SV 151 SL 151 Principles of Economics Course Syllabus Summer Quarter 2009 6 08 09 7 10 09 Section 1 home page http www rose hulman edu bremmer quarter htm Time 8th and 9th Periods 2 30 3 20 3 25 4 15 Days MTWR Room O 233 Instructor Dr Dale S Bremmer Office A 217 Moench Hall Email dale bremmer rose hulman edu Office Phone and Voice Mail 812 877 8456 Home Phone 812 877 3412 Office Fax 812 877 8909 Office Hours 3rd 4th Periods 9 55 11 40 7th Period 1 35 2 25 MTWRF or by appointment I Textbook The required textbook is Essential of Economics by R Glenn Hubbard and Anthony Patrick O Brien Pearson Prentice Hall 2nd ed The book s companion web site is http wps prenhall com bp hubbard essentials 2 where practice exams the answers to the even numbered problems at the end of each chapter and PowerPoint lectures slides for each chapter may be found The study guide that accompanies the textbook is on reserve at Logan Library II General points This course is equivalent to a one quarter survey of introductory economics This class is the prerequisite for the other economic courses offered by the Institute The course material is suitable for students pursuing either a major or a minor in the economics or the student looking a Society and Values elective or for those of you using an old catalog a Self and Society elective The first part of the course introduces the area of microeconomics Production possibilities curves are used to introduce the ideas of scarcity and choice Demand and supply models are studied to develop an understanding of how markets allocate scarce resources The concepts of elasticity production and costs are examined The impact of different market structures such as pure competition and pure monopoly is discussed Macroeconomic issues are examined during the second part of the course The concepts of GDP inflation and unemployment are addressed The components of aggregate expenditure are considered Short run and long run macroeconomic equilibria are analyzed using the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model The determinants of economic growth are identified The short run and long run effects of monetary and fiscal policy are debated The aggregate demand and aggregate supply framework is used to question whether policy should be activist Deposit expansion and monetary theory are covered Economic classes tend to be more analytical than most liberal arts courses However the course relies on common sense and the successful completion of this class depends on continued application of a few key ideas III Prerequisites This course has no prerequisites However it is assumed that students have a basic knowledge of calculus The ability to use and interpret graphs is particularly important IV Testing and grading A Grading scale The grade in the course is based on the scores of three in class exams a comprehensive final two short papers and nightly homework In calculating the course grade these assignments have the weights shown in the following table Assignment 3 in class exams two hour comprehensive final Written homework assignments Multiple choice homework Total Page 1 Weight 45 30 15 10 100 B Exams There are three in class exams The tests consist of multiple choice and essay questions The exams cover both assigned reading and lecture material The dates of the in class exams are as follows 1 Tuesday June 16th 2 Thursday June 25th and 3 Tuesday July 7th The final will be on Friday July 10th Copies of previous exams can be found at two different locations 1 they can be found on file at the Learning Center located on the bottom floor of the library or 2 old exams may be found on the course web page The comprehensive final exam is two hours long and it covers all the material discussed during the quarter Additional information about the final is on the last two pages of this syllabus C Written homework assignments Each week three problems at the end of the chapters in the textbook will be assigned and collected the following Monday The turned in assignment should provide a concise but complete answer for each question When appropriate the answer should include graphs math or equations to help explain the answers The grades the students earned will depend on how well they explain their answers At the end of the quarter these written homework assignments are worth 100 points For example if a student earns 80 percent of the possible points on these assignments at the end of the quarter the student receives 80 points for his or her homework score While late homework is not accepted the written homework assignment with the lowest grade will be dropped at the end of the quarter D Multiple choice homework assignments Nightly homework exercises are assigned Each homework assignment usually consists of twenty or more multiplechoice questions These questions cover both material from lecture and assigned reading and they are indicative of the material that may be on the exams The homework can be one of three types 1 some homework assignments reinforce material already covered in class 2 other homework problems anticipate the next day s lecture and 3 finally some homework questions cover material not discussed in class At the end of the quarter the multiple choice homework assignments are worth 100 points For example if a student earns 80 percent of the possible points on the homework at the end of the quarter the student receives 80 points for his or her homework score While late homework is not accepted the four multiple choice homework assignments with the lowest scores are dropped at the end of the quarter E Grades Grades are based solely on the performance on the four exams the two papers and homework Academic misconduct results in failing the course Exam grades are not dropped No extra credit is available Grades are not discussed over the phone At the end of the quarter a weighted average of the graded material is calculated and the final grade is determined by the grading scale shown in the following table Class Average Final Grade 0 60 F 60 67 D 67 70 D 70 77 C 77 80 C 80 87 B 87 90 B 90 100 A V Attendance and makeup policy Class attendance is expected Exams are to be taken on the assigned day at the correct time A missed exam is recorded as a zero No makeup exams will be given unless there is an acceptable excuse such as the following 1 serious illness 2 a death in the family or 3 an Institute sponsored event If an exam is to be missed because of one of these reasons notification prior to