Mr. David Carlisle
Division Chair
Career & Technical Department
Oswego East High School
dcarlisle1222@oswego308.org
(630)636-2261
AP MICROECONOMICS COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of an AP course in 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 economic system. It
places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets, and includes the study of factor markets and of the
role of government in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy. The course is taught in a both lecture
discussion and interactive format, with considerable emphasis given to analysis, free response, critical thinking, and discussion.
Since the class also fulfills the consumer education requirement, there will be coverage of budgeting, investing, taxes, and
insurance.
Textbook:
McConnell & Brue. Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. 19th edition Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2012
Workbook:
Morton, John S. & Goodman, Rae Jean B. Advanced Placement Economics, 4th edition. Handouts will be
provided to students when needed.
Readings:
The Wall Street Journal
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Website
The Economist Magazine
Collegeboard.com
Class Website: http://dceconomics.weebly.com Homework Website: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com
Grading (each semester is graded separately):
100- 90%
89-80%
79-70%
69-60%
59-0%
A
B
C
D
F
Final Exam(s)
Tests and Quizzes
Homework/Classwork
Research and Presentation
15%
40%
30%
15%
STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:
1. Read your textbook at home. You must read the book, as I cannot cover everything you need to learn in class.
2. Make the extra commitment to AP Classes. This means more work in and out of class, including nights and weekends.
3. Be responsible for your own work, makeup exams, and your own grade. Do not ask me what you have missed if you have
not already checked with the McGraw Hill website, the class website, and your class mates.
4. See me before school, after class, or after school for additional help.
5. Work cooperatively with students in class and outside of school in study groups.
THE TEACHER IS EXPECTED TO:
1. Do everything possible to create a learning environment to prepare you for the AP Microeconomics exam. This, however,
is not the sole purpose of the class – see above.
2. Treat all students fairly and with respect.
3. Grade homework, assessments, and papers in a timely fashion.
4. Be approachable & available to answer questions during class. I am also available before or after school in E180. Always
feel free to e-mail me as well – probably your best bet in getting an answer ASAP.
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EXPECTATIONS OF GRADED WORK & HOMEWORK POLICY:
A large part of what you do in this class is designed to prepare you for the AP Microeconomics Exam. Unless directed
otherwise, all graded work will be set in “AP conditions”. Therefore, all work will be in black or dark blue ink. No
calculators, highlighters or colored pens/pencils. The graders of the exam in May are current teachers and professors. If your
answers are clear, concise, and legible you will do well. Work that does not meet these criteria will receive no credit.
It is the student’s responsibility to check the class and connect websites for assignments and due dates after each class.
Online Homework: You will be issued a McGraw-Hill Connect account. The due dates for these assignments are clearly
indicated on the site. Late online homework assignments will receive late penalties as indicated on the site for each
assignment. Other Homework Assignments: Late homework will receive a 50% penalty. No homework will be accepted
more than two days past due.
AP EXAM STRUCTURE:
The AP Exam is 60 Multiple Choice (A-E) questions. This is 2/3 of the grade. You are given 70 minutes for this section;
most students need less than 60. Then there are 3 free response questions, with a time limit of 50 minutes; most students need
less than 30 minutes. The free response questions ARE NOT essay questions; they are short answers (3-4 sentences max) and
graphing. The AP exam rewards critical thinking and logic, not memorization or high level mathematics.
CLASS UNITS
UNIT ONE: BASIC ECONOMIC CONCEPTS
 The Economic Perspective
 Basic Cost Benefit Analysis
 Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost
 Production possibilities curve
McConnell & Brue Readings:
Appendix:
Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
UNIT TWO: SUPPLY AND DEMAND & ELASTICITY
 Demand
 Supply
 Market Equilibrium
McConnell & Brue Readings:
Chapter 3:
Appendix:
Chapter 4
UNIT THREE:
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
 Comparative Advantage
 Specialization
 Tariffs
McConnell & Brue Readings:




Economic systems
Property rights and the role of incentives
Marginal analysis
Pitfalls to Sound Economic Reasoning
Graphs and Their Meanings
Limits, Alternatives, and Choices
The Economizing Problem
 Market Price Communication
 Government Price & Quantity Controls
 Elasticity of Supply and Demand
Demand, Supply, and Market Equilibrium
Examples of Supply and Demand
Elasticity
 Quotas
 Protectionism
 Trade Organizations and Agreements
Chapter 37: International Trade
UNIT FOUR: MARKET FAILURES: PUBLIC GOODS AND EXTERNALITIES
 Public vs. Private Goods
 Negative and Positive Externalities
 Demand and Supply Side Failure
 Government Intervention
 Cost-Benefit Analysis
 Consumer and Producer Surplus
McConnell & Brue Readings:
Chapter 5:
UNIT FIVE: CONSUMER CHOICE
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Market Failures: Public Goods And Externalities
 Total Utility
 Marginal Utility
 Utility Maximization
McConnell & Brue Readings:
 Income effects
 Substitution Effects
 Prospect Theory
Chapter 6:
UNIT SIX:
COMPETITION AND EFFICIENCY
 Short and Long Run
 Accounting, Normal, and Economic Profits
 Cost Minimizing
 Profit Maximization: MR=MC rule
McConnell & Brue Readings:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Consumer Behavior




Perfect Competition
Four Basic Market Models
Creative Destruction
Economies of Scale
Businesses and Costs of Production
Pure Competition in the Short Run
Pure Competition in the Long Run
UNIT SEVEN: MONOPOLY, MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION, AND OLIGOPOLY
 Sources of Monopoly Power
 Monopolistic Competition
 Natural Monopoly
 Oligopoly
 Price Discrimination
 Game Theory
 Regulated Monopoly
 Antitrust Policy
McConnell & Brue Readings:
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 18:
UNIT EIGHT: RESOURCE MARKETS
 Marginal Productivity Theory
 Determinants of Resource Demand
 Elasticity of Resource Demand
 Marginal Productivity Theory of Income
 Real and Nominal Wages
 Supply and Demand for Labor
 Minimum Wage Controversy
McConnell & Brue Readings:
Chapter 12:
Chapter 13:
Chapter 14:
Pure Monopoly
Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
Antitrust Policy and Regulation







Wage Differentials
Economic Rent
Interest
Time Value of Money
Entrepreneurship and Profit
Economic Profit
Insurable and Uninsurable Risks
The Demand for Resources
Wage Determination
Rent, Interest, and Profit
UNIT NINE: BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS TOPICS (May be expanded)
 Gross Domestic Product
 Fiscal Policy
 The Business Cycle
 Unemployment
 Inflation
 Current Issues - Economic Growth
 Production Possibilities Analysis
 Federal Reserve System
McConnell & Brue Readings:
UNIT TEN: AP REVIEW:
Chapters 23-30:
Selected Readings
The AP Review will begin no later than May 1, 2014.
CONSUMER EDUCATION UNITS: Taxes, Insurance, Saving & Investing
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