Principles of Economics

Directions:  Click on the "file" item at the top left of the browser window.  Click on "Save as..." from the pull down menu.   Do the necessary reading then answer the questions in the file you just saved.   When you are all done then send me your answers as email.  The best thing to do is to include the file with the questions and your embedded answers as an attachment.

You only need a couple of sentences for each part.

NAME:_____________________

I. More opportunity cost problems to be solved using economic analysis. Consider both implicit and explicit costs, now and in the future:
a. What is the opportunity cost of going to college?
b. What is the opportunity cost of your current job?
c. What is the likely future of a city or town which has no more open land for development?
d. What decision rule do you use in choosing a mode of transportation to go to work?
e. What is the connection between your wage and your firm's profitability?
f. What is the connection between inflation and productivity?

II. The economists tool kit?
a. Why should economists be good historians?
b. Why should economists be good mathematicians?
c. Why should economists be good statisticians?

III. Graphs
a. Where is the origin of any graph?
b. Can you define the slope of a line? Distinguish between steep and shallow slope?
c. What is the visual impact of changing the scale of one axis but not the other? Is there any numerical impact on the slope?
d. In addition to the examples given in the book, can you cite additional instances of squeezing multi-dimensional information into a two dimensional picture?