This week, we spent some extra time on PPF graphs. I am now confident that most of you understand what a PPF represents (opportunity cost) and the ways that a PPF can shift. On Friday, I tried to be sure that all students have everything a PPF question might include in their notes. For anyone I missed, I give you this here.
Production Possibility Frontier Possibilities
| Country | Bread (units) | Smartphones (units) |
|---|---|---|
| Farmland | 100 | 50 |
| Techland | 90 | 120 |
| Country | Bread (units) | Smartphones (units) |
|---|---|---|
| Farmland | 100 | 50 |
| Techland | 90 | 120 |
A country has a comparative advantage if it can produce a good with a lower opportunity cost.
We need to find the opportunity cost of producing 1 unit of each good.
Beowulf is an epic poem from the Anglo-Saxon period. It tells the story of a hero who fights monsters. The poem was probably written down not because it was considered ideal literature, but because the scribe was collecting stories and examples (possibly as a bestiary).
Beowulf includes both pagan and Christian ideas. Pagan beliefs show fate and personal honor. Christian ideas show God’s guidance and moral rules. This is interesting because, historically, paganism and Christianity did not get along, and their interchange involved a lot of bloodshed.
When we started, I was not sure how much you knew, so I began with reviewing.
I learned that you know STORES and HISAGE (and you learned that “sage” means a smart/wise person).
Supply Shifters
Demand Shifters
The first people came to the Americas from Asia by walking across the Bering Strait (which was a bridge during the Ice Age). New evidence shows this might have happened as early as 40,000 years ago. When ocean levels dropped, it created land between Russia and Alaska that people could cross.
Before Europeans came, many different societies lived in the Americas:
They hunted, gathered, and farmed for food
Limited resources and unlimited wants = scarcity. Scarcity is “The Economic Problem.” It is the reason economics exists. There are only 24 hours in a day. There are only 5 cupcakes, but you want 6. Too bad. Why? Scarcity.
Any time you choose to do something, you are choosing not to do something else.
Example:
You can wake up and go to school or you can stay in bed and sleep. If you choose to stay in bed, you miss your favorite class (economics). If you choose to go to school, you miss your dreams (also economics. I am everywhere. You cannot escape me.).