When a student chooses to study instead of working, the opportunity cost is best described as what?

• A. Time is given up
• B. Money earned
• C. Skills improved
• D. Leisure time lost

Answer: (A)

Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative you give up when you make a choice. In this case, choosing to study instead of working means you sacrifice the time you could have spent on a job. The defining resource being foregone is time, so describing the opportunity cost as time given up fits best. The money you could have earned is the monetary value tied to that time, but the concept focuses on the time you forgo. The other ideas describe either potential benefits (skills gained) or the outcome of the decision (money earned or leisure), but they don’t pinpoint what resource you’re directly giving up in this choice.