Economics Homework

1st Nine Weeks

Week of Monday, August 10th to Friday, August 14th
Weekly Essay Topic: What is economics, & why is it an important subject to study?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 1 (Economic Choices)

Week of Monday, August 17th to Friday, August 21st
Weekly Essay Topic: What is the difference between trade-offs & an opportunity cost? How can understanding these concepts help people or a society to make better decisions?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 1 (Economic Choices); Chapter 2 & Chapter 8 Section 2 & 3 (Economic Systems & Institutions)
Week of Monday, August 24th to Friday, August 28th
Weekly Essay Topic: What are the 3 main types of economic systems? How do they differ specifically?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 2 & Chapter 8 Section 2 & 3 (Economic Systems & Institutions); Chapter 4 Section 2 & Chapter 14 (Exchange, Money, & Banking)
Week of Monday, August 31st to Friday, September 4th
Weekly Essay Topic: How did money & banking develop? Discuss the 3 functions of money & the 3 types of money.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 4 Section 2 & Chapter 14 (Exchange, Money, & Banking); Chapter 7 (Supply & Demand)
Week of Monday, September 7th to Friday, September 11th
Weekly Essay Topic: How are prices determined in the United States?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 (Supply & Demand)
Week of Monday, September 14th to Friday, September 18th
Weekly Essay Topic: In the U.S., is the demand for gasoline elastic or inelastic? Why? Make sure to use specific examples in answering the question.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 (Supply & Demand)
Week of Monday, September 21st to Friday, September 25th
Weekly Essay Topic: What are price controls & when does the government commonly institute these in the economy? Do you agree with the use of price controls in the economy? Explain.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 (Supply & Demand); Chapter 9 & Chapter 16 Sections 2 & 4 (Economic Competition & the Role of the Government)
Week of Monday, September 28th to Friday, October 2nd
Weekly Essay Topic: How does the amount of competition in an industry affect both consumers & producers? Explain.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 9 & Chapter 16 Sections 2 & 4 (Economic Competition & the Role of the Government)
Week of Monday, October 5th to Friday, October 9th
Weekly Essay Topic: No Weekly Essay!!!
Reading Assignment: Chapter 9 & Chapter 16 Sections 2 & 4 (Economic Competition & the Role of the Government)


2nd Nine Weeks

Week of Monday, October 19th to Friday, October 23rd
Weekly Essay Topic: What is a market failure & what are the common types of market failures? Explain each type in detail.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 13 & Chapter 17 Section 1 (Economic Performance)

Week of Monday, October 26th to Friday, October 30th
Weekly Essay Topic: Why is it important to track the performance of the economy? How do economist go about tracking the performance of the economy?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 13 & Chapter 17 Section 1 (Economic Performance); Chapter 15 (Monetary Policy)
Week of Monday, November 2nd to Friday, November 6th
Weekly Essay Topic: What is the Federal Reserve (the Fed)? How is the Fed structured & what function(s) do they serve in the economy?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 15 (Monetary Policy)
Week of Monday, November 9th to Friday, November 13th
Weekly Essay Topic: How specifically can the Federal Reserve decrease the rates of inflation or unemployment using the 3 tools of the Federal Reserve? How do these tools achieve these goals?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 15 (Monetary Policy); Chapter 16 Section 3 & Chapter 17 Section 2 (Fiscal Policy)
Week of Monday, November 16th to Friday, November 20th
Weekly Essay Topic: What is fiscal policy? What is the difference between a restrictive & expansionary fiscal policy? When is the best time to use each type of fiscal policy?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 16 Section 3 & Chapter 17 Section 2 (Fiscal Policy)
Week of Monday, November 23rd to Friday, November 27th
Weekly Essay Topic: Compare & contrast monetary policy & fiscal policy. Discuss how they are similar & how they are different.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 16 Section 3 & Chapter 17 Section 2 (Fiscal Policy)
Week of Monday, November 30th to Friday, December 4th
Weekly Essay Topic: How specifically can the federal government decrease the rates of inflation or unemployment using the tools of fiscal policy? How do these tools achieve these goals?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 16 Section 3 & Chapter 17 Section 2 (Fiscal Policy); Chapter 18 (International Trade)
Week of Monday, December 7th to Friday, December 11th
Weekly Essay Topic: What is the difference between absolute advantage & comparative advantage? Why are these important concepts to understand when dealing with international trade?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 18 (International Trade)
Week of Monday, December 14th to Friday, December 18th
Weekly Essay Topic: No Weekly Essay
Reading Assignment: No Reading Assignment