Assignments 2007-2008
Oct. 1: Chapter 4 Note check. Review of Chapter 4 material for test Tuesday. Hmework: Study for test.
Oct. 2: CHapter 4 test - Supply & Demand - multiple choice, true/false, problem solving. Begin reading first 10 pages of CHapter 5.
Oct. 3: Introduction to utility.
Oct. 24 & 25: in-class, partner test on "elasticity and demand"
Oct. 26: Introduction of Chapter 7 - Cost structure of a firm and supply-side analysis. This is a long chapter and one of the more challenging we will have all year. Therefore, I will cover the matieral slowly and not move forwward until everyone understands the material.
Nov. 1&2: Wrap-up and review on Chapter 7.
Nov. 5: In-class practice questions.
Nov. 6: Chapter 7 quiz.
Nov. 9: Chapter 7 quiz returned. We will go over questions most likely answered wrong.
Nov. 13: Intro. to Chapter 8 - "Output, Price and Profit: The Importance of Marginal Analysis"
Nov. 14: Chapter 8 lecture: How firms maximize profits, price & quanity choices, economic profit vs. accounting profit. Students should have read and taken notes up to page 160 from Chapter 8.
Nov. 16-25: Exams and Thanksgiving break.
Nov. 26: Students will have completed reading all of Chapter 8 and have chapter notes ready for inspection.
Nov. 27&28: Lecture and practice problems on Chapter 8.
Nov. 29: Chapter 8 quiz. Multiple choice and problem solving.
Nov. 30: Please read Chapter 9 over the weekend, focusing on the key terms and the breakout box on Google.
Dec. 14: No required work over the break. If you want to read ahead in our textbook, we will be starting on Chapter 11 when we return to school in January.
Jan. 2-4: Review of Chapter 10 (perfection competition) and lecture(s) on Chapter 11 (monopoly). You will be supplied with my teaching notes and outline, and you are required to read all of both chapters.
Jan. 7: Complete of monopoly lecture. Review and compare and contrast of Chapters 10 & 11. Study for quiz Tuesday.
Jan. 8: Quiz on Chapters 10 & 11. Format will be multiple choice, true/false and a problem-solving section.
Jan. 23: We will start our study of macroeconomics this week. Please begin reading Chapter 22. Also I will distribute to you on Tuesday an article from Time magazine about the plight of the current U.S. economy. You will also receive another article about Bank of America's takeover last week of Countrywide Financial. We will likely have a Chapter 22 quiz next week - on Tuesday or Wednesday.
A reminder that your "Famous Economists" projects are due Feb. 25.
Jan. 28: Monday: review of What is Part of GDP and What is Not. Thursday: Chapter 22 Quiz.
Feb. 4: Chapter 23 discussion on macroeconomic productivity, potential GDP, the growth rate of potential GDP, unemployment: human costs and economic costs, how the government determines the unemployment rate, the three kinds of unemployment.
Feb. 5: The three types of unemployment (Cont'd), full employment, unemployment insurance, the goal of low inflation, inflation and real wages, relative prices.
Feb. 6: Inflation as a redistributor of wealth, real vs. nominal interest rates, capital gains and the tax system, the costs of low vs. high inflation.
Feb. 7: Classwork - "Test Yourself" questions on page 504.
Feb. 8: Review of Chapter 23 for Monday quiz.
Week of Feb. 11
Feb. 11: Review of Chapter 23 material. Possibly "Review Jeopardy" if class is up for it.
Feb. 12: Chapter 23 quiz. The quiz will be 20 multiple choice and 2 short answer/problem solving.
Feb. 13: Intro. lecture on Chapter 24 - "Economic Growth: Theory and Policy" NOTE: YOU NEED TO HAVE ALL OF CHAPTER 24 READ, WITH COMPLETED NOTES, BY FEB. 20.
Feb. 14: The three pillars of productivity growth, the convergence hypotheses, capital formation, growth policy: education and training, wage premiums, cost disease of personal services.
REMINDER: YOUR "FAMOUS ECONOMIST" PROJECT (WORTH 200 POINTS) IS DUE FEB. 25.
Feb. 25: Distribution of Fortune article "What Now?" about the state of the U.S. economy, along with ten questions about the article.
Feb. 26: You'll have 20 minutes to wrap up the answers to the ten questions I assigned and we'll spend the rest of class going through them.
Feb. 27-28: The Millionaire Next Door, Part II. Case study of two doctors - Doctor North and Doctor South. Both are late middle-aged medical specialists with high salaries. One is a frugal multi-millionaire, the other is living paycheck to paycheck. His life is filled with status symbols, but his net worth is low. We'll spend two days analyzing their cases and understanding why Doctor North is a superior builder of wealth compared to his colleague.
Feb. 29: Economics projects are due. The Millionaire Next Door, Part III. How millionaires shop for cars - this reveals insights into the millionaire mind.
March 3: Review of Famous Economists projects. A good job by all! Wrap-up of Chapter 24.
March 4: Chapter 24 In-Class problems (50 points).
March 5 & 6: Intro. lecture of Chapter 25 - "Aggregate Demand and the Powerful Consumer"
March 7: In-class activity on circular flow of spending, the successes and failures of tax cuts & investment spending.
March 10: Current events discussion: Congressional hearings on lavish pay packages for bank CEOs who were ousted from their jobs in their sub-prime scandal and cost sharerholders trillions of dollars. Plus, catch seniors up on Chapter 25.
March 11-13: Chapter 30 - "Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve."
March 14: Review of material and problem solving.
March 17: Chapter 30 Quiz. If you finish quiz early, begin working on Ch. 34 vocabulary.
March 18: Start reading Chapter 34 - "International Trade"
Welcome back from Spring Break!!!
March 31: Question from Fortune magazine article on Pepsico CEO due today. Those who do not turn it in today will be subject to a 10-point a day penalty until the work is handed in. Please get in ASAP!!! Discussion on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's proposal to embolden the Federal Reserve with more regulatory power in the U.S. financial markets.
April 1: Intro. lecture on international trade. Lecture will focus on comparative advantage versus absolute advantage and when it is beneficial for one nation to trade with another and when it is not beneficial. Students should being reading Chapter 34 and taking notes. You should expect a chapter quiz on Friday.
April 2: Mutual gains from trade, student graphing production possibilities curve of nations that trade. Review of Tuesday's 400-point stock market rise. Is the worst over? a class discussion.
April 3: Student in-class problems on international trade.
April 4: Chapter 34 quiz.
April 8 & 9: Economics film "Maxed Out" about America's credit debacle. This film explains how, for the first time in U.S. history, Americans are spending more than they earn. A worksheet will accompany the film.
April 10 & 11: Chapter 35: Exchange Rates & the International Monetary System. Please begin reading and taking notes on Chapter 35.
April 14-17: Note check and key terms for Ch. 35 due Thursday. In class worksheets Tuesday and Thursday. Lecture Monday and Wednesday. SWBAT analyze foreign exchange markets and calculate foreign currency exchanges.
Chapter 35 Quiz on Wednesday, April 23. Please use the long weekend to review Chapter 35, your notes and the worksheets we did in class. You did very well this week and I am proud of every one of you for your work and behavior. \
April 28 & 29: Lectures on Chapter 32 - "Budget Deficits in the Short and Long run"
April 30: Activity: Should the Budget be Balanced?
May 1: independent problem-solving and chapter review.
May 2: Chapter 32 quiz.
May 5 & 6: Packet on U.S. immigration debate, including the economic costs of immigration in the U.S. We will be spending two days discussing this vital current event and its possible repercussions for the future.
May 7: International economics. Article and discussion on the new Russian president, who comes to the president's position from Russia's oil cartel, which he headed.
May 8&9: Watch movie, Wall Street, a 1987 film that won several Oscars and will teach students to understand the reckless excesses of the 1980s. A question sheet (50 points) will accompany the film.
