Definitions work sheet
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You are in charge of all the money coming into
your home every month
What factors would you have to consider in
deciding how to spend that money?
Everybody in you house will have different
ideas on what's important and what it should
be spent on
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That’s economics
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We will looking at the economic systems of
Canada and its largest trading partner, the
United States
What values shape these systems, how they are
different, and how they are the same
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Cartoon, pg 199
Why didn’t the manufacturer make more
games?
Why did the truckers go on strike?
Why did the store decide to sell the game for
less?
Why would anyone buy it for $99.99?
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The demand for super cyborg city was so great
it created a scarcity of the product
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To many people wanted the product, and not enough
copies were available
Some things people need are unlimited- ex air
Most things that people need or want are
limited. This is because resources are limited
In economics resources include, money, labour,
and materials
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Land
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Materials found in the natural environment needed
to produce goods and services, such as renewable
and non-renewable resources
 What impacts might this decision about using the land
have on the land?
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Labour
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Labour consists of the physical and mental effort
needed to produce goods and services
 Construction workers building a house- if there aren’t
enough workers , fewer houses get built
How do choices
concerning jobs effect the
work force?
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Capital
Consists of money that people own or borrow, used to
purchase equipment, tools, and other resources needed
to produce goods and services
 Ex- setting up a plane production plant requires money
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What if the capital that
built this airplane were
invested in something
else? How might this
impact airports and air
services?
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Get into 4 teams
Each team will choose whether they would
prefer to live in a jungle or a zoo. Make sure
you write your decision at the top of the page.
Answer the questions from that perspective.
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Who would rather live in a jungle? Who would choose
the zoo? Explain your answers.
What are the most important reasons for your personal
choices? What values or beliefs emerge in these
answers?
Can you think of countries that could be compared to
jungles or zoos?
What does the country you have chosen have in
common with the jungle or zoo?
Speculate on:
– the living conditions
– the type of government
– the economic activities
– the individual happiness and collective well-being.
What are the drawbacks to living in the environment
you initially chose?
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An economic system is a way to solve the basic
problem of scarcity.
Economic systems can be placed on a
spectrum; their spot on that spectrum depends
on the underlying values of that society
More government control
Less government control
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At this end of the spectrum, the government
makes all the decisions about how to solve
scarcity.
The Government owns and manages all the
resources needed to produce things
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Resources are publicly owned
Government makes all decisions about resources
Individual consumers have little influence on
decision making
Ex. Former USSR
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On this end of the spectrum, the choices of
individuals solve scarcity
Private businesses manage and sell their own
resources
Businesses succeed if they sell products
consumers want, otherwise they fail
The government does not get involved
Ex. The United States
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Combines private ownership and government
control
Individuals and government make decisions
about what to produce
The level of government involvement depends on
what political party is in power
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Liberal Party-More involvement
Conservative Party-Less involvement
Ex- Canada, Sweden
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The Canadian and American economic systems
are very similar, but they developed from
different starting points
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Their starting points involved different answers to
the fundamental question “what’s the best way to
achieve the public good?”
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The Public Good and Cooperation
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The belief that individuals must consider each other
and set aside their individual differences to achieve
what’s best for society
 What style of economic system do you think this idea
fits?
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The Public Good and individualism
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the belief that what's best for each person individually
adds up to what best for society
 What style of economic system do you think this idea
fits?
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Canadian Economy pg 206-207
How might the history of Canada shape the
value and attitudes in Canada?
The U.S. Economy pg 208
How might the history of the U.S. shape the
values and attitudes in the U.S.?
Video- VHS Capitalism vs. communism
Public Good Worksheets
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Supply and demand control the market system
through a cause-and-effect relationship related
to price.
Supply and demand effect quality of life
because they affect the prices of products we
buy, the availability of products, and jobs
connected to creating products.
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Supply and Demand Activity
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Demand is the quantity of a good that consumers
will buy. The demand for the good is related to
the price of that good.
Generally, the higher the price of a good, the less
people will want to buy and therefore, the lower
the demand. When something is expensive,
people will purchase less of it or a substitute.
The opposite is also true: the lower the price of a
good, the more people will want to buy and the
higher the demand will be. When something is
cheap, people will want to buy more of it.
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Supply is the quantity of a good that producers
are willing to make and offer for sale in the
market. The supply of a good is related to the
price of that good.
Generally, the higher the price of the good, the
more producers will want to make and the
greater the supply.
The opposite is also true: the lower the price of
a good, the less producers will want to make
and the lower the supply will be.
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Competition is about striving to get consumers
to buy their products
Producers attract consumers in a variety of
ways-price, product quality, and advertising
Many factors can affect competition, including
the value of consumers and decisions by the
government to get involved in decisions about
supply and demand
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Ex: coke vs. Pepsi, ford vs. GMC, Nike, vs. Adidas
2 Donut shops case study- pg 212
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Prices in a free market system are
determined by the interaction of supply
and demand.
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The price of a
good will naturally
move to a level
where the quantity
demanded is
EQUAL to the
quantity supplied.
At this point, the
market is said to
be at EQUILIBRIUM.
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In a free market system, the equilibrium
price and quantity of most goods are
constantly changing as the market adjusts
automatically to changes in the level of
supply and demand.
Lemonade
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Firms are encouraged to increase
production of those goods that are in high
demand and to reduce production of less
popular goods
Goods are made available to consumers
at the lowest possible price
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Ford Motor company grew because of their
ability to supply cars to the consumers for a
lower price due to the invention of the assembly
line
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Market economies rely on the decisions of
individuals consumers and producers
Sometimes the government may get involved
to inform, protect or ensure good and fair
practices
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Ex. The B.C. government started its own auto
insurance program because it believed private
insurance companies were to expensive
Can you think of any other reasons why the
government may get involved?
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The free market economy does not grow at a
constant rate. Instead, it goes through a
continuing series of “boom” and “bust”
periods called the business cycle.
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period of prosperity and economic growth
high level of employment
wages and profits rise, therefore spending
increases
GDP (gross domestic product) is high
Problem: INFLATION
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Economic decline and crisis
production decreases, therefore unemployment
rises and wages fall
consumers restrict spending, therefore prices
and profits drop
RECESSION – mild and short lived downturn
DEPRESSION – longer and severe period of
decline
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Governments intervene in the economy by
changing their level of spending and the
supply of money to try to even out the boom
and bust cycles
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Look at the examples on pg 214 and 215
To what extent do you agree or disagree with
the involvement of the government in each
example?
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Entrepreneur – a person who ORGANIZES a
business and takes the RISKS associated with
competing in a market economy
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They are the heart of the market system
The following are clips from CBC television’s
reality show Dragon’s Den:
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Dragon's Den
Dragon's Den 2
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Read the case studies on Page 226 and 229 and
answer the questions
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Break into 3 groups
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1) Supply
2) Demand
3) Price
I will read some “what if “ Statements. You as
a group must decide what will happen
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Will the supply/demand/price go up?
Will the supply/demand/price go down?