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    AP Microeconomics Crash Course
    AP Microeconomics Crash Course
    AP Microeconomics Crash Course
    Ebook312 pages2 hours

    AP Microeconomics Crash Course

    By David Mayer

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    About this ebook

    AP Microeconomics Crash Course - Gets You a Higher Advanced Placement Score in Less Time

    REA’s Crash Course is perfect for the time-crunched student, the last-minute studier, or anyone who wants a refresher on the subject. Our AP Microeconomics Crash Course gives you:

    Targeted, Focused Review – Study Only What You Need to Know
    Crash Course is based on an in-depth analysis of the AP Microeconomics course description outline and actual AP test questions. It covers only the information tested on the exam, so you can make the most of your valuable study time. Our easy-to-read format covers: basic economic concepts, consumer choice theory, supply and demand, production and costs, and more. The author also includes must-know key terms all AP students should know before test day.

    Expert Test-taking Strategies
    An AP Microeconomics teacher shares detailed question-level strategies and explains the best way to answer the multiple-choice and free-response questions you’ll encounter on test day. By following our expert tips and advice, you can boost your overall point score.

    Take REA’s Online Practice Exam
    After studying the material in the Crash Course, go online and test what you’ve learned. Our practice exam features timed testing, diagnostic feedback, detailed explanations of answers, and automatic scoring. The exam is balanced to include every topic and type of question found on the actual AP exam, so you know you’re studying the smart way.

    Whether you’re cramming for the test at the last minute, looking for extra review, or want to study on your own in preparation for the exam – this is one study guide every AP Microeconomics student must have.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResearch & Education Association
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780738669663
    AP Microeconomics Crash Course
    Author

    David Mayer

    David Mayer is a CEO at www.certification-questions.com, a Certification Training platform that helps professsionals to study, training and pass the Official Certification Exam. Previously, David worked as a Software Engineer for a tech software startup. He graduated with honors from Columbia University with a dual degree in IT and Marketing.When people ask David Mayer to describe hisself, he doesn't hesitate to say that first and foremost, he is a Snowboarder lover.

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      Book preview

      AP Microeconomics Crash Course - David Mayer

      edition.

      PART I

      INTRODUCTION

      Chapter 1

      How to Score Well on the AP Microeconomics Exam

      So either you are thinking about or have already signed up to take the AP Microeconomics exam. Maybe you never took the course, or, heaven forbid, you slept through it. If so, it sounds like what you need is a crash course in microeconomics. Fortunately, you have come upon a book that will give you exactly what you need to score a 4 or 5 on the exam. The book is not meant to be a detailed study of microeconomics, but is instead intended as a straight-to-the-point guide for ensuring your success on the AP Microeconomics exam.

      Know the Exam Background

      Students from across the globe sign up to take the AP Microeconomics exam during the second week in May every year. They come from thousands of schools and represent a variety of cultures, languages, and economic backgrounds. One thing they have in common is that they all are competing with you for college credit in microeconomics. It is true that you have some competition, but do not fret. After studying this Crash Course guide you will be more than prepared to score a 5 on the AP Microeconomics exam!

      The AP Microeconomics exam is made up of two sections. The first is the multiple-choice section, which is comprised of 60 multiple-choice questions. Students have 70 minutes to take the multiple-choice section, meaning that you have a little more than a minute to answer each question. Afterward, students are given the free-response questions and have 10 minutes to read the questions and plan their responses. Once the 10-minute planning period ends, students have 50 minutes to answer the three questions.

      The first question is the longest and is worth 15 of the 30 points on the free-response section. The next two questions are shorter, equally weighted, and are worth a combined total of 15 points. When all is said and done, a total of 90 points is possible on the AP Microeconomics exam—60 points from the multiple-choice section and 30 from the free-response section.

      The tests are scored in June by a group of economics professors and teachers in a process called The Reading. The three free-response questions are graded separately by groups of these teachers and professors. Every effort is made to ensure that each free-response answer is given a fair and accurate grade. The multiple-choice exams are computer-graded and the scores on the free response are checked against the multiple-choice scores on similar questions to ensure test validity.

      Unlike tests given in the classroom which measure the percentage of the material you know, the AP exams are scored to reveal how much you know relative to everyone else taking the exam. As long as you know more than most other test-takers, you should do just fine. The following table is a sample of how the scores out of 90 points in a given year might translate to results. It should give you a better understanding of how to judge your results on sample exams or set your own specific goal.

      As you can see, scoring 80 percent will get you a 5, 60 percent a 4, and 50 percent a 3. Each year these cutoff scores vary slightly (for example, rather than 72 points needed for a 5, some years 70 points is enough and other years 75 might be needed). Obviously, this test is very different from what you usually see in the classroom.

      Know the College Board’s Course Outline

      The AP Microeconomics exam is based on the College Board’s course outline. The course outline shows what topics are on the exam. It also shows what percentage of the multiple-choice section of the exam is devoted to the different topics in microeconomics.

      From studying the table above, can you deduce what topic area will generate the most questions? Wow! The Nature and Functions of Product Markets is by far the most important topic on the AP Microeconomics exam. As a result, half of the chapters in this book focus on information and graphs related to this key topic area.

      Know When to Guess in the Multiple-Choice Section

      Students often wonder, If I have no idea which of the five options is correct, should I guess? In past years, the answer would have been, not necessarily, since a wrong guess could result in a 0.25-point penalty against your final score. But since May 2011, there is no longer a penalty for wrong answers. Therefore, guessing is always advised if, of course, you have no idea of the correct answer. Before resorting to a blind guess, of course, you should use all your knowledge and understanding of economics to eliminate the possible incorrect answers, so that any guess you are forced to make is an educated guess.

      Know the Importance of Diagrams in the AP Microeconomics Course

      To earn a 4 or 5 on the AP Micro exam, you must possess more that just a solid understanding of the course material. You also must be skilled at illustrating the concepts from the course in detailed, correctly drawn economics diagrams.

      The good news is, all the graphs you need to know are drawn exactly as they should be drawn in the exam right here in the Crash Course. Study these diagrams closely as you progress through this book. Examine the labels, the shapes of the lines, the way arrows are used to indicate directions of shifts, and the way dotted lines are used to identify equilibrium points on the axes. Seek to understand the meaning of the various macroeconomic models in this book, not just memorize them.

      Drawing graphs well (and being able to interpret their meaning in the multiple-choice section) is a crucial skill that will certainly impress the examiners who read your free-response answers. Each line on a graph should be seen as telling a story—a relationship between the variables on the axes of that particular graph. If you strive for understanding why each line is shaped as it is, of what it is composed, and which factors can shift it, you will perform well on graph-based questions whether you encounter them in the multiple-choice or free-response section of the test.

      Study the Released Exams

      This book is based on a study of the questions asked on previous AP Microeconomics exams. As a result, every effort is made to focus on those areas that repeatedly show up on the tests. The 1995, 2000, and 2005 AP Microeconomics exams are available for purchase via the College Board’s website (http://www.collegeboard.org). If time permits, purchase the exams and practice taking them. In preparing for the AP Microeconomics exam it is also helpful to visit the College Board’s website and practice doing the free-response questions from 1999 to the present which are available to students and faculty free of charge.

      Know This Book!

      This book has been written so that you will be successful on the exam. The book is broken down into the following sections.

      Chapter 2 includes all of the key vocabulary that you should know prior to taking the exam.

      Chapters 3 through 12 are a concise breakdown of the entire AP Microeconomics course outline with emphasis on those areas most often tested.

      Chapter 13 includes all of the graphs that you must know and might have to draw.

      Chapter 14 includes the formulas with which you will work on the exam. Know them because they are not given on the exam.

      Finally, Chapters 15 and 16 provide you with testing strategies for both the multiple-choice and free-response sections.

      With this book and a little work, you should achieve a score of 5 on the AP Microeconomics exam.

      Let’s get started!!!

      Chapter 2

      Key Terms

      I. Basic Economic Concepts

      Absolute Advantage

      The ability to produce more of a good or service than another person or society with the same number of inputs. Alternatively, it means one person or society can make a unit of output with fewer units of input than its counterpart.

      Allocative Efficiency

      The amount of production that benefits society the most. It is achieved when the marginal benefit of production equals the marginal cost. Also known as the socially optimal level of output. A society is allocativelyefficient when it is choosing to make the mix of goods that best satisfy the wants of its population.

      Capital

      The tools, machines, factories, and buildings used to produce goods and services. Includes physical capital, which ranges from hammers to industrial robots and human capital, which is know-how or specialized skills that get fused to labor through education and training.

      Ceteris Paribus

      Other things being equal. The assumption that all variables remain constant except for those being studied by the economist. Ceteris paribus allows economists to understand the relationship between economic variables. As in science, economists like to try to isolate one factor that may be changing at a given time to better understand cause and effect.

      Circular Flow

      A model or diagram showing how households and firms interact in product and resource markets. Circular flow models help visualize how expenditures become income and how market types relate to one another. Complex versions of the circular flow can include activities of government in regulating or participating in various markets and/or international trade.

      Command Economy

      An economic system in which government planners make most of the choices for the economy and answer the basic questions of what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce. Often contrasted with marketeconomy because these are the two basic extremes; societies can choose strategies for managing the scarcity problem that place them along the spectrum between these two extremes.

      Comparative Advantage

      The ability to produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than someone else. Having comparativeadvantage in production of a good is the basis of the economic argument for why specialization and trade can benefit two individuals or societies.

      Economics

      The study of the choices that presumptively rational people make to get what they need and want given the condition of scarcity. This field of inquiry is divided into macroeconomics—which concerns itself with how societies manage scarcity—and microeconomics—which primarily focuses on how firms and households make choices based on incentives to achieve their objectives.

      Economist

      An individual who studies economics.

      Entrepreneur

      An individual who possesses the factor of production called entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs run firms that attempt to maximize profit.

      Entrepreneurship

      The special ability of some individuals to take risks and combine land, labor, and capital in new ways in order to make profits by providing a good or service instead of selling their labor to an employer.

      Factors of Production

      The resources used to produce goods and services. These include land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.

      Labor

      People’s mental

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