LINDBLOM MATH & SCIENCE ACADEMY
ADVANCED PLACEMENT MICROECONOMICS 2013 – 2014
Course Syllabus and Outline
Course Description:
AP Microeconomics is a college level, year-long course designed to provide students with a thorough
understanding of the principles of microeconomics. This course is designed to encourage students to think
like economists, by questioning and evaluating costs and benefits and exploring the many ways that one
economic action will cause secondary actions.
AP Microeconomics will also examine the fundamental economic principles which govern economic activities
of the individual and the firm. This course will address the central topics of the AP Microeconomics
Examination including: scarcity, supply and demand, consumer choice, the theory of the firm, perfect and
imperfect competition, the factor market, market failure, and the role of government. This course will also
teach students to generate and correctly label economic graphs.
Personal Philosophy:
I firmly believe that economics is the most important course you will take in high school. Economics will
teach you a new way of thinking about decision making that will prepare you to embrace the responsibilities
of adult consumers. This course will be unlike any other course you take in high school and I hope that you
will see the power and importance of economic thought by the end of the year.
Required Texts:
• Krugman’s Microeconomics for AP (2012)
• Economics by Example (2006)
• Naked Economics (2010)
• Additional readings may be assigned from a
variety of sources
Required Class Materials:
• A spiral bound notebook
• A 3-ring binder (.5” or 1” width)
• Tabs for dividing and organizing your
binder
• Pens and pencils
• Highlighters (several colors)
• Dry-erase markers (fine tip)
Required Course Management Website:
We will be using a new service to manage our course content this year. All of my lectures and presentations
as well as your assignments and readings will be posted to our course page on Lectrio.com. To sign up,
follow these directions:
1. Go to lectrio.com/course/LMSAMicro
2. Enter access code: 2DD9y
Course Structure:
At the beginning of each quarter you will receive a detailed ten week calendar that will list all textbook
readings, major assignments, and unit exams. If, for some reason, I need to change any aspects of this
calendar you will receive an updated calendar as soon as possible. Additional homework assignments and
readings may be assigned in class and it is your responsibility to add them to the calendar.
Each time we complete a module from the Krugman text we will have a reading/content mastery quiz. As
the content in this course builds upon itself, you must pass each of these quizzes in order to advance to the
next. Your average on the quizzes (if you have to take them more than once) will be the recorded grade in
gradebook. You may only sit for the unit exams once you have passed all of the module quizzes from that
unit.
Grading:
Grades will be calculated based on total points. It is the responsibility of each student to make sure grades
are entered properly into the gradebook. If you believe there is a discrepancy between the gradebook and
the grade you received on returned assignments, you must be able to show proof of the error (so do not
dispose of assignments until you are sure your grade has been recorded properly).
In addition to the aforementioned quizzes, the major assessments will be the unit exams. These exams will
be structured similarly to the AP exam, with multiple choice questions counting for 2/3 of your grade and free
response questions counting for 1/3 of your grade.
Letter grades will be determined based on school guidelines and there will be no rounding.
Additionally, you will earn your Consumer Education Credit if you have a passing grade for the semester and
earn a “C” or higher on the fourth quarter Consumer Education project.
AP Exams:
It is expected that each student enrolled in AP Microeconomics enters the course planning on taking the AP
Micro exam in May. Behavioral Expectations:
We are here to learn and to help each other learn. There are only two behavioral expectations that I expect
all of us, including myself, to follow. As long as we act respectfully and responsibly, we will develop a
supportive and welcoming learning environment. These two behavioral expectations encompass all of the
aspects of good behavior and as responsible adults you should strive to live up to them.
Any necessary disciplinary actions will follow the guidelines of the school.
Absences and Missing/Late Work:
If you miss a class due to an excused absence, it is your responsibility to complete any coursework you may
have missed. All assignments and class materials will be posted to Lectrio.
Additionally, all on-time and later work are subject to the LMSA History Department Revision Poilicy:
1. Revisions: If a student submitted an assignment on time and it was fully attempted, s/he will be
permitted to resubmit (after it has been returned to the student with feedback) for a new grade within
the quarter that it was assigned. Final quarter due dates are as follows: October 25th, January 17th,
March 21st, and May 30th. 2. Late Work: If a student was present but did not turn in an assignment on the due date, the student
will have 2 weeks to submit the assignment with a loss of no more than 20% of the graded
assignment (per week), or a cumulative loss of no more than 40% of the graded assignment by the
quarter due dates: October 25th, January 17th, March 21st, and May 30th. 3. If a student needs additional support to achieve mastery on the assignment, the onus is on the
student to seek out their teacher to establish a support session outside of class time. Academic Integrity:
Although this falls within the two behavioral expectations, it is so important that it merits its own explanation.
Every assignment that you complete for this class is to be your own work. If there are suspicions that you
cheated in some manner, such as copying from another student or improperly citing other authors’ work, you
will receive no credit for the assignment in question and Lindblom’s academic integrity policies and
procedures will be enforced.
Instructor Contact:
You can reach me via any of the following methods:
• Cell phone – (773) 800-9826
• E-mail – pavan@cps.edu – or – peter.a.van@gmail.com
• Twitter – @peteravan
Please feel free to reach out to me any time day or night. If you would like to schedule an appointment to
see me and/or need to speak to me face to face, I will typically be in the history department office (room
223B) or in room 220 before and after school every day. I will specifically be there during my scheduled
office/tutoring hours (typically before school everyday and after school on Mondays).
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
AP MICROECONOMICS 2013 – 2014
Semester One
Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts
Length - 3.5 weeks
Krugman modules 1, 3, and 4
Topics:
• Normative and Positive Economics
• Logical Thinking Fallacies
• Scarcity and Choice
• Opportunity Costs
• Unlimited Wants/Limited Resources
• Production Possibilities Curve
• Circular Flow
• Markets
• Command, Tradition, and Market Systems
• The economic approach to problemsolving
• Basics of economic graphing
Unit 2: Supply and Demand
Length - 5.5 weeks
Krugman modules 5 - 12
Topics:
• Demand vs. Quantity Demanded
• Supply vs. Quantity Supplied
• Graphing Supply and Demand
• Equilibrium
• Surplus & Shortage
• Price Discovery Mechanism
• Elasticity: Price, Income, Cross
• Total Revenue Test
• Coefficient Calculations
• Price Ceilings and Floors
• Law of Demand
Unit 3: The Nature of Product Markets
Length - 6.5 weeks
Krugman modules 13 - 20
Topics:
• Consumer Surplus
• Producer Surplus
• Tax Incidence and Deadweight Loss
• Allocative Efficiency
• Marginal Utility Theory
• Utility of Maximization Rule
• Theory of Consumer Choice
• Profit/Loss
• Circular Flow Diagram
• Explicit & Implicit Costs
• Economic vs. Accounting Profit
• Profit Maximization Rule
• Law of Diminishing Returns
• Cost of Production
•
 Fixed Cost
 Variable Cost
 Total Cost
 Marginal Cost
 Average Fixed Cost
 Average Variable Cost
 Average Total Cost
Short Run vs. Long Run
Semester One Review approximately 1 week
Semester One Finals
Semester Two
Unit 4: The Function of Product Markets (Market
Structure)
Length - 8.5 weeks
Krugman modules 21 - 32
Topics:
• Market Structure
 Perfect Competition
 Monopolistic Competition
 Oligopoly
 Pure Competition
• Barriers to Entry
• Profit Maximization Rule
• Short Run vs. Long Run
• Maximum Profit Output and Price
Determination Model
 Perfect Competition
 Monopolistic Competition
 Oligopoly
 Pure Monopoly
 Demonstrating and analyzing
market structures on graphs
 Allocative and Productive
Efficiency
 Monopoly Power
 Price Discrimination
 Government Regulation
• Game Theory
• Nash Equilibrium
Unit 5: Factor Markets
Length - 3.5 weeks
Krugman modules 33 - 37
Topics:
• Marginal Productivity Theory of Resource
Demand
• Derived Demand
• Marginal Physical Product (MPP)
• Value of Marginal Product (VMP)
• Demand vs. Quantity Demanded of a
Resource
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•
•
Productivity
Economic Rent
Rent Seeking Behavior
Capital and Labor Markets
Lorenz Curve
Income Distribution
Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government
Length - 3 weeks
Krugman modules 38 - 42
Topics:
• Positive & Negative Externalities
• Marginal Social Benefit and Marginal Social
Cost
• Private & Public Goods
• Producer & Consumer Surplus
• Principles of Taxation
• Public sector failure
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Tax Incidence
Tax Progressivity
 Progressive
 Proportional
 Regressive
Flat tax
Government Intervention
Antitrust Laws
Market Failures
Semester Two Review and Pre-AP Exam Final
approximately 2 week (plus additional after school
reviews)
AP MICROECONOMICS EXAM - MAY 15, 2013
Unit 7: Pop-culture and Microeconomics
Length - 3 weeks
Semester Two Finals (Projects Due)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Note: Throughout the course, students will learn to graph the economic concepts described above.
Graphing is an integral component of microeconomics and demonstrating and analyzing key graphs is a
necessity for success on the AP Microeconomics Exam.
PLEASE RETURN THE FOLLOWING PAGE TO MR. VAN
Course Contract:
I, _____________________________________, along with my parents/guardians have read the course
syllabus and understand the course objectives, guidelines, and expectations. I understand my
responsibilities as a student in this course with regards to attendance, behavior, assignments, projects, and
tests. I understand the consequences of violating school or class rules, including tardiness and poor
responsibility and respect.
____________________________________
Student Printed Name
____________________________________
Student Signature
__________
Date
____________________________________
Parent/Guardian Printed Name
____________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature
__________
Date
Contact Information:
Student E-mail:
_________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian E-mail: _________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Daytime Telephone Number: _________________________________
Parent/Guardian Evening Telephone Number: _________________________________