AP Economics

Mr. Reeder

Chattahoochee High School

Overview

• Social Studies Department

• Social Science with Math

• The assumption is NO economics background

• Economics course is required for graduation

• Economics EOC is required for graduation

• My Teaching Style:

What is Economics?

• A study of human behavior• The study of incentives • The Social Science dealing with the efficient use of

scarce resources to achieve the maximum satisfaction of economic wants.

• A different way of thinking– Opportunity cost– Rational decisions– Cost-benefit analysis– Thinking at the margin

The AP Exams

• College Board’s National exams in May

• 2 AP exams = 2 college course credits

• 2 hours long

• 70-minute multiple-choice section (60 questions)

• 60-minute free-response section (3 questions)

• Some questions in the free-response section require graphical analysis

• https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies

• College credit varies

• Colleges are increasingly requiring a composite score

College Min AP Score Needed (Mic, Mac)

College Credits Given

College Course Exempted

Ga Tech 4, 4 3, 3 Econ 2105, Econ 2106

Ga State 3, 3 3, 3 Econ 2105, Econ 2106

UGA 3, 3 3, 3 Econ 2105, Econ 2106

Brown University Composite 8 1 course Econ 0110

Wake Forest 4, 4 3, 3 Econ 150

MIT 5, 5 9, 9

Princeton Composite 10 3 courses Econ 100, 101, 102

College Credit

Prerequisites

• Senior (4th year of high school)

• Math: A or B in Honors Precalculus, Adv. Algebra and Trig., Accelerated Integrated Pre-Calculus, Integrated Trigonometry, or AP Calculus (AB or BC)

• Social Studies: A or B in AP US History or A in on-level US History

• Good attitude towards a new subject

Math Correlation

• AP Econ (especially AP Micro) correlates with success in upper-level math courses much more than it correlates with success in Social Studies courses.

Math Course Co-Enrollment Avg AP Econ grade

Ga Tech Calculus 93%*

AP Calculus BC 91%*

AP Calculus AB 85%

Pre-calculus 77%

AMDM 74%

* No student has ever received a failing grade

Day-By-Day

• Summer Work • purchase student activity work and begin

• Mini-lesson Lecture • ~daily

• Practice graphing (dry erase boards)• ~ twice a week

• Text book • ~ 1 chapter a week with quizzes over readings

• Student Workbook• ~ 1 activity a day (usually in class)

• Videos and clips when relevant

AP Micro Content Topics

• Micro = small units within the economy• Households, Business Firms

• Major Content Domains:

I. Basic Economic Concepts

II. The Nature and Functions of Product Markets

III. Factor Markets

IV. Market Failure and the Role of Government

Sample Micro Question

Which of the following situations would necessarily lead to an increase in the price of peaches?

(a) The wage paid to peach farm workers rises at the same time that medical researchers find that eating peaches reduces the chances of a person’s developing cancer.

(b) While the wages of peach farm workers fall drastically, the peach industry launches a highly successful advertising campaign for peaches.

(c) A breakthrough in technology enables peach farmers to use the same amount of resources as before to produce more peaches per acre.

(d) The prices of apples and oranges fall.(e) Weather during the growing season is ideal for peach production.

ANSWER: A (peaches cost more to produce, plus more people want them)

Typical Micro graph FRQ

AP Microeconomics TestCareer Results

Percent passing AP Test: 95%Average AP Test score: 4.3Average grade in class: 86%

5s (39%)

4s (43%)

3s (13%)

2s (2%) 1s (4%)

AP Scores Percentages

AP Macro Content Topics

• Macro = the entire interconnected economy• GDP, Unemployment, Business Cycle, Fiscal Policy,

Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, International Trade

• Major Content DomainsI. Basic Economic ConceptsII. Measurement of Economic PerformanceIII. National Income and Price DeterminationIV. Financial SectorV. Inflation, Unemployment, and Stabilization PoliciesVI. Economic Growth and ProductivityVII. Open Economy: International Trade and Finance

Sample Macro Question

Which of the following groups would most likely gain

from unanticipated inflation?

(a) Landlords who own apartments in cities with rent

controls.

(b) Individuals who have fixed retirement incomes.

(c) Individuals who earn high incomes

(d) Individuals who have borrowed money at fixed

interest rates

(e) Banks that have loaned all excess reserves at a

fixed interest rate.

Answer: D

Typical Macro graph FRQ

5s 60%

4s32%

3s6%

2s0%

1s2%

AP Scores Percentages

AP Macroeconomics TestCareer Results

Percent passing AP Test: 98%Average AP Test score: 4.5Average grade in class: 83%