Warm-Ups
Warm-up One:
What does scarcity mean?
Something is scarce when it is desirable and limited. Scarcity occurs because people have unlimited wants, but limited resources to satisfy those wants.
What is the opportunity cost of taking an all expense Hawaii Vacation for Spring Break?
Opportunity cost is the "next best thing" that is given up when a decision is made. In this scenario, the opportunity cost could be a vacation with your family instead.
Identify the Normative Statement
- Inflation is not good for the economy
- Low unemployment is a good thing
- The government should pay for all junior college education
A positive statement has a definite, factual answer, and frequently features the word "is."
A normative statement does not have a definite answer, factual answer, and frequently features the word "should."
The normative statement is: The government should pay for all junior college education.
What is the labor force of the U.S. composed of?
The labor force is composed of the sum of those who are employed and unemployed. Or, in other words, those who are working for pay, and those who are looking for a job.
It excludes active duty, underaged, and those who are not seeking employment.
What does the business cycle illustrate for the U.S.?
The business cycle illustrates the movement of the economy, following its expansions, contractions (recessions), troughs, and peaks.
Warm-up Two:
Illustrate the circular flow of economic activity accurately. Explain the two markets within the economy and what each is doing.
Resource Markets:
Scarce resources owned and provided by consumers. They feature the Factors of Production: Capital, Entrepreneurship, Land, and Labor. It provides the resources for producers to produce goods and services.
Goods and Services
Provides the resources for consumers to produce the factors of production.
Warm-up Three:
Write a one page response summarizing a real-life event where you were in an economic situation. Be sure to highlight each of the lessons and how they played out in your real-life situation.
I had to find a solution for storing our family photos and videos. The primary scarcities were cost and time.
For this, I had two main choices: Use an existing online service, or to build my own local solution.
An online service required little time, but a great amount of monetary cost.
A local solution required a great amount of time, but far less monetary cost.
I ultimately went with the local solution, having the opportunity cost of time that could’ve been spent on other productive activities such as enjoying my winter break (which was at the time).