AP Microeconomics Syllabus
Textbook:
McEachern, William A., Economics: A Contemporary Introduction, 8th Edition, SouthWestern Publishers.
Workbooks and Supplemental Materials and Activities:
Morton, John S. and Goodman, Rae Jean B., Advanced Placement
Economics, 3rd Edition, NCEE, New York, World Composition Services, Inc.
Virtual Economics CD-ROM, V.3, NCEE
Internet Resources:
http://reffonomics.com
Behavioral Expectations: We will follow all District policies as outlined in the Gilbert
Public Schools District student handbook. Pay particular attention to policies on bullying
and dress code.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
As members of the Coyote family, we pride ourselves on our dedication to Community,
Values, Honor and Scholarship. Students are expected to meet specific positive
behavioral standards both in and out of the classroom. These behaviors, such as being
respectful and practicing academic honesty, are what make Campo Verde such an
amazing place to learn. During this school year, students will participate in a school-wide
initiative focused on the promotion and reinforcement of the expected standards of
behavior.
Attendance:
Regular attendance and punctuality are essential to learning the material of this course.
The material is analytical and cumulative and any gaps in your notes will assume the
proportions of a large canyon. There is much material presented in class that is not in the
textbook or the AP Economics Workbook by John Morton and Rae Jean Goodman.
Reread this attendance paragraph again.
Tardies:
Being tardy on a regular basis is unacceptable behavior in this class. If you are tardy, you
will enter the room quietly so as not to disturb students who are in class on time willing
to learn. Excessive tardiness (more than four tardies) will result in referrals and/or other
discipline action. Reread this attendance tardy paragraph.
In-class and Homework Assignments:
In-class activities and homework assignments represent a significant portion of your
grade, both with respect to raw points and as a preparatory framework for exams.
Resultantly, they will be rigorous and thorough. If you miss any one of these
assignments, your grade will drop. You are in AP therefore, late work will not be
accepted. Best of luck on your attendance and punctuality in this class. Please reread
this paragraph.
Lecture Period:
Economics is not a spectator sport! Even though our class has 30 or so students, please
feel “free” to ask any questions whenever you want. Raising your hand is the politest
method of asking a question.
Exams:
You will have at least four exams in this class, plus a final exam. ALL OF THESE
EXAMS ARE REQUIRED EXAMS. The knowledge you gain in this class is
cumulative, so anything that is taught from the beginning of the class to the date of the
exam is fair game. The final exam is cumulative. You have until the next class meeting
after the exam results have been released to appeal an exam grade.
Missing an Exam
If you miss an exam without an approved excuse, you will receive a zero for that exam.
You should notify me through email at chuck.fraser@gilbertschools.net about missing
an exam as soon as you are aware of your inability to take the exam, unless it is
impossible for you to do so due to an emergency situation.
Exam and Dates:
You will have four, 50-minute exams consisting of both multiple choice and essay
questions. The multiple choice portion of the exam will be 67% of the exam grade and
the essay portion will be 33% of the exam grade.
Grading Scale:
Your grade is based upon the following approximate criteria:
Exams
50 percent
In-class and homework assignments 30 percent
Final Exam
20 percent
Your final grade in the class is based upon the following grading scale (no exceptions):
90 – 100 percent
80 - 89 percent
70 – 79 percent
60 – 69 percent
59 - 0 percent
A
B
C
D
F
Graphing:
You have heard the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, in AP
Microeconomics the adage is, “A graph is worth a zillion words.”
From the first chapter to the last chapter in AP Microeconomics, the drawing of correctly
labeled graphs is a MUST. Anything less than a correctly labeled graph will be
unacceptable. You will be drawing graphs with the following topics: productionpossibilities curve, marginal benefits/marginal costs, supply/demand, elasticity of
supply/demand, effect of taxes on supply/demand/Qs/Qd, utility/diminishing marginal
utility, cost curves, perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, oligopoly,
cartel, monopsony, bi-lateral monopoly, factors market (labor, land, and capital),
externalities, equal distribution of income, and more.
Course Outline:
We will be following the course outline described in The College Board’s Acorn Booklet
found at the following site:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_economics_coursedesc.pdf
The outline for AP Microeconomics is found on pages 10 - 11 and reads as follows:
Percentage Goals of Exam
Content Area (multiple-choice section)
I. Basic Economic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8–14%)
A. Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost
B. Production possibilities curve
C. Comparative advantage, absolute advantage, specialization, and trade
D. Economic systems
E. Property rights and the role of incentives
F. Marginal analysis
II. The Nature and Functions of Product Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (55–70%)
A. Supply and demand (15–20%)
1. Market equilibrium
2. Determinants of supply and demand
3. Price and quantity controls
4. Elasticity
a. Price, income, and cross-price elasticities of demand
b. Price elasticity of supply
5. Consumer surplus, producer surplus, and market efficiency
6. Tax incidence and deadweight loss
B. Theory of consumer choice (5–10%)
1. Total utility and marginal utility
2. Utility maximization: equalizing marginal utility per dollar
3. Individual and market demand curves
4. Income and substitution effects
C. Production and costs (10–15%)
1. Production functions: short and long run
2. Marginal product and diminishing returns
3. Short-run costs
4. Long-run costs and economies of scale
5. Cost minimizing input combination
D. Firm behavior and market structure (25–35%)
1. Profit:
a. Accounting versus economic profits
b. Normal profit
c. Profit maximization: MR=MC rule
2. Perfect competition
a. Profit maximization
b. Short-run supply and shutdown decision
c. Behavior of firms and markets in the short run and in the long run
d. Efficiency and perfect competition
3. Monopoly
a. Sources of market power
b. Profit maximization
c. Inefficiency of monopoly
d. Price discrimination
e. Natural monopoly
4. Oligopoly
a. Interdependence, collusion, and cartels
b. Game theory and strategic behavior
5. Monopolistic competition
a. Product differentiation and role of advertising
b. Profit maximization
c. Short-run and long-run equilibrium
d. Excess capacity and inefficiency
III. Factor Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (10–18%)
A. Derived factor demand
B. Marginal revenue product
C. Labor market and firms’ hiring of labor
D. Market distribution of income
(Included in this Factor Market are derived demand for land, labor, and capital, along with the
marginal factor cost of each.)
IV. Market Failure and the Role of Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (12–18%)
A. Externalities
1. Marginal social benefit and marginal social cost
2. Positive externalities
3. Negative externalities
4. Remedies
B. Public goods
1. Public versus private goods
2. Provision of public goods
C. Public policy to promote competition
1. Antitrust policy
2. Regulation
D. Income distribution
1. Equity 2. Sources of income inequality
“Free” Response Questions You Will Be Writing Answers (including graphs) to
During the Semester:
AP Microeconomics “Free” Response Questions
Production-possibilities Curve
1999 #2 Production-possibilities Curve (wheat and cloth, comparative advantage)
2003 #3 Production-possibilities Curve (absolute/comparative advantage, terms of
trade)
Supply, Demand, Price Floor, Price Ceiling, Elasticity
1990 #2
1996 #2
1994 #2
1993 #2
1998 #1
2000 #3
2005 #2
Inelastic Portion of the Demand Curve
Supply/Demand (circus, price ceiling)
Supply/Demand (tax on cigarettes, elasticity of demand)
Supply/Demand (coffee/cream, supply/demand in product/factors markets)
Supply/Demand (elasticity, price floor, allocative efficiency)
Supply/Demand (tariffs, elasticity)
Supply/Demand (taxes, consumer/producer surplus, deadweight loss)
Utility
2002 #3 Utility (apples/oranges, total utility, marginal utility)
Perfect Competition
1990 #1
1996 #3
2001 #1
1989 #1
1999 #1
1993 #1
2001 #1
1992 #2
1991 #2
2005 #1
2006 #2
Perfect Competition (increase in demand)
Perfect Competition (MC, ATC, AVC)
Perfect Competition (graphs, AVC shut down, LR)
Perfect Competition (price ceiling)
Perfect Competition (price ceiling)
Perfect Competition (decrease in energy costs, MC, AVC, entry/exit)
Perfect Competition (graphs, AVC shut down, LR)
Perfect Competition (price ceiling, increase in wholesale price)
Perfect Competition (change in marginal and average costs)
Perfect Competition (demand decrease, shut down rule, long run)
Perfect Competition (costs—fixed costs, marginal cost, profit
maximization, constant costs, per-unit tax)
Monopoly
1989 #2
1992 #1
1993 #3
1994 #3
1998 #3
1997 #2
2003 #2
2006 #1
Monopoly
Monopoly (basic, economic efficiency)
Monopoly (single airline, fixed costs go up)
Monopoly (basic, barriers to entry)
Monopoly (elasticity of demand, price discrimination)
Monopoly (normal profits, economic efficiency)
Monopoly (basic, consumer surplus, deadweight loss)
Monopoly (graph with many questions relating to graph, accounting profits
allocative efficiency)
2007 #1 Monopoly (graph, per-unit tax, per-unit subsidy)
Perfect Competition AND Monopoly (Combined)
1996 #1 Perfect Competition/Monopoly (dictator to PC, economic efficiency)
1999 #3 Perfect Competition/Monopoly (graphs, D = MR, D does not = MR)
2000 #1 Perfect Competition/Monopoly (elasticity, consumer surplus, allocative
efficiency)
Monopolistic Competition
2004 #3 Monopolistic Competition Graph
Oligopoly
2007 #3 Game Theory (Roadway and Rankin)
Factors Market
1997 #1
2001 #3
2005 #3
1998 #2
2003 #3
1000 #2
1991 #1
2002 #1
2007#2
MRP = MFC (Jones T-shirts)
MRP = MFC (Sparkle Car Wash, wages)
MRP = MFC (MP, MRP, MFC, how many workers?)
MRP = MFC (dim. Marginal returns, MP/AP curve, MP vs. AVC)
MRP = MFC (definition of MRP, side-by-side graph of PC of PC labor
industry/individual market, increase in tech/productivity)
MRP = MFC (wages, p.c., profit)
Perfect Competition in the factors market
Perfect Competition/Monopoly (monopoly/p.c., PC factors market)
MRP = MFC (table, graph MRP = MFC, profit-max., increased
productivity, MRP = MFC)
MSB = MSC
2001 #2
2002 #2
1997 #3
1994 #1
2003 #1
MSC = MSB (externalities)
MSC = MSB (both MSC and MSB curves shift)
Marginal analysis (MC, MSB, MSC, MP/P)
Perfect Competition (wages, MRP = MFC, Price floor)
Perfect Competition (smoke alarm, short run/long run profits, positive
externalities in the market)
2004 #1 Externality and Monopoly Graph
2006 #3 Negative externality, positive externality, per-unit subsidy, graphing
Tariffs and World Trade
2004 #2 Domestic/World Graph, tariffs