Question

1. which of the following statements best defines scarcity? *

scarcity occurs whenever we cannot afford something because it is too expensive.
scarcity is an imbalance between buyers and sellers in a specific market
scarcity refers to a lack of trade - offs
scarcity is a situation in which unlimited wants exceed the limited resources available to fulfill those wants

Explanation:

Scarcity is a fundamental concept in economics. It is not about affordability (as the first option suggests - affordability is about price and income, not the core of scarcity). An imbalance between buyers and sellers (second option) is more related to market disequilibrium. Scarcity actually leads to trade - offs (so the third option is wrong). The correct definition is that it occurs when unlimited wants exceed limited resources.

Answer:

Scarcity is a situation in which unlimited wants exceed the limited resources available to fulfill those wants.