Whitman College
Fall 2011
Econ 102A
Principles of Macroeconomics
Denise Hazlett
Office: Maxey 224
Phone: 527-5155
email: hazlett
webpage: http://people.whitman.edu/~hazlett/index.html
Office hours are the following, or by appointment:
Monday
3:00-4:00
Tuesday
2:00-3:00
Wednesday 2:00-3:00
Friday
2:00-3:00
Economics is the study of how societies allocate scarce resources and distribute goods
and services. Macroeconomics focuses on the performance of the economy as a whole. It covers
unemployment, inflation, changes in standards of living, and government monetary and fiscal
policy. To see how the theory and policies we discuss in class play out in the real world, I
suggest you regularly follow economic events through a source such as the Wall Street Journal.
The course textbook is Principles of Macroeconomics Sixth Edition by N. Gregory
Mankiw. You’ll access the textbook online, via the educational software company Aplia. You’ll
also use Aplia to complete your problem sets. Once you register for Aplia, you’ll be able to
access course reading and problem set assignments. Information about Aplia and registration
instructions appear on the second page of this syllabus. You should register for Aplia today, so
that you can do the reading assignment for our next class meeting and start working on the first
problem set, which is due the evening of Wednesday, August 31. Access to Aplia costs $90,
with payment to Aplia due by September 19. Note that because Aplia provides online access to
the textbook for the semester, you do not need to buy a hard copy of the textbook. You will read
it online, and can print any parts you choose.
Problem set assignments are worth a total of 100 points. There will be laboratory reports
required for three classroom experiments (30 points each). Participation in the experiments
counts for 10 points. There will be three mid-term exams (100 points each), on Thursday,
September 22, Monday, October 24, and Thursday, November 17. The comprehensive final
exam (200 points) is the morning of Monday, December 12. Please arrange your schedule now
so that you do not have conflicts with these exam dates. I will not offer exams at alternate times.
If you have a registered disability that requires special accommodation for exams, please see me
a week before each exam so that we can make arrangements.
As a courtesy to others, do not leave class except in emergencies. All cell phones and
laptops must be turned off and packed away during class. If you believe you need your computer
for taking notes in class, come see me. I will ask you to consult the staff at the Academic
Resource Center about optimal note-taking.
To help you study, I post my old exams from econ 102 and econ 107 (principles of
economics) on my webpage, which you can reach from the economics department webpage or
using the url in the header of this syllabus. The grading scale for the course is as follows. Please
note that there is no disadvantage to studying with others, as your grade does not depend on
anyone else's performance.
Total Points
686
658
630
616
588
560
(% of 700)
98
93
90
87
83
80
Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
Total Points
546
518
490
476
448
420
(% of 700)
77
73
70
67
63
60
Grade
C+
C
CD+
D
D-
Aplia Registration Instructions
1. Connect to www.aplia.com.
2. Complete the Configuration Test and make adjustments to your configuration if necessary.
3. Return to the Sign In page and click Create a New Account.
4. Choose Student Account.
5. You will be asked to enter our course key, which is AUJM-X4FS-LVB6.
6. You will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and select a password.
You will only need to register once. After the registration process is complete, you will not need
to enter the course key again.
Problems with registration or with using Aplia? You can contact Aplia by clicking on the
"support" button in the upper-right corner of any page. They provide fast support.
Aplia Payment Instructions
• The $90 payment provides access to our entire course textbook online, and to the problem
sets. You will have access to the digital textbook through the end of the semester.
• Instructions on the Aplia website walk you through how to pay. You must pay by the end of
the day September 19. Until the end of this grace period, you can use Aplia free of charge.
Aplia Assignments
The problem sets have a firm due date, and the software does not accept excuses. Once the due
date passes, Aplia records your grade, which is the average of the grade you received on any of
the (up to three) attempts you made to answer each question, or a zero if you did not answer.
Aplia will give you feedback about your answer. After the due date passes, you will not be able
to change your answers or submit any new work. Please do your assignments early to keep lastminute emergencies from getting in your way.