Saturday, January 10, 2015

Extra Credit- semester 1

Lesson: Supply and Demand


  1. Description: This lesson plan for supply and demand is an interactive way to learn about graphs, shifts, and properties. The teacher administering this lesson plan should thoroughly explain each part of the graph, and draw examples on the board. The video to aids in this lesson explain supply and demand using the Indiana Jones movie, to make the lesson fun and exciting. The supplementary worksheet makes supply and demand seem applicable to the students lives and the real world, while giving them practice with questions they may see on a quiz or test. The class activity is used to reinforce the material and spark student's interest. The goal of this lesson was to clearly explain supply and demand to students, and have them view supply and demand from a real world perspective. 
  2. Instruction:
  • Ask students "What is supply?" (Supply is the amount of a good or service that is provided at a specific price)
  • Ask students "What is demand?" (Demand is the amount of a good or service that customers are willing/able to buy at a specific price)
  • Ask students "Why are supply and demand important to the economy?" (Supply and demand determine pricing of goods and services, and how much of a good or service a firm will produce)
  • Draw a supply and demand graph. Start with labeling the axis (quantity horizontal, price vertical). Then, add a downward sloping demand curve. Explain that demand is always downward sloping because of Law of Demand (as price increases, demand decreases). Explain that this is because as the price increases, the customer cannot buy as much because of their limited amount of money. This is because there are unlimited wants, but limited supply, also known as scarcity. Next, add an upward sloping supply curve. Explain that supply is always upward sloping because of the Law of Supply (as price increases, quantity supplied increases). Explain that this is because as the price increases the marginal revenue (money made from additional unit) of a firm increases, thus their total revenue increases, so to make more money, firms want to supply more of the good or service.
  • Explain that equilibrium is the intersection of the supply and demand curves. Tell students that equilibrium is where firms want to produce, because it is the point where the quantity the firm wants to supply equals the amount that the producer wants to buy. Draw equilibrium on the graph and follow the lines down to the axis to show the equilibrium quantity and price.
  • Next, demonstrate on the graph a shift in demand. Explain that a shift to the right shows an increase in demand (good) and a shift to the left shows a decrease in demand (bad). Write the determinants for a demand shift on the board and explain them (population, income, tastes/preferences, substitutes/compliments, expectations for future prices). Demonstrate new equilibrium price and quantity, where the new demand curve intersects the supply curve. 
  • Show the same concept with the supply curve. Explain that a shift right is an increase in supply and a shift left is a decrease in supply. Write the determinants for a shift in supply on the board, and explain them (cost of production, number of sellers, price of other goods, technology, taxes and subsidies, and expectations for future price). Demonstrate new equilibrium price and quantity, where new supply curve intersects demand curve.
  • Ask students if the have any questions so far
  • Split class into two "teams" and move the desks so they face each other. Each team must have one representative to answer the following questions for the group by raising their hand before the other team. The team who answers the most questions correctly wins.
Questions: (Tell if shift is left or right)
  1. A news story informs consumers that there is a harmful bacteria in pasta. What happens to the demand for pasta? (shift left)
  2. Technology for production of iPhones improves and cuts down on production costs. What happens to supply? (shift right)
  3. Hunter boots are a new trend for teenage girls. What happens to their demand? (shift right)
  4. There is a shortage of wood, what happens to the supply of pencils? (shift left)
  5. Press releases state that a manufacturing error in GM cars caused recent crashes. What happens to the car's demand? (shift left)
  • Pass out supplementary worksheet, and have students finish it for homework
      3. Materials: whiteboard, whiteboard marker, eraser, pencil, desks, videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP0j3Lnlazs) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB7XFPy_bZM), supplementary worksheet and key


      4. Summary:
    1. Students should have background knowledge on what a firm does. Students should know that a firm supplies a good or service at a specific price. Students should also know what a consumer does. A consumer buys a good or service at a specific price. Most importantly, students should know that the interaction between the two creates the price the good is sold at, and the quantity of the good that is produced. Students do not need extensive knowledge of economics for this particular topic, however, basic understanding of economic concepts would help their understanding of this unit.
    2. This activity helps students learn by repetition. The material presented in the teacher explanation is repeated in the video, and practice problems in the homework assignment relate back to both, Studies show that students must see/hear material more than once before it truly sticks in their memory, so by repeating the key concepts, students will be more likely to remember the information. Also, on the worksheet, students will see the concepts represented in real world situations, which helps them remember the material. It is easy to see school work as irrelevant, memorize it for a test, and then completely dismiss the information, but if students see the information as relevant to their lives, they are more likely to remember and understand the concepts in the long run.
    3. If a student could draw a supply and demand graph and name the determinants, then they understood the lesson. The teacher should check to see if they got it by asking questions at the end that relate back to the material, and also by checking their homework the next day. If a student can explain the concept back to the teacher, then they understand the material.
    4. For the students who do not get it, the teacher should work with them one on one to figure out what concept(s) they struggle with. Since this is a basic, yet important unit in Micro, the teacher should take the time to slow down and make sure all students feel comfortable, because if they start out struggling with the basics, it will only get harder for them. The teacher should supply the students with the link to the video and other similar videos, as well as another worksheet similar to the one used in the lesson. Study sessions after school (if possible) would be another good way to help students who are struggling.

Final Reflection

1. Yes, after this class I feel that I am able to discuss economics better because I understand the terms and concepts involved in economic events and decisions. I feel that I can make better economic decisions personally, and understand how the economic decisions of firms effect myself as a consumer and the rest of the economy.
2. Supply and Demand was the most memorable concept to me because it was the easiest to observe in real life situations. When we learned about supply and demand, and it made me realize how firms earn money, establish prices, and obtain profit or loss. I now understand why businesses thrive or shut down. Also, the supply and demand graphs were my favorite because they were easiest to understand and draw.
3. Yes, writing economic blogs made me apply the concepts we learned in class to real world scenarios. I feel that if I can explain a concept to someone or use it in an example, I tend to do better on the test or quiz on that material. When writing the blog posts I learned to think of the material we learn in class as real world phenomenon rather than abstract ideas that are not related to my life. I saw the economy as something that impacts me and that is possible for me to understand.
4. One aspect of the class that I feel could be improved is checking in homework. Not to be "that student", but I always do my Mortons, and I wish they would be checked in for points more frequently because I put effort into doing them. I also think that we should do more practice questions that are phrased like the ones on the test. I feel like I understand the material, but on tests the way questions are phrased confuses me and messes me up.
5. If I could re-start the semester, I would do more practice in the workbook to help study for tests. I would also re-read my textbook the night before the test, because I usually read the pages when they're assigned, but forget about them and rely on my notes and Mortons to study for the tests. I would also try to find some practice FRQ's because I tend to do either really well or really poor on them, and I think maybe practice would help.

Helpful Link

https://www.youtube.com/user/ACDCLeadership

YouTube channel that makes videos about AP Econ

Graphs





Econ Jokes




(I did not make these I googled econ jokes)

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Economic Blog Post - Unit 4 & 5 Reflection



  1. Thesis outline- Trustbusting in Digital Age

              a. Thesis- The market power of dominant search engines such as Google should not be     regulated by the government
              b. Support #1- In recent decades it has been shown that market dominants does not last           forever, so changes in consumer tastes and trends will change dominance in the market without government intervention. Ex) Facebook
              c. Support #2- The products of Google and other dominant firms do not lock in customers like Microsoft or windows, so when trends or dominance change, customers can change their media or search engines with little to no cost.

      2.  Thesis outline- Amazon Monopsony
         
              a. Thesis- Amazon has too much market power which is harmful to America, and should be   regulated by the government.
              b. Support #1- Amazon and a book company named Hachette got into a dispute because         Amazon wanted to cut the price on Hachette's books and Hachette declined, so Amazon has been steering customers to other products and delaying delivery of Hachette books,which is immoral business practice.
              c. Support #2- Amazon has free one day shipping on certain books and 2-3 week shipping on other books. Amazon can control this so if they have a dispute with a company, they can choose not to sell their product or to delay shipping.

      3. a. There should be more internet regulation of firms such as Amazon that are monopsonists in the resource market, but not for firms such as Google who are monopolists in the product market. I believe this because the resource market effects the products that are available to the consumers, and wages of employees, which can make a large impact on society. For example, if Amazon stopped buying and re-selling a certain product, and they are one of the few firms that sold it, the firm producing the product that Amazon buys and the consumer are both hurt because Amazon has complete market control. This would make it so that consumers cannot purchase said product and the firm producing the product will go out of business. On the other hand, monopolistic firms such as Google do not have as devastating of an effect on society. If Google is dominant in the product market, it may cause other firms to leave the market, which causes less competition, but it does not have as negative of an impact on consumers. Consumers are not locked into Google's services, and could switch browsers and a minimal cost. In addition, recent years have shown that rival firms do rise and monopolists in these markets do fall without government regulation. For example, Facebook was a dominant social media site for years, then Twitter took the spotlight. Chances are good that this will happen again, and firms like these do not need to be regulated by the government.
            b. Amazon demonstrates class concepts because they are a monopsony, a monopoly in the resource market. Amazon is a single buyer of many products, and thus they have control over pricing and quantity, giving them complete market control. In order to maximize profits, Amazon wants to buy the good for a low price in the resource market, and sell them for a higher price in the product market. Amazon can make the firms supplying them with the good in the resource market give them the good at a lower price, because if the firm doesn't sell to Amazon, it's harder for them to get their product out there and make profit. This causes Amazon to control the market. Google demonstrates class concepts because they are a monopoly in the product market. Consumers use Google far more than any other search engine. Because of this, Google has few competitors and has market control. To maximize profit, Google wants to charge advertisements the highest price to increase total revenue. Since Google is a monopsony, they can charge a higher price, because if the firm doesn't take it, Google will not show their websites at the top of searches or their ads on the side of the page, wihch hurts their business.
              c. I agree more with the article Amazon Monopsony, because I believe that Amazon's monopsonist power impacts me as a consumer greater than Google's monopoly power. Amazon can effect what products I can buy, the price I buy them at, and wages. While both Amazon and Google can use their power in harmful ways, Amazon's is more direct. Search engines, social media, and other online services have proven to come and go in popularity. Google may not be as powerful in ten years, and some other search engine may be. Amazon may also lose popularity, however, it is popular now and if it exploits the companies that it buys products from and charges consumers higher prices, it can negatively effect consumers and firms in a greater magnitude. I agree with Amazon Monopsony that Amazon's power should be regulated by the government. I am no economist, but I think that there should be a price floor on certain items that Amazon buys to re-sell, and that Amazon should not be allowed to change the shipping or delay delivery of the product of a firm they get into a dispute with.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Unit 3, Post #3

Goods: Ice Capp (coffee) $2, Tim-bits $4

Ice Capp ($2)
Quantity                Marginal Utility            Total Utility
       0                                0                                  0
       1                               20                                20
       2                               16                                36
       3                               12                                48
       4                                 8                                56
       5                                 4                                60



Tim-bits ($4)
Quantity               Marginal Utility             Total Utility
       0                                0                                 0
       1                               32                                32
       2                               16                                48
       3                               12                                60
       4                                 4                                64
       5                                 8                                66

Utility Maximizing Combination:
4 Ice Capps - (MU/P=1) $8
3 Tim-bits - (MU/P=1) $12
Total- $20

This is the utility maximizing combination because MU/P is equal for both goods, and the total cost to purchase these quantities of both goods is $20