AP Microeconomics Practice Quiz: Public and Private Goods
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Test your understanding with short quizzes. This quiz has 11 questions to check your progress.
Question 1 of 11
All Questions (11)
A) Non-rival and non-excludable
B) Rival and excludable
C) Rival and non-excludable
D) Non-rival and excludable
Correct Answer: B
The content explicitly states, 'Private goods are rival and excludable'.
A) It is produced only by the government.
B) It is rival and excludable.
C) It is overconsumed by private individuals.
D) It is non-rival and non-excludable.
Correct Answer: D
The text provides a clear definition: 'public goods are non-rival and non-excludable.' While the government often produces them, that is a consequence of these characteristics, not the definition itself.
A) The high cost of production for non-rival goods.
B) Government regulations that prohibit private production.
C) The free rider problem.
D) The inefficient overconsumption of the good.
Correct Answer: C
The text directly links the lack of incentive to the free rider problem: 'Due to the free rider problem, private individuals usually lack the incentive to produce public goods...'
A) Non-excludable and rival
B) Excludable and non-rival
C) Non-excludable and non-rival
D) Excludable and rival
Correct Answer: A
The content specifies that open-access natural resources are, by their nature, 'non-excludable and rival'.
A) The government becomes the only producer.
B) Private individuals efficiently conserve the resource.
C) The free rider problem prevents its production.
D) Private individuals inefficiently overconsume the resource.
Correct Answer: D
The text states the consequence of a resource being open access (non-excludable and rival): 'Private individuals inefficiently overconsume such resources.'
A) Government tax revenue
B) The behavior of individuals and groups
C) The international trade balance
D) The rate of inflation
Correct Answer: B
The content explicitly mentions the need to 'Explain how the nature of rival and/or excludable goods influences the behavior of individuals and groups.'
A) Because the government can produce them at a lower cost than private firms.
B) Because the free rider problem discourages private production.
C) Because public goods, like education, are considered a basic right.
D) Because they are rival in consumption and require regulation.
Correct Answer: B
The text states that due to the free rider problem, private individuals lack incentive, 'leaving government as the only producer.'
A) A public good that is subject to the free rider problem.
B) An open-access resource that is overconsumed.
C) A private good that the government chooses to produce and provide for free.
D) A non-rival good that is efficiently produced by the private sector.
Correct Answer: C
The content explicitly says, 'Governments sometimes choose to produce private goods, such as educational services, and to allow free access to them.'
A) Rival
B) Produced by the government
C) Non-excludable
D) Overconsumed
Correct Answer: C
The free rider problem occurs when individuals can benefit from a good without paying because they cannot be excluded from using it. The text links this problem to public goods, which are defined as non-excludable.
A) Non-rival and non-excludable, which defines them as public goods.
B) Rival and excludable, which defines them as private goods.
C) Non-excludable and rival, which defines them as open-access resources.
D) Non-rival and excludable, which defines them as club goods.
Correct Answer: C
The text synthesizes this point directly: 'Some natural resources are, by their nature, non-excludable and rival and therefore open access. Private individuals inefficiently overconsume such resources.'
A) The government only produces public goods and never private goods.
B) The government's main role is to prevent the overconsumption of all natural resources.
C) The government may produce both public goods and some private goods.
D) The government leaves the production of all goods to private individuals.
Correct Answer: C
The text establishes two roles for the government: being the primary producer of public goods (point 3) and sometimes choosing to produce private goods like education (point 4). Therefore, it may produce both.