1 THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS ECON200--Principles of Microeconomics Summer I Online 2010 Instructor: Adriana Vamosiu Online Office Hours: Sunday and Wednesday: 9:30 pm – 10:30 pm and by appointment1E-mail: [email protected] Web Page: https://elms.umd.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp, sign in (or create a username and password) and you should automatically be able to see this course added to your account if you are officially registered. Hereafter, this course webpage is referenced as ELMS. Course Structure and Meeting Times: • This course will be conducted mostly online, including lectures, discussion sections, exam reviews, homework and one of the two exams. The final exam will be the only component where you must physically be present in College Park in the same room at the same time as the instructor and other students. • All the lectures are posted on ELMS. These recorded powerpoint presentations can be viewed at your convenience in the week before the deadlines listed later in this syllabus. Each lecture presentation covers part of a chapter and includes a verbal explanation of visual learning aids. Each chapter will have a minimum of 3 associated lecture presentations. You should view each set of before presentations before the relevant chapter is covered in the on- line discussion sections. • The homework is also online (but a different website than ELMS – more details later in the syllabus) and can be done anytime before the deadline. The assignments do not need to be done in one sitting, so you can work on it at your convenience as long as it is all completed by the deadline. Deadlines for homework assignments will be listed on the homework’s website. • I will hold online discussions twice a week. We will collectively meet in an online chat room via ELMS (at a predetermined time) and you can IM or use a microphone and webcam to talk. I will be using a webcam and a microphone for everyone to see and hear me. This is your time to ask clarification questions on the material and the homework and walk through the concepts together to get a better understanding of them. The online discussions will be held every Sunday and Wednesday 8-9:30 pm starting Wednesday, June 2nd. (no online meeting on Sunday, July 4th). • There will be one online midterm (using the homework website) and an in-class final examination. The final exam will be held on Saturday, July 10th 3:30-5:30 pm (you must come IN PERSON ON CAMPUS). Review sessions: • Midterm review - online: Sunday, June 20th during discussion 8-9:30 pm. • Final exam review - online: Friday, July 9th, 8pm-10pm 1 If need arises for a face-to-face meeting, we will use my office, Morrill Hall 0101.2 Course Description: ECON200 is the first half of a two-semester introductory sequence in economics. The focus of the course is microeconomics. ECON201 covers macroeconomics. We generally recommend that students complete ECON200 before taking ECON201, and I will assume that this is your first course in economics. The goal of the course is to introduce you to the field of economics and ways of economic thinking. We will address questions such as: What is economics about? What are some important economic issues? And how do economists form ideas and policies? At the heart of all of economics is the question of how individuals make decisions. Ordinary people make decisions, but so do other decision-makers such as small businesses, non-profit organizations, giant corporations, and governments. We will ask how all of these decisions come together to shape the economy. Topics will include the competitive market model of supply and demand, market efficiency, externalities and public goods, monopoly, oligopoly, government policy, and labor markets. Learning to solve problems is the most important skill for doing well on exams in economics, and we will do in class problems, have homework and i will hold review sessions. I will also discuss some topics not covered in lectures, guide discussions, present study questions to prepare for exams, and review exams. Required Text : • The textbook is N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Microeconomics, Fifth Edition, South-Western Publishers. The book is required for the course. Towards the end of the semester, supplemental readings might be required for a few lectures. These readings will be placed on reserve at McKeldin Library or on the course web page. • In addition, we will be using the APLIA system that accompanies the textbook. APLIA is an online product that contains both a digital version of the textbook and online homework. Your homework will be assigned, submitted and graded through APLIA, as will one of the two exams. • The textbook and access to the APLIA website can be purchased separately or together. I have attached additional information regarding available payment options, as well as registration instructions for APLIA. • It is in your best interest to read and understand the information in this attached document before making any purchase decisions. You may register and use the APLIA website without paying the fee until 06/6/2010. Use this grace period to decide which purchase option works best for you. If you are considering dropping this course during the drop/add period, do not make a payment until you decide to stay in the course. You need to pay the full amount before the end of the grace period to continue using the site. Homework: • I will assign about 25 problem sets throughout the course, some will be for practice (optional, to prepare you for the graded ones) and most will be graded. • A schedule of assignment due-dates will be posted on the course web page. • Homework will be assigned and graded via APLIA; we will discuss more about this in our first online discussion. • Since problem sets are graded automatically immediately after their due date has passed, there is no way to make up missed assignments. That is why I will count towards your grade only the highest 15 scores on problem sets (you can drop your lowest ones). • Before each exam I will hold a review session and also make some practice problems sets available on the course webpage. You are not required to turn in these problem sets and they will not count toward your grade, but you will probably benefit if you do them. Exams3 • There will be one online midterm and an in-class final examination. • The
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