How money became a promise, and what keeps the promise good.September 14, 2026 · 4 min read
- How Does Bitcoin Work? A Ledger With No Bank Behind ItBitcoin is a shared public ledger kept honest by cryptography and competition rather than a bank. How transactions are recorded, what mining is, and its limits.September 14, 2026 · 5 min read
More units in Economics
- What is Economics?Scarcity, choices, and the cost of choosing
- Needs, Wants and ResourcesWhat we need, what we want, and limited resources
- Goods and ServicesProducers, consumers, and where things come from
- Earning, Spending and SavingPersonal money basics and budgeting
- Supply and DemandHow buyers and sellers set the price
- Markets, Prices and CompetitionHow markets and competition work
- Businesses and ProductionFirms, costs, profit, and entrepreneurship
- Money, Banking and CreditBanks, interest, credit, and central banks