Since it was asked on the blog - just to let you know, I will offer 2 practice exams after school. They will be on Th 5/10 and W 5/16 (that's the day before the test). We will start at 3:15pm.

The Th 5/10 one is a 50 question test. You will have 75 minutes to complete it (that's AP timing for m/c). That would put us at...4:30. I can grade it quickly and we can go over any questions you might have - so plan for 5:00.

The W 5/16 is 25 questions + at least one free response. The timing on the m/c would be 40 minutes, with more time for the free response depending on which one(s) I pick. Then we can review as needed - plan for 5pm, but I can stay later if needed.


Info on the exam: Bring three writing utensils - one blue, one black, one pencil. You can't use pencil on the free response, but you can use two different shades (black/blue, no other colors) to show your shifts, etc on graphs. Absolutely NO calculator is allowed - don't even bring one out at all. :(

Here are the dates that are possible for a practice test. We would start at 3:15pm and I would need you here until at least 5pm. This would allow for time to take the test + time to discuss anything you have a question on.

I have no problem with doing this twice - I have enough material to do practice tests. If you can't make it, I can also give you the test and the answer key, but it would be up to you to time yourself and come see me if you have questions.

Please let me know if you CANNOT make one of the following dates. I'll tally up and let you know what the best dates are for as many people as possible.

Th May 10th
F May 11th
M May 14th
T May 15th
W May 16th

Yes, I know you have other AP exams to study for. Actually, the closer to the test date (May 17th) the better, as far as I’m concerned. We could possibly do this two days, too.

3 VERY important links!

Hey there -

It's time to start looking things over for review (as well as retests) - as of today, we have 22 school days before the national exam. We have one more unit to finish, and then we will be practicing with free response questions.

That means - much of the review falls on you. You will be getting a review book from the school, but please don't write in it - I made the deal to get the "Naked Economics" books as well as the review books as long as I could use them for a few years. :) You will be charged for the price of a new book if they are damaged.

Also - here are some REALLY helpful links - "all the graphs you need to know":

http://www.reffonomics.com/TRB/chapter30/BasicConceptGraphs7.swf These are basic concepts - ppc's, S & D, etc.

http://www.reffonomics.com/TRB/chapter30/micrographs7a.swf Basic S & D through PC

http://www.reffonomics.com/TRB/chapter30/Micrographs10.swf Market graphs

http://www.reffonomics.com/TRB/chapter30/worldpricetariff12.swf World price/tariff graphs.

These slides may go into more or less detail than we have in class. Use them as a review tool - they offer the chance to question yourself & give the answer on the next slide. They are EXTREMELY helpful - the guy who does this really does a great job and is very helpful.

This week: Labor markets!

Blog Postings

Wojtek asked for a list of blog posting requirements (the dates). Because we "negotiated" during the Spring Break and when your paper was due, you have the following dates to post an analysis on your own blog:

4/16 (this coming Monday)
4/23
5/7 (the last before the national exam)
5/21
6/4 (yes, even that last week of classes)

You have two comments due weekly, even on weeks that the analysis blog is due. :)


Since I'm pretty sure most of you won't check this until afterwards: how was the test?

The test average before I have had time to go through and see which questions may not be valid is 26/50 (52%). Icky. The high score(s) were a 68%, the lowest that I see is an 18%. I'm sure those will change as I go through the test.

Remember that first test, when I told you I was ecstatic with a C average, and you didn't believe me? Yeah...

Remember I told you it wasn't enough to know the information, you needed to be able to analyze and apply it? Yeah...

#1-25 on the test were from old AP exams.




Hmm...I haven't posted much here lately...you'll actually have to go look at your peers' posts to get your posts in by Monday! :) :)

Have a nice weekend -

The Economics of Las Vegas...

I have (mostly) recovered from my trip...we got home last on Thursday (bad air traffic into O'Hare, bad traffic out of Chicago) and I pretty much slept all day on Friday. :)

Hopefully, you have had a great Spring Break and are (almost) ready to return to the last month before the national exam! We have a lot of work left to do - your unit test is next Friday, and will be on the four types of markets.

So - anyone want to try the "econ of Vegas"? I'll start:

~buy cheap airline tickets from the monopolistically competitive market of online ticket brokers


Some questions for you to think about:

~Why do people gamble when everyone knows that there is a 90% chance you won't win a single dime? After all, those huge mega-casinos don't get built because they don't make a profit....This could also apply to the lottery - why in the world would people buy lottery tickets when you have a one in 12 million chances to win?

~Why are there so many buffets in Las Vegas? What type of market would this be? I'd bet we had a choice of at least a dozen different breakfast buffets within a 2 mile radius of our hotel. What would make them different? (Isn't breakfast just...breakfast...?)

~Why does everyone drive up the Las Vegas Strip (a 3 mile drive took us 50 minutes on Tuesday afternoon - the same drive was 10 minutes on Tuesday morning) when there's a perfectly good road one block over that is much faster and safer?

~How in the world does Las Vegas support over 15 GIANT casinos (I'm counting the ones with at least 5 restaurants in each), plus hundreds of smaller ones?

Yes, we had fun. I hope you had some down time on your break. I won't be there Monday - see you Tuesday. Enjoy your time in the computer lab. I can safely say it's the last down time you'll have until the end of May. :)