The University of Alberta Department of Economics
ECONOMICS 101 – SECTION A1 Introduction to Microeconomics
Monday/Wednesday/Friday TL 11 9:00-9:50
Gordon Lee FALL 2018
Office: Tory 8-27
Phone: 780.492-7636 Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:00
Monday 13:00-14:00
eMail: [email protected] or by appointment
TEXTBOOK
Required: - Exploring Microeconomics, Fourth Canadian Edition, Robert Sexton, Peter Fortura and Colin Kovacs. Nelson Education.
Note that students are required to purchase MindTap.
COURSE OBJECTIVE
From the Calendar: “How markets and governments determine which products are produced and how income is distributed in the Canadian economy.”
This description is rather broad and vague. A different description that I have used previously is “An introductory investigation of supply and demand analysis: the theory of production, costs and price determination under competitive and non-competitive market conditions. Emphasis is given to the Canadian mixed economy.”
From this description, we can see clearly some of this course’s objectives:
(1) to introduce you to the mechanics of supply and demand as they apply to market operations;
(2) to introduce you to the workings of competitive and non-competitive markets and the policies invoked to control non-competitive markets; and
(3) to develop your understanding of the economic theory and terminology used to describe the behaviour of individual firms and consumers.
Mastery of basic microeconomic concepts is necessary before you can move on to upper level economics and business courses.
However, in the long run, I suspect you may not retain all of the niceties of microeconomic theory. My long-run objective, which is equally important, is to further develop your skills in problem solving and critical thinking. Hopefully, further developing these skills will provide benefits complementing other areas of your training.
GRADING
“Grades reflect judgments of student achievement made by instructors. These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class.” [University of Alberta Calendar, Section 23.4(4).]
To give you an idea of what you might expect, here is a distribution reflecting last year’s grades in this course:
GRADE DISTRIBUTION Grades are distributed as follows:
Assignments 15%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
FINAL EXAM 45%
ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments will start the week of September 10 and they will count for 15% of the final grade. They will be due on the following dates by 2300 (11:00 pm):
Sunday, September 16 Sunday, October 21 Sunday, September 23 Sunday, November 4 Sunday, September 30 Saturday, November 10 Sunday, October 7 Sunday, November 25 Sunday, October 14 Sunday, December 2
Assignments are done on-line in Mind Tap. They are submitted automatically and graded by Nelson Canada at precisely 2300 (11pm). The instructions for signing on to Mid Tap are found below in this outline. There are 10 assignments. At the end of the term, I will drop the lowest 2 assignments and use your 8 best.
Letter
Grade Grade Point
Value Grade Range (%) Letter
Grade Grade Point
Value Grade Range (%) A+ 4.0 93 and above C+ 2.3 63 to 66.9
A 4.0 88 to 92.9 C 2.0 60 to 62.9
A- 3.7 82 to 87.6 C- 1.7 58 to 59.9 B+ 3.3 77 to 81.9 D+ 1.3 55 to 57.9
B 3.0 72 to 76.9 D 1.0 50 to 54.9
B- 2.7 67 to 71.9 F 0 Under 50
MindTap
Mind Tap is the e-learning tool in this class. In order to use MindTap, you must register using the following instructions:
1. Connect to nelsonbrain.com.
2. Complete the Configuration Test. You must have JavaScript and Flash 6 or later to use the site. If you don’t, the configuration test will tell you and instructions will follow.
3. Return to the Sign-In page and click “Register Here”.
4. You will be prompted to enter your University of Alberta eMail address and password. Please note that you must use your University of Alberta eMail address; no hotmail or anything else is acceptable. You will also be prompted to enter your University of Alberta seven-digit student ID number.
You will then be asked to enter your course key: MTPQ5RKPK27F
5. You will have received a MindTap Payment Code for this course. It cam packaged with your textbook. You must use this code when you are prompted for payment. Please remember that once opened, payment codes are not refundable.
6. You only need to register once. After the registration process is complete, you will not need to enter the course key or the payment code again. You will just log in with your University of Alberta eMail address and password.
If you have questions about registering or using the MindTap website, please contact Nelson Canada, Email:
Phone Support:
1-800-268-2222
Monday through Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm (EST)
Online:
24/7 live chat!
www.cengage.com/support
• Sign in using your NelsonBrain credentials and create a case.
• Once your case is submitted, you’ll receive access to 24/7 live chat! Or you can speak with an agent by calling the phone number provided upon your case submission.
Payment Option A:
Purchase MindTap at the Bookstore with a hard copy of your text book.
Option B:
Purchase MindTap standalone (including the digital textbook) from the Campus eBookstore.
Option C:
Purchase MindTap standalone online (including the digital textbook) from the NelsonBrain website.
There is a grace period that allows you to pay later, and still use MindTap without paying until 11:59 PM on 09/21/2018. Once the grace period is over you will be blocked from your account until you have paid.
To comply with Student Union’s new no-cost option request: There is a very basic MindTap where assignments only, can be completed available in Cameron Library. This course will have only homework questions – none of the MindTap tools listed below and no eTextbook.
Student Registration URL: http://login.nelsonbrain.com/course/XQZD-Q3LL-N9VQ Course Key: XQZD-Q3LL-N9VQ
TUTOR CENTRE (Tory 8-28)
The Tutor Centre will tentatively begin operation September 10, 2018 and close December 7, 2018. Hours of operation, once set, will be posted on MindTap. The tutors are third and fourth-year honours economics students. Ten tutors will be helping students this year. Although they are not all scheduled to be in the Tutor Centre at the same time, there will be several tutors available at peak times.
You are encouraged to visit the Tutor Centre with content questions. The tutors will help you with questions about class/text/assignment material. They will do their best to assist you in your learning; go prepared. Take with you any work you have done so that the tutor can see what you have been doing and help you to identify problem areas. Tutors will not provide answers to assignments before they are due.
They will help you to understand the concept.
You are also encouraged to visit the Tutor Centre if you would simply like to talk with an economics student about the department and its course and program offerings. Tutors will be happy to provide you with some incite. Program and course information can be picked up in the Tutor Centre as well as information about our undergraduate advisors.
If you have any questions about, or encounter any problems with the Tutor Centre, please let me know immediately. The Economics Department wants the Tutor Centre to serve students in the best way possible. We need your help to ensure that this happens. Please fill out an evaluation form when you visit the Tutor Centre. Tell us what you liked; tell us what can be improved.
EXAMS
Exams are scheduled for the following days:
Midterm 1 October 3
Midterm 2 November 7
FINAL EXAM December 20
Midterm Exams
Exams: The two midterm exams and the final exam will be written at the Learning Assessment Centre (LAC) which is located at 3-106 Education North. It is the student’s responsibility to book their exam time using the LAC website. If you fail to book an exam time and there is no space in the LAC then you will receive zero marks on that exam.
Midterms consist of multiple-choice questions.
Students who are unable to write a midterm at the scheduled time due to personal reasons must
If you do not attend the exam and have not made arrangements with me prior to the exam A. due to medical reasons, then the exam weight for the missed exam will be transferred to
your final exam.
B. and your absence is unexcused, your grade for the missed midterm exam will be zero.
Note that the use of programmable (graphing) calculators and/or electronic communication devices is not permitted during tests or exams.
NOTE: The second midterm is not cumulative.
Final Exam
The final exam will consist of multiple-choice questions. The final is a two-hour exam and covers the material of the entire term.
Note that absences from the final exam for medical or personal reasons require that the student apply to the Faculty of Arts for a deferred exam.
Absences correspond to a final exam grade of zero.
Copies of midterms and finals from previous years will be made available.
The use of any electronic communication device is not permitted during lectures.
You are required to have your student ID with you for the final exam. Every ID is checked during the final exam.
CODE OF STUDENT BEHAVIOUR
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty.
Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
Recording of Lectures
“Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved
accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without written consent from content author(s).”
“Policy about course outlines can be found in the Evaluation Procedures and Grading System section of the University Calendar.”
General Reminder
Fall Reading week is scheduled for November 12 – 16, no classes are scheduled.
COURSE OUTLINE AND SEQUENCE OF READINGS
1. Introduction to Economics……… Chapters 1 and 2
Students who wish to refresh their graphing skills should read the appendix to Chapter 1
2. Supply and Demand
(i) The Mechanics of Supply and Demand and Price Determination ... Chapters 3 and 4 (ii) Elasticity ... Chapter 5
3. Demand and Consumer Behaviour ... Chapter 6 4. Supply and Producer Behaviour
(a) Financial Environment of Business………...….. Chapter 9 of Baumol (a) Production and Costs ... Chapter 7
(b) Perfect Competition ... Chapter 8 (c) Monopoly ... Chapter 9 (d) Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly ... Chapter 10 6. Factor Markets ... Chapter 11