AP MICROECONOMICS
Mr. Mullaney • 4-220 •mullaneym@pcsb.org
http://americangovernmentmullaney.weebly.com/ap-microeconomics.html
Introduction
The AP Program in Microeconomics is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with
the problems and materials in economics. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon
them equivalent to those made by introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess economic data – their relevance to given
interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance – and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in economic scholarship. An
AP Microeconomics course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present
reasons, analysis, and evidence clearly and persuasively in a free response format.
Course Objective
The purpose of AP Microeconomics is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the functions of
individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the larger economic system. At the end of the semester students will be able to:
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Demonstrate economic questioning and analysis skills
Interpret a variety of graphical models and paraphrase economic concepts
Analyze the development of modern economic theory
Explain the basic connections between economic and calculus
Use and interpret the language of business and basic measurements of economics performance
Apply economic skills and concept knowledge to higher college-level economic courses
Text
Krugman, Paul and Robin Wells. Microeconomics. New York: Worth Publishers. Second edition, 2009.
Supplemental Material
None. Handouts will be given throughout the semester.
Web Resources
http://www.ncee.net
http://www.reffonomics.com/TRB/INPROGRESS/Microeconomicsindex1.html
www.apcentral.collegeboard.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/ACDCLeadership
Apps
AP Micro Review (ACDC) $1.99
Economics AP $2.99
AP Microeconomics Exam Prep $3.99
Economics Review Free
Exam Cram-Supply and Demand $1.00
Student Evaluation
Quizzes-20-25%
In Class Assignments-10-15%
Unit Tests/Pre-Post Tests (30 multiple choice and 1 free response questions)-50%
Graphing Activities/Class Participation-5%
Homework-10%
The AP Microeconomics exam will be administered on Friday May 13th, 2016 (location TBD). The AP Microeconomic Exam is comprehensive,
covering material from the entire semester. Students who are enrolled in the AP Microeconomic course are required to take the AP Microeconomic
exam.
Important Dates (Exam)
AP Exam
May 13th
Course Outline (Tentative Schedule)
Unit
Chapters
Unit 1
(5%)
1&2
Unit 2
(35%a)
3–7
Unit 3
(35%b)
9
Unit 4
(35%)
12 & 13
Unit 5
(15%)
14 – 16
Unit 6
(10%)
17 – 18
Topics
Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost
Production possibilities curve
Comparative advantage, absolute advantage, specialization, and trade
Economic systems, property rights, and the role of incentives, marginal analysis
Supply and demand
Market equilibrium, determinants of supply and demand, price and quantity controls,
elasticity, consumer surplus, producer surplus, and market efficiency, tax incidence and
deadweight loss
Consumer choice
Total utility and marginal utility, utility maximization, demand curves, income and
substitute effects, production functions: short run and long run, marginal product and
diminishing returns, short run cost, long run cost, economies of scale, cost minimizing
inputs
Market structures
Profits-accounting and economic
Normal profit
Profit maximization,
Perfect competition-profit maximization, short run supply and shutdown decision, behavior
of firms and markets in the short-run and the long run, efficiency and perfect competition
Monopoly-sources of market power, profit maximization, inefficiency of monopoly, price
discrimination, natural monopoly
Oligopoly-interdependence, collusion, cartels, game theory, and strategic behavior
Monopolistic competition-product differentiation, advertising, profit maximization, short
run and long run equilibrium, excess capacity and inefficiency
Factor Markets
Derived factor demand, marginal revenue product, labor market and firms hiring of labor,
market distribution of income
Externalities, marginal social benefit and marginal social benefit, positive externalities,
negative externalities, public goods vs. private goods, antitrust policies, regulations, equity,
and sources of income inequality
AP MICROECONOMICS EXAM STRATEGIES
FORMAT-TWO SECTIONS
 60 multiple choice questions with 5 choices, 70 minutes
 3 free response questions in 60 minutes. You will have a 10 minute reading period followed by one long free
response (spend about 25 minutes on the question) followed by 2 shorter free response questions (spend about
12 minutes a piece on these).
 Multiple Choice questions are worth 2/3 of your grade and the response questions are worth 1/3 (50% for the
major question and 25% each for the two shorter response questions
Multiple Choice Questions
 Five choices for each question
 Many will have graphs, charts, or tables
 Your score is based on the number of questions you answer correctly (no deduction for missed questions)
Free Response Questions
 Questions are direct and specific. Many come with sub-points
 Make sure you label all graphs completely and correctly
 If the free response essay “says” show it means to graph
 If the free response essay “says” indicate use arrows
 If the free response essay ‘says” explain use a graph or a narrative (ir
I
)
 More than likely the major question will cover the theory of business (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly,
or monopolistic competition)
 Remember points are given on the free response essays for being consistently wrong
 Get to the point. Vagueness will not help your grade.
 You must use a black or blue pen.
In order to do well on the test, you must have great knowledge of the topics. You MUST take the initiative by completing
class readings, assignments, and practicing on your own. I am here to help you with the concepts, not take the test for
you.
AP TEST
To derive the above scores the College Board has released information on the composite scores. The total exam is worth 90 points. On the multiple
choice exam, each correct score earns 1 point, so if you got all 60 questions correct you would have a score of 60. There is no penalty for wrong
selections or unanswered questions. The remaining 30 points are obtained from essays. The first essay is worth 15 points and the remaining two
essays are worth 7.5 points each.
The total points required to obtain a certain score changes from year to year. Here are the estimated composite scores:
Composite Score
AP Score
69– 90
5
53 – 68
4
43 – 52
3
28 – 42
2
0 – 27
1