The economic problem

Writing only "the next-best alternative given up" earns the definition mark alone. On an Explain question the marks split: one for naming the specific alternative in the scenario, one for context, one for the consequence. Defining the term without applying it to the scenario caps the answer at a single mark.

A two-mark "what is meant by" question wants two distinct parts of the meaning. For mixed economy, name the private sector AND the public sector. Giving one element, or an example instead of a definition, scores at most one mark. Examples never earn marks on define or "what is meant by" items — only the meaning counts.

Analyse questions are one-sided: they reward AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (application) and AO3 (analysis), but carry no AO4 (evaluation) marks. A balanced two-sided argument earns nothing extra and wastes time. Develop applied chains of reasoning instead, and save counter-arguments for Assess or Evaluate questions.

In economics, capital means manufactured goods used to produce other goods — machinery, tools, factories. Money is not capital: it is a medium of exchange, not itself productive. Treating money as a factor of production loses marks whenever the four factors or their rewards (rent, wages, interest, profit) are tested.

An outward SHIFT of the PPF means economic growth — more resources or better technology. A MOVE from inside the frontier to a point on it means using existing resources more efficiently. If a question asks you to show idle resources becoming fully used, move the point out to the boundary — do not shift the whole frontier.

Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative forgone, not the price paid in money. A government choosing a hospital over road repairs has an opportunity cost of the forgone road repairs, not the pounds spent. Answers that give a monetary figure instead of the forgone alternative miss the concept.