ECON 2010 Principles of Microeconomics

Instructor Contact:

Billy Mertens, PhD

Email: mertens@colorado.edu

About the Course:

This course examines basic concepts of microeconomics or the behavior and the interactions of individuals, firms and government. Topics include determining economic problems, how consumers and businesses make decisions, how markets work, and how they fail and how government actions affect markets.

Proctoring:

This course requires proctored examinations. Exams are proctored which will require planning on your part. Proctors are individuals who administer the exam process following the guidelines provided by University of Colorado Boulder to ensure academic integrity. Some proctoring options require the student to pay a fee.

Objectives:

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to

1. Define the basic economic terms presented.
2. Distinguish between different economic terms and concepts and recognize how those concepts apply to different economic problems.
3. Analyze different economic principles and use those principles to differentiate between the illogical and the sensible, between the misleading use of statistics, misleading anecdotal evidence, and the reasonable presentation of information.
4. Synthesize the information given in each section to explain key concepts and set up and solve problems that utilize the economic principles.
5. Acquire the ability to think about complex economic issues in a logical objective manner, so that you discriminate between correct solutions to economic problems, and common misconceptions.
6. Evaluate different economic arguments and interpret the reasons why some are well-founded, while others are not.

Required Texts:

Principles of Microeconomics 9th edition with MindTap, by N. Gregory Mankiw. MindTap is the website where you will read your textbook and complete some graded assignments. You will access MindTap through our course website, Canvas. You will have a free MindTap trial for the first two weeks of class before having to purchase it.

Grading  (out of 1000 points):

• Discussions (150 POINTS): There will be online discussions posts and discussion comments associated with many modules. The discussion will occur asynchronously; I will post a discussion question and you will respond to the questions at your convenience prior to the due date. Each time you participate, you earn up to 30 points. There are 6 discussions, and your lowest one (1) discussion is dropped from your final grade calculation. Discussions are open book and open note and will be submitted through Canvas. See the class schedule for due dates of posts and comments. The discussion post is always due on Thursday and the discussion response is always due on Sunday.
• Quizzes (220 POINTS): There will be quizzes associated with most modules each worth 20 points. The format of the quizzes will be multiple choice, calculations, and short answers and will be open book and open notes. There are 12 quizzes, and your lowest one (1) quiz is dropped from your final grade calculation. Quizzes will be submitted through MindTap. Quizzes are always due on Sunday.
• Homework (110 POINTS): There will also be some homework associated with each module. The format of the quizzes will be calculations, and short answers and will be open book and open notes.  There are 12 sets of homework, and your lowest one (1) homework is dropped from your final grade calculation. Homework will be submitted through MindTap. Homework is always due on Thursday.
• Practice Exams (20 POINTS): There will be two (2) practice exams.
• Exams (500 POINTS): There will be two (2) exams. The proctored midterm exam is worth 200 points and the proctored cumulative final exam is worth 300 points. The format of the exam will be multiple choice and calculations and will be closed book.