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Introduction

In Survey of Economics we study twelve chapters and group them into three blocks of study.  The First Block of Study enables you to understand International Trade Issues,  The Second Block of Study deals with Issues from Macroeconomics.  The Third Block of Study concerns Issues from Microeconomics.  Macro and Micro are know respectively as "the King" and "the Queen of Social Sciences."  You are expected to master about 4 dozen learning objectives while completing this course.  (There are from two to five learning objectives per chapter.)  These chapters come from Essentials Foundations of Economics, and its Study Guide.  These twelve chapters constitute 60% of your final grade and are also evaluated on  Exams #1, #2, and #3 after the First Block, the Second Block, and the Third Block of Study.  Each exam has 200 points possible.     Together, these three exams are worth 600 possible course points.  Projects #1, #2, #3, and #4 comprise the remaining 400 possible points.  Each project is worth up to 100 possible points.  There are ordinarily 1000 total points possible in the course.  Project #1 can be turned in a second time with more current information on it at the time of the final turn-in and can be worth up to 25 more bonus points for you.

If you achieve 900 or more you will earn an "A" letter grade. 
If you achieve 800 but less than 900 you will receive  a "B" letter grade.
If you achieve 700 but less than 800 you will receive a "C" letter grade.
If you achieve 600 but less than 700 you will receive a "D" letter grade.
Achieving less than 600 points is an "F" letter grade.

The First Block of Study.
- In Modules 1 through 4 we study the following chapters that lead to an understanding of the issues surrounding International Trade.
- In Module 5 we pause to review and to take Exam #1 over materials covered in Modules 1 through 4. 
- You should also complete Project #1 described in the How to Prepare link on the Need to Know menu in the Syllabus.

International Trade seeks to explain three important ideas to you:
- Limited resources in a human environment of unlimited wants necessitates choices.  This idea is called "scarcity."  In a society anchored by freedom and security in which rights are preserved in law, every man, whether he intends it or not, promotes the well-being of society by pursuing his or her own self-interest.
- In the global economy, every person puts his or her talents, and his or her ability to control, rent, or command the use of resources subject to personal control into competition with the talents and resources of every other person.
- Specialization and division of labor enable each person or country to do what it does best, and to purchase more cheaply what other persons or countries can do better than you can do it for yourself.

The Second Block of Study.
- In Modules 6 through 9 we study the following chapters that lead to an understanding of the issues surrounding Macroeconomics.
- In Module 10 we pause to review and to take Exam #2 over materials covered in Modules 6 through 9. 
- You should also complete Project #2 described in the How to Prepare link on the Need to Know menu in the Syllabus.

Macro seeks to explain four topics to you: 
- You learn that national income and output are subject to forces in a business cycle,
- You discover how gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation are measured,
- You think about what fiscal and monetary policies enhance performance of the economy,
- and you find out how the Federal Reserve controls the money supply.

The Third Block of Study.
- In Modules 11 through 14 we study the following chapters that lead to an understanding of the issues surrounding Microeconomics.
- In Module 15 we pause to review and to take Exam #3 over materials covered in Modules 11 through 14. 
- You should also complete Project #3 described in the How to Prepare link on the Need to Know menu in the Syllabus.

Micro seeks to explain three important ideas to you:
- The laws of supply and demand in an environment of freely fluctuating prices determine quantities, prices, and for whom goods and services are produced in markets for final products, and in markets for factors of production (like natural resources, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship).
- Businessmen maximize profits in a variety of environments characterized in their extremes as perfect competition and as monopoly.  You also study the behavior used to maximize profits employed by cartels (in oligopoly) and by the kinds of businesses you see along the main streets in every downtown, in its shopping malls, along its highways, in its grocery stores, and gas stations.  (This is called monopsonistic competition.)
- You learn what is meant by using resources efficiently, and you learn to measure the amount of inefficiency created by less-than-efficient decision-making.

The "final exam."
In place of a final exam, every student will  complete Project #4 described in the How to Prepare link on the Need to Know menu in the Syllabus.   There are 1000 points possible in the course.

Summary.

You can get detailed instructions for exam preparation,  and your "final exam" project.  From the syllabus, select the red-colored  Need-to-Know link called How to Prepare.

For your Future Study

The King and Queen Together.
I encourage students who complete this introductory course to complete other courses in economics while student skills and newly acquired insights remain fresh in memory.  The other courses are called Principles of Economics I (Macroeconoimcs) and Principles of Economics II (Microeconomics).  The result of successfully completing both additional courses is nothing short of a new perspective on how the world works!  Many professionally degreed people - including educators, lawyers, doctors, engineers, social scientists, and people throughout the business world, the government, and the military services - have an undergraduate degree in, or have at least studied the King and Queen of the Social Sciences.  Said differently, the result of studying "the King and Queen" is that "Love for Econ Springs Eternal!"

You can succeed!  Take these steps-to-success.

Follow the lettered-guidance in the following table: