Economics

Course Information: Mr. Duensing

E-mail: duensrm@d11.org          Website: http://duensrm.tripod.com

Office: Room 106     Office Phone/Voice:  520-2609Office Hours:  periods 2 and 7

This class is designed to provide you with insight into the American free enterprise system and practical application of key concepts in macro and micro-economics. The course includes investment strategies, the economic way of thinking, trade, exchange and interdependence, banking services, consumer credit, and the role of government. Students will be encouraged to utilize the computer laboratory facilities and will be provided a variety of opportunities to learn about economics through case studies and simulations.  My goal is that you leave this course equipped with a working knowledge of personal finance and economic survival as independent citizens as well as an understanding of our free market system.

Thematic Units of Study:                                                                                            Chapters

q       Unit I: Investment Strategies, personal finance                              6, 7, 8, 9

q       Unit II: The Economic Way of Thinking & Economic Systems        1,2                   

q       Unit III: Supply & Demand                                                           3, 4, 5

q       Unit IV: Role of Government, monetary/fiscal policy                       9, 12, 13, 14

q       Unit V:  Trade, Exchange, and Interdependence                            15, 16

Materials and Supplies

q       3 section spiral notebook dedicated to this class only

o        Section 1:         Warm Ups/ Journal Entries

o        Section 2:         Notes

o        Section 3:         Daily assignments

q       Standard Calculator

Grading Average Points Per Assignment

q       Daily work/Homework:                                        5-25                  points

q       Quizzes:              (4-6)                                       50                     points

q       Tests:                  (4)                                         100                   points  

q       Stock Market Portfolio                                        165                   points

q       Semester Exam                                                170                   points

q       Estimated Total Points                                       1000-1500         points

Late/Make Up Work

q       You are given the same amount of time missed in class for an excused absence to make that work up except for long term projects or papers.

q       If working in teams, the excused absence will not give the team extra time to complete the required work.

q       Late work will be penalized half credit and will not be accepted after 2 days.

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Read the above classroom guidelines.  Sign and detach this portion to return to the teacher.  This is the first assignment of the quarter.  This is worth 25 points.  If you have questions e-mail or call me at the numbers listed above.

Student Name:        __________________________________________________

Student Signature:__________________________ Date:__________________

Mr. Duensing

Quarter 1-2

 Weeks 1-4

I.                    Investing & Personal Finance (semester project) (Chapter 6 & 8)

A.                 Investing & Saving

1.                  Use of money to make money

2.                  Risk/Reward Relationship: Golden and Silver Rules

3.                  Compound & Simple Interest, Rule of 72

4.                  Investment options:       Stocks, Bonds, Mutual funds, CD’s,  Money Markets, Real estate, IRA’s

5.                  Differences: Common & preferred stocks, Corporate Bonds Municipal Bonds & Federal Bonds

6.                  Three Investment Risks: Financial, Market, & Interest

7.                  Assets & Liabilities

B.         Personal and Family Budgeting

1.      Income Tax

2.      Banks and banking

3.      Check writing and balancing of account

4.      Credit: 3 C’s of Credit capacity, character, collateral

5.      Three Types of Loans: Installment, Revolving, Mortgage

Semester Long Project

Stock market game smg2000 online portfolio PowerPoint portfolio submitted to the Denver Post

Weeks 5-7

II.                 Economic way of thinking

A.                 Economic way of thinking Opportunity cost, trade offs, alternatives Cost/Benefit Analysis: Marginal benefit, marginal cost, ignored, sunk

B.                 Scarcity

C.                 Characteristics inherent in three economic systems and ways to allocate

D.                 Pillars of enterprise

E.                  Three Economic decisions to be made

F.                  Characteristics of money

G.                 Voluntary Exchange

H.                 Utility Theory

I.                    Factors of Production (Natural, Human, Capital Resources)

J.                   Production possibility frontier

K.                Circular Flow Model

Weeks 8-10

III.               Supply and Demand

A.     Law of Demand

B.     Quantity Demanded, Demand Shift

C.     Law of Supply

D.     Quantity Supplied, Supply Shift

E.      Equilibrium

F.      Surplus, Shortage

G.     Price ceiling, price floor

H.     Elasticity

Weeks 11-12

IV.              Role of Government: monetary/fiscal policy

A.     Federal Reserve, money supply

B.     Money: Functions, M-1, M-2

C.     Fractional reserve banking  (Pine Gulch)

D.     Balanced Budget: surplus, deficit

E.      Inflation, Deflation

F.      Recession, Depression

G.     Employment, unemployment

H.     GDP: Per capita, real, nominal

Weeks 13-15

V.                 Role of Government: Trade, Exchange, and Interdependence

A.     Trade Barriers, import tariffs, Free Trade

B.     Trade Balance, Imbalance, deficit, surplus

C.      Interdependence

D.     Comparative Advantage

E.      NAFTA, WTO