Class Times

The class meets Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00pm to 3:15pm via Zoom. Links to the Zoom class will appear on the course's Canvas page.

Textbook

If you have a copy of an earlier edition, you may use that instead.

Office Hours and Contact Info

Office Hours

Due to the continuing coronavirus hazard, I will not have regular office hours. I will be available via Zoom immediately after class. Just speak up once class ends if you have a question. Otherwise, you may contact me via email at <boydj@fiu.edu> or <John.Boyd@fiu.edu>.

Grades

Your grade will be based on biweekly quizzes and a final exam. There is no midterm.

Quizzes

There will be six short (thirty minute) quizzes. Class will end 30 minutes early on quiz days. Quizzes will be available via Canvas immediately after class. You must use Canvas's Respondus Lockdown Browswer to answer them. You will have a one hour window to take each quiz. Once you start a quiz you will have 30 minutes to complete it.

The quizzes will be given on every other Thursday, beginning on Sept. 10. In other words, the quizzes will be on Sept. 10, Sept. 24, Oct. 8, Oct. 22, Nov. 5, and Nov. 19. The quizzes will focus on the material covered since the previous quiz (usually, previous two class weeks). Your lowest quiz score will dropped, and your total quiz grade will be based on your top 5 quiz scores. Your quiz letter grade will count for 70% of your grade.

Quiz and Exam Grading Scale

A 96-100%
A- 91-95%
B+ 88-90%
B 84-87%
B- 81-83%
C+ 78-80%
C 74-77%
C- 71-73%
D+ 68-70%
D 64-67%
D- 61-63%
F 0-60%


Quizzes and Answers

Links to copies of the quizzes (with answers) will be posted below. The answers are at the end of each quiz.

  1. Quiz #1 (Sept 10)
  2. Quiz #2 (Sept 24)
  3. Quiz #3 (Oct 8)
  4. Quiz #4 (Oct 22)
  5. Quiz #5 (Nov 5)
  6. Quiz #6 (Nov 19)

Final Exam

The final will be available online at the officially scheduled time: Thursday, Dec. 10, 12 Noon-2pm. It will be comprehensive. The final counts for 30% of your grade.

The final will consist of approximately 30-35 multiple choice questions.

Calculating Your Final Grade

I average your letter grades for the quizzes and final using weights of 70% and 30%. To do this, I convert letter grades to numbers using a 12-point scale. Thus A+ = 12, A = 11, A-=10, etc., with F = 0. For example, if you got a B (=8) on the quizzes and an A (=11) on the final, your average is .7*8 + .3*11 = 8.9. This rounds to 9, which is a B+.

As of Fall 2016, the official FIU grading scale does not include A+, C-, D+, or D- as course grades. Those will be rounded down to obtain the official course grade.

Course Outline and Schedule

This course covers microeconomics: supply and demand, consumer choice, cost and production, competitive and non-competitive markets, and basic game theory.

Detailed Outline

Tentative Schedule

The plan is to cover about a chapter per week. As we proceed through the course, the dates and list of chapters covered will be updated to show what we actually did. You will get more from the course if you start reading the chapters by the time we start them.

Quiz days are denoted by an asterisk (*).

Aug. 25: Chapter 1: Adventures in Microeconomics
Aug. 25, 27, Sept. 1: Chapter 2: Supply and Demand
Sept. 3, 8, 10*: Chapter 3: Using Supply and Demand to Analyze Markets
Sept. 15, 17, 22: Chapter 4: Consumer Behavior
Sept. 24*, 28, Oct. 1: Chapter 5: Individual and Market Demand
Oct. 6, 8*, 13: Chapter 6: Producer Behavior
Oct. 15, 20, 22*: Chapter 7: Costs
Oct. 27, 29: Chapter 8: Supply in a Competitive Market
Nov. 3, 5*, 10: Chapter 9: Market Power and Monopoly
Nov. 12, 17: Chapter 10: Pricing Strategies...
Nov. 17, 19*, 24 Chapter 11: Imperfect Competition
Nov. 26 No Class! Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 1, 3: Chapter 12: Game Theory
Dec. 12: Final Exam: TBA

Policies

Missed Quizzes and Exams

Since your grade is based on the top 5 quizzes, you are allowed to miss one quiz without penalty. If you miss a second quiz, you should contact me as soon as possible to arrange a makeup. Missing three or more quizzes or the final will mean an automatic F in the course.

Incompletes

We strictly follow university policy on incompletes. This means that incompletes will only be considered when an emergency prevents you from attending the final exam.

Academic Honesty

While you may use a calculator on quizzes and exams, any other use of computers, notes, books, or advice from others during quizzes or exams is considered cheating and will be dealt with accordingly. See the university policy on Academic Misconduct (scroll down to sec. 2.44) for more details.

Important Dates

Aug. 25
Classes begin
Aug. 31
Last day to drop with full refund
Sept. 1
Tuition Payment Due
Sept. 7
Labor Day Holiday (does not affect us)
Sept. 11
Last day to apply for Fall Graduation
Nov. 2
Last day to drop with DR
Nov. 11
Veteran's Day Holiday (does not affect us)
Nov. 26-28
Thanksgiving Break (no class)
Dec. 5
Last day of regular classes
Dec. 7-12
Finals Week
Dec. 10
Intermediate Micro Final, 12 Noon-2pm
Dec. 17
All grades available online