John Jay High School

Economics

Fall 2016

Mr. McIlwee/ Mr. Pedota

Unit 1:  Introduction to Economics

1.  Economics and Economic Systems
2.  Demand
3.  Supply
4.  Price

Unit II:  Business in the Free Enterprise System

1.  Types of Businesses
2.  Corporations
3.  Competition in the Marketplace
4.  The Labor Force
5.  Organized labor

Unit III:  The Government and the Economy

1.  The Growth of Government
2.  Growth in Federal Spending
3.  Regulating Economic Activities
4.  Public Goods
5.  Promoting Economic Well Being
6.  Methods to Stabilize the Economy
7.  Taxation
8.  Taxation by the Government
9.  The Federal Budget
10.  Budget Deficits

Unit IV:  Financial Institutions

1.  Money
2.  Banking
3.  The Federal Reserve System:  Monetary Policy
4.  Savings, Borrowing, and Credit
5.  Investing and Investors

Unit V:  Setting and Meeting Economic Goals

1.  Inflation, Recession, and Unemployment
2.  Measuring Economic Growth
3.  Fiscal Policy

Unit VI:  International Economics

1.  International Trade
2.  Economic Developments in Developing Nations

The Three Economic Questions

Every society must answer three

questions:

.  What goods and services should be

   produced?

.  How should these goods and services be

  produced?

.  Who consumes these goods and

   services?

Introductory Notes--- Economics

1.  Economics is the study of how people seek to satisfy their

    needs and wants by making choices.

    People act individually, in groups, through businesses, and

    the government.  

2.  Needs--- necessity--- for survival

    Examples include food, clothing, and shelter

3.  Wants are things we desire.  They are not essential for

    survival.  Examples include Play Station 2, Cds, and jewelry                                        

4.  Goods are physical objects such as clothes or shoes.
5.  Services are actions or activities that one person performs

    for another. Examples include babysitting, mowing a

    neighbor’s lawn, etc.)

6.  Why must people make choices and decisions?

    SCARCITY

7.  SCARCITY can be defined as limited quantities to meet

    unlimited wants.  

***The job of Economics is to solve the problem of scarcity.

8.  SCARCITY is different from Shortage:  

A Shortage is a situation in which a good or service is

Temporarily unavailable.  (war, or flood)

SCARCITY always exists because our needs and wants are always greater than our resource supply.  Nothing is unlimited because there are never enough resources to meet unlimited need.

9.  Resources are used to make all goods and services=

      Factors of Production

10.  Factors of Production= LAND, LABOR, AND CAPITAL
11.  Land= fertile land and natural resources (gold, copper,

     iron, oil, etc.)

1.  Labor= the effort a person exhibits to get paid for

     something ( the act of getting a job done).

1.  Capital= Any human-made resource that has been used to

     produce other goods and services.

1. Physical Capital--- buildings and tools
2.  Human Capital--- knowledge and skills obtained

                      through education and training

11.  An Entrepreneur is an ambitious leader who combines

      land, labor, and capital to create and market new goods                                  

      and services.  ( Bill Gates)           

Trade-Off

1.  A Trade-Off is an alternative that we sacrifice when we                               

    make a decision.  Individuals and Businesses make decisions

    involving Trade-Offs.

2.  Society--- Guns vs. Butter

    Society cannot spend money on tons of guns and farm goods

    (food).  Society has to decide how much guns and how much

    farm products (food) will be produced.  Society will either                                                                                                                               

    produce more guns and less farm goods (food) or

    produce more farm goods (food) and less guns.

Mr. McIlwee/ Mr. Pedota                                                 

Economics----Course Requirements            Fall 2016                

Welcome to Economics.  Economics is a ½ year course.  Students will complete a final project and take a school final (post test) at the end of the course in January.

Classroom Rules:

 1.  Be on time to class.  Students must be in their seat when the

      bell rings.

2.  Be prepared and be an active participant in class.  Bring the

     necessary materials to class.

3.  Homework will be given on a regular basis.  Homework

     needs to be on your desk when the bell rings.

4.  Respect the rights and dignity of others and their property.

5.  Observe and follow all the rules as stated in the John Jay’s

     Code of Conduct.

6.  Cell phones and other technologies need to be silenced and

     and should be kept on desk and not used.

Necessary Materials:

Each student is required to have a 1” or 1.5” binder, two pens, two pencils, loose-leaf paper, and a highlighter.

Grading will be based on a points system.

                                        100 Points--- Tests and Projects

                                        50 Points--- Quizzes

                                        20 Points--- Classwork/ Homework

Grades will be based on total points per marking period.

Homework:  Homework will be assigned on a regular basis and checked on the day it is due.  Late homework will be accepted the next day for half credit.  Late essays and projects will be accepted with 10 points deducted per day.  If you were absent on the day the homework was assigned or checked, it is the student’s responsibility to get the homework and show the teacher the completed homework the next school day.

Classwork and Participation:  We will be keeping track of participation and classwork activities which will go toward your quarter’s average.

Grading:  Marking period #1 is 40% of the final grade.  Marking period #2 is 40% of the final grade.  The final project and the post assessment is 20% of the final grade.

Parents/ Guardians:

            We will contact you if the need arises.  Please feel free to contact us.  Email is the preferred contact.  Donde.Mcilwee@wcsdny.org or Joseph.Pedota@wcsdny.org.  You can call us at 897-6700 extension 30062 for Mr. McIlwee extension 30088 or 30090 for Mr. Pedota.