Archive for the ‘Section 1: Introduction’ Category
Portfolio: Semester 1
Posted on: December 15, 2010
- Definitions — Section 1, Section 2
- Evaluation — Data Response on Champagne
- Collaboration — Value of Life & Shift in Supply Curve (comment)
- Reflection 1 — “Individual Hand” Simulation: Reflection
- Reflection 2 — Data Response Reflection
- Improvement — New Orleans Resilient but Still Struggling -> Cacao Genome Cracked: Effect on Chocolate Industry
- Showcase — Ad Valorem Tax on Salt
Achieving Goals (Photo from peoplesuccess.com)
The common goal of students in our IB Economics class is to get a 7 in IB Economics exam. To do well in the exam, we need to understand fully what to do when answering questions. Here are some tips I found when taking the first IB Economics assessment:
- Do not use pen when answering the question. (Diagram can be drawn in pencil.)
- Include precise definition of key words in the questions.
- Include at least one diagram.
- Include a real life example concerning the question.
In our class, we are using the formative/summative process. Personally, I think it is a nice grading program because we get to practice for the assessments without worrying about grades dropping. However, one concern I have is only there will be only few assessments that are counted in the overall grade. This means that it will be hard to raise the whole grade if we did not do well on one assessment.
PPC After the Discovery of Gold
Posted on: September 7, 2010
Using a production possibility curve, explain how the discovery of gold would effect an economy.
There are simply not enough resources to provide sufficient goods and services to satisfy the world’s unlimited wants. In other words, the resources there is scarcity of resources in this world. Because there is scarcity of resources, people have to choose how they are to use those scarce resources. When a choice is made, there is opportunity cost: the real cost of the next best alternative foregone.
The production possibility curve (PPC) below (Figure 2) illustrates the effect of the discovery of gold.
(Figure 2) PPC After the Discovery of Gold
Consider that the downward slope of the PPC1 (Figure 2) was the economy of a country before the discovery of gold. The economy produced 3000 good A and 2500 good B, as shown as point X. Then, the country decided that it should produced 500 more good Bs. Thus, the economy moved from point X to point Y. When doing so, the country’s economy suffered the opportunity cost: 500 good A were forgone.
With the discovery of gold, the amount of resource in producing good A and good B increased in this economy. In other words, the productive potential of the country’s economy increased by an increase in the quantity of gold. Because of this increase, the economy before the discovery (PPC1) shifted outwards, illustrated as PPC2 in Figure 2. The outward shift of the PPC1 denotes the increase in the productive capacity of the economy as more of both goods could be produced with increased amount of gold.
When the country decided to increase the production of good B from 2500 to 3000 before the discovery of gold, it had to give up producing 500 good A. However, after the discovery of gold, the opportunity cost lessened. As shown in Figure 2, when the economy of the country moved from point X to point Z, it was able to produce 3000 good B and produce 500 more good A; instead of sacrificing the production of good A to increase the production of good B, the country could produce more good A along with more good B.
As illustrated, the discovery of gold lessen the opportunity cost.
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