ECON 102 - Penn State Erie

I. BASICS 

ECONOMICS 102: 

INTRODUCTION TO MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS 

SECTION 001, 002, 003 

COURSE GUIDE AND SYLLABUS 

The Pennsylvania State University at Erie 

The Behrend College 

Spring 2012 

A. Instructor 

Name: Mr. Ed Miseta 

E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected] 

DO NOT EMAIL ME THROUGH ANGEL. PLEASE USE ONE OF THE EMAIL 

ADDRESSES ABOVE. 

Phone: The best way to reach me any time of day or night is on my cell phone: (814) 490-3835 

During office hours, you may also try me on my office phone (898-6333). If you decide to leave 

me a voice mail, leave it on my CELL PHONE, not on my office phone. Feel free to text me 

as well. 

Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00 to 11:00 

Wednesday/Friday 2:30 to 4:00 

My office is room 285 in the Burke REDC building. Additional hours by appointment. 

B. Class Meeting – Section 1: Mon/Wed/Fri 11:15 to 12:05 in 002 Burke REDC 

Section 2: Tues/Thur 12:20 to 1:10 in 002 Burke REDC 

Section 3: Tues/Thur 1:25 to 2:15 in 002 Burke REDC 

C. Textbooks and Materials 

Required Text: Custom Book – Economics, Hubbard & O’Brien (Pearson) with My Econ Lab. 

YOU MUST HAVE MY ECON LAB! The homework you do on there is 25% of your grade. 

D. ANGEL Web site 

Class website: This course has a website on Angel (http://angel.psu.edu), PSU’s tool for on-line 

course material. It will include the syllabus, a gradebook, a glossary, selected readings, practice 

exams, and other useful information. Some info about Angel is available here: 

http://www.pserie.psu.edu/faculty/teachingcenter/angel/index.htm 

E. Prerequisites: What you need before taking this class 

Registration: You MUST clear up all registration problems promptly. If you do not have 

registration problems taken care of by the second class, or explain to me why and how they will

e solved soon, you may be administratively dis-enrolled from the class. It’s your responsibility 

to take care of this and to let me know when any problems are resolved. 

E-mail and Web connection: You must ensure that your PSU e-mail account works, and learn 

how to use it if you don’t already know how. And you will need a Web connection to connect to 

Angel and My Econ Lab. 

You are responsible for checking your e-mail and the website regularly. I will always announce 

in class when I’ve posted assignments, so if you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out 

if there is any assignment due for the next class. 

Course level: This is an introductory course, which means that I do not assume that you know 

anything about economics. However, the course is abstract and rigorous enough to make it quite 

challenging. My experience has been that students get a lot more out of the course (including 

higher grades) if they take it in their sophomore year, rather than as freshmen. I especially do 

not recommend this course to first-semester freshmen. Second-semester freshmen may do okay, 

but keep an eye on your performance. 

Math: I presume that you have learned about, and can work with, fractions, decimals and simple 

algebra. If you successfully complete this course, you will also be a whiz with graphs. I realize 

that some of these skills may have atrophied if you haven't used them lately, but I presume that 

only a brief review on my part will be sufficient to get you up to speed. If your math skills are 

very rusty, or if you didn't learn this stuff before getting here, you may need to put in some 

outside time to improve those skills. The Learning Resource Center (upstairs in the Library 

and at: http://www.pserie.psu.edu/learnctr/lrnctrindex.html) will tutor you in basic math 

skills for FREE. They also have someone available to tutor you in the basics of graphing. WE 

WILL USE GRAPHING THROUGHOUT THIS COURSE – from day one to the last day 

of class. If this is something that you do not have a strong background in, I recommend that you 

get help from the LRC. Alternatively, you may wish to postpone Econ 102 until you've taken a 

math class or two. 

II. COURSE OBJECTIVES 

"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what 

you need." 

--Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones (former student of the London School of Economics) 

Most fundamentally, Economics is about decision-making. There are always costs and benefits 

to every decision, whether it be to purchase the Porsche or the Metro, to raise or lower the 

minimum wage, or to have pizza or the chicken sandwich for lunch. You have to make decisions 

all the time. You’re deciding right now whether to continue reading this or to blow it off and do 

something else. How many decisions do you make in a typical day? And do you have the tools 

you need to make the really BIG decisions that you’ll be faced with soon? 

Econ 102 is a first course in Economics, and it will introduce you to economic principles at the 

micro level - the level of the individual household and business firm. You will learn in this class

why and how people make decisions. You'll learn a lot about the economic environment that 

completely surrounds you, and how to be a more effective decision-maker yourself. 

You will probably find this course to be more abstract / theoretical than most other introductory 

courses although we will frequently discuss real-world applications. The abstractness is 

purposeful; if you understand the basic principles and ideas involved, you will be able to apply 

them yourself to any situation that comes along. An ability to think in logical economic terms 

and to analyze new problems (NOT memorization of some obscure graphs or formulae) are the 

primary goals of this course. Such skills will serve you well during your college career and the 

rest of your life. They'll help you get what you need--AND what you want 

If you successfully complete this course, you should be able to: 

-make better decisions by weighing the marginal costs and benefits of various alternatives. 

-use the concept of opportunity cost to help you use your time more wisely. 

-explain how two countries can both benefit from specialization and trade. 

-use supply and demand analysis to explain why the price of a good or service changed. 

-predict changes in price as a result of changes in other factors. 

-discuss the role of government in markets. 

-recognize faulty economic logic when you hear it. 

-use simple graphs to solve problems. 

-apply the concept of diminishing marginal utility to your own consumption decisions. 

-explain why some industries have a few very large firms while others have many small firms. 

-explain why some processes are done better on a large scale, and others on a small scale. 

-recognize monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition, and monopolistic competition when you 

see them, and know what they mean to you as a buyer or as an employee. 

-automatically apply simple principles of economics whenever you make a decision. 

And much more! 

III. GRADING 

"…For life is a short warm moment, and death is a long cold rest. You get your chance to try, 

in the twinkling of an eye, eighty years with luck or even less." 

--Roger Waters, Pink Floyd 

As I've already mentioned, this is not the easiest subject matter in the world--but it is among the 

most important. In this course, you get only 16 weeks (more or less) to demonstrate to me that 

you have learned, understand, and can apply the tools you have learned. So how do we design a 

course to help you learn it? Key aspects include: 1) reading the textbook; 2) coming to the class 

lectures; 3) doing homework on My Econ Lab; 4) homework assignments on Angel; and 5) 

exams. My grading scheme is set up to give you incentives to do the things that will help you 

learn--the things you should be doing anyway--and reward you for doing them.

My Econ Lab 25 % 

Exam 1 25 

Exam 2 25 

Exam 3 25 

Total 100 % 

Your final grade is determined using the following formula: 

Final Grade = 0.25(My Econ Lab Grade) + 0.25(1st exam) + 0.25(2nd exam) + 0.25(final) 

A. My Econ Lab: 25% of your grade 

In this course, one of the most important things you need to do is keep up with the material. 

Many students think they can show up for class without reading the book or reviewing their 

notes from the previous class. This is actually the easiest way for you to get into a hole from 

which it will be difficult to climb out. Blowing off the reading and the studying until the night 

before the exam is a very bad idea. 

It is also important in this class that you know how to work problems. The exams in this class 

will require you to know how to work economic problems, not just memorize material. 

IMPORTANT INFO ON MY ECON LAB: 

MY ECON LAB is an on-line homework package provided by the publisher of the textbook. 

The assignments I have on there will force you to keep up with the class and insure that you 

know and understand the most basic aspects of the material. Each homework assignment will 

feature 20 questions and there is no time limit. All of the questions do not have to be answered at 

one time. You will have the opportunity to attempt each homework question THREE TIMES. 

You will receive the full credit for that question as long as you get it right by the 3 rd attempt. 

Each assignment will be available for approximately one week. You will still have the 

opportunity to do the assignments for up to TWO days after the due date with a penalty of 20% 

for each day you are late. I will announce in class when the assignments are posted and when 

they are due. 

Realize that the My Econ Lab homework assignments are open book/open notes and account 

for twenty-five percent of your grade. You can virtually assure yourself of a high grade on 

these segments through hard work, reading the book, and coming to class. The average on 

these assignments is usually in the 90’s. In fact, this part of your grade was designed specifically 

to help students offset low exam grades. Most students will find that this will help to pull their 

grades up. 

C. Exams: 75% of your grade. 

There will be two non-cumulative midterm exams and a non-cumulative final. Each will be 

announced at least a week in advance, and will take place at about the 1/3 points of the course. 

They will be standard full-period exams. The exams are designed to test your knowledge--not 

your ability to memorization, but rather whether you really understand the material, and can use 

it to solve new problems such as may be encountered in the outside world after you leave Penn 

State-Erie. Most students find my exams to be challenging. If you don't know the material well, 

you may also find yourself pressed for time.

The two midterm exams will focus on that third of the course only. However, material in this 

class builds on previous work, and material taught earlier in the class will be incorporated in the 

later topics. For example, fundamental concepts of supply and demand, elasticity and costs do 

come up in the last part of the course and will therefore be included on the final. 

All of the exam questions will be True/False and multiple-choice. 

E. General Information About Grading 

I expect to use the following cutoffs for letter grades: 

A 93%+ 

A- 90-92% 

B+ 87-89% 

B 83-86% 

B- 80-82% 

C+ 77-79% 

C 70-76% 

D 60-69% 

F < 60% 

In grading, I'm looking for evidence that you understand what we've covered. My questions will 

attempt to test for understanding and ability to apply economics, rather than memorization. This 

may be quite different from what you're used to, and may require you to learn a new way to 

learn. But that's one of the goals of college, after all. Remember this as you prepare for the 

exams and class participation. 

IV. COURSE POLICY 

“It's hard to be cool if you don't follow these rules." 

--Chicks On Speed 

I don’t like having a lot of rules in my class, but I do have a few policies/procedures that I think 

will help the class to run more smoothly and make it more fair and enjoyable to all students. A 

key aspect of my grading policy is that I strive for fairness for all students. This guiding principle 

leads to the following policies: 

A. Late or Missed Exams 

By registering for this class, you are saying that you can be here for the regular class periods, 

plus the regularly scheduled final exam. All exams are announced in advance, and it is your 

responsibility to know when the exams are and to be here for them. An absence from an exam 

will be considered a zero for that exam, which makes it very difficult to get a grade of C or better 

for the course.

The University does recognize a limited number of legitimate reasons for missing an exam, such 

as participation in an official University sports contest or medical emergencies. However, 

fairness dictates that no one should get unwarranted special treatment, such as extra study time, 

when it comes to exams. In order to be fair to the students who take the exam on time, absences 

from exams will be excused only for officially-approved reasons, and with proof. A student who 

misses an exam bears the burden of providing proof that the absence should be excused. It is the 

student's responsibility to contact me, and to explicitly tell me that s/he thinks the absence should 

be excused, tell me what the legitimate reason is, and then show me the proof. 

If you find that you must miss an exam for any reason, CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY to 

explain the situation and to set an alternate time for the exam. A significant penalty may be 

assessed against the grade if an exam is taken late, to try to be fair to those who took the exam on 

time. Normally I will deduct 10% for each day you take the exam late. 

B. Academic Dishonesty 

I believe that academic dishonesty undermines the whole process of higher education, and could 

make a Penn State degree meaningless if not prevented. I strongly endorse the University’s 

policy on academic dishonesty. Be aware that ACADEMIC DISHONESTY MAY RESULT IN 

AN AUTOMATIC COURSE FLUNK. When appropriate, other sanctions (such as suspension or 

expulsion from the University) may be pursued. Academic dishonesty includes, among other 

things, copying exam answers, attempting to get an advance copy of the exam, and changing 

answers on an answer sheet after an exam has been returned. Academic dishonesty also includes 

allowing someone else to copy your answers (don't let someone else's cheating get you into 

trouble!) Be advised that I will actively enforce this policy, out of fairness to the majority of 

students who are honest and have to work hard for their grades. More information can be found 

at: http://www.pserie.psu.edu/faculty/academics/integrity.htm 

C. Classroom Policy 

By now you know that I think it is very important for you to come to class. I'll try to maintain a 

classroom atmosphere that is comfortable and welcoming, to make it easier for you to attend. 

However, this means that you must follow certain standards of behavior, as well. The basic 

guideline is very simple: be polite. Please don't talk with other students, whistle, etc. during 

class. This is distracting for other students as well as for me, and thus interferes with the 

education process. If you have a question about something, it is usually best to direct it to me, 

rather than asking (distracting) another student. If I see someone talking, I will usually ask them 

if they have a question. If a student is doing something that interferes with the class, it is part of 

my job to require them to stop or to ask them to leave the class. Usually there is not a problem 

with this, but it's important for you to know the rules up front. 

Food is prohibited in our classroom, and smoking is prohibited in all PSU buildings. I would also 

like to ask you not to use other tobacco products in the classroom. The use of these tends to be a 

bit distracting to those in the surrounding area—and me--and we have enough on our hands just 

dealing with the Economics, without extraneous distractions.

D. Lateness 

I will start the class promptly at the assigned time, and I would appreciate it if you would be in 

your seats ready to go at the scheduled time. Please try to be here on time for the class, so we 

don't waste any of our limited classroom time. 

On the other hand, I would prefer that you come late rather than not coming at all. If an occasion 

arises in which you MUST come late, please enter quietly and take a seat unobtrusively so as not 

to interrupt the class and distract most students. (The same goes for leaving class early.) If you 

come late repeatedly, I'll probably get on your case about it unless you let me know why. If you 

come in late, please DO NOT walk to the front of the classroom. That disrupts the whole class 

and imposes costs on everyone else. 

V. THE SECRETS OF ECON 102: 

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING A GOOD GRADE 

“When you reach the bottom line, The only thing to do is climb. 

Pick yourself up off the floor, Anything you want is yours…” 

--Big Audio Dynamite 

I suggest that you read this section at the beginning of the course, and again after the first exam. 

It tells you all of the secrets you need to know to do well in this class. 

A. Basic Strategy for the Course 

Econ 102 has a pretty heavy workload compared to other intro courses. Some students have a 

hard time with this course, even though most students find it to be very useful when it's 

completed. You may need to treat this course a little differently from your other courses in terms 

of the amount of time and effort devoted. 

It is very important in this course to keep up with the pace of the class. You will find that 

we will be consistently building on material from earlier in the term. If you haven't learned the 

earlier material, you will find it nearly impossible to learn the current material. There is no faster 

way to fall behind in this course than skipping class or not doing the homework assignments. 

Be sure to allow enough time for this class. Penn State suggests that a student spend two hours 

outside of class for each hour spent in class, for the average course. But this is NOT an average 

course. Students have often found that Econ 102 requires three (or more) hours outside for every 

class hour. Since there are three hours of class time per week, you should start by budgeting nine 

hours of outside time per week for this class. I know that sounds like a lot, but this is some pretty 

heavy-duty stuff. After a couple of weeks, take stock and see what kind of results you're getting 

on the quizzes and problem set participation. Then adjust your hours and/or techniques 

accordingly. You will typically have problem sets and/or readings due for every class.

B. Specific Tips 

“From frustration, first inclination 

Is to become a monk and leave the situation 

But every dark tunnel has a lighter hope” 

--Young MC (Econ major, USC) 

1. Come to every single class. This class is a little like a Math class, in that it continually builds 

on previous work. Miss even a little, and you can find yourself in trouble. 

2. Expect this course to be challenging. Few people breeze through Intro Micro. 

3. Force yourself to keep up with the reading, even when it's a pain in the butt. This is the key to 

getting the most out of the class lectures and discussions. An hour spent reading in advance of 

the class discussions will be worth two or three trying to figure things out later. 

4. Do all parts of every homework problem on your own. Getting the answers from 

someone else may help you on the quiz but will hurt you on the exams. 

5. When something doesn't make sense, ask a question. There is no stupid question. 

6. In class, listen for cues about what I consider important. I will often tell you that some 

material will be on the exam, or that you should pay special attention to some topic. 

7. Don't waste class time trying to exactly copy a table or graph from the overheads. Make a 

rough approximation in your notes and get the exact information later from the website. 

8. Instead of just reading or highlighting the textbook, make an outline as you read. This will 

save you a lot of time when studying for the exams. 

9. When you run into something that you don't quite understand (and everyone will sooner or 

later), don't expect it to just go away. Do something about it now because it's likely to come back 

to haunt you later. 

10. Do not expect my exams to be full of simple "factual" questions. There will be many “real 

world” questions that test your understanding of the material. 

11. Do not try to memorize graphs. (That's like memorizing what a car looks like rather than 

learning how to drive it.) Instead, learn early how to use graphs to analyze a problem. 

12. If you find yourself in a hole, PLEASE do something about it as soon as possible. 

13. If you want to do well on the exams, come to every class and take good notes, study your 

notes, do the homework problems I have on Angel, and work as many problems as you can 

on the practice exams. DO NOT waste study time by re-reading the book or re-doing 

problems on My Econ Lab.

VI. Your Future 

"One day, truth and justice will reign." 

--Joe Strummer, The Clash 

No matter what semester you are in, it is not too late to start thinking about your career. Consider 

using the Academic and Career Planning Center (ACPC) to assist you in choosing the right 

major or career. 

The Academic and Career Planning Center can assist students with the process of career and life 

planning through a full range of programs and services. You may schedule appointments with 

the ACPC staff to discuss issues including interests, skills, values, and goal setting, as well as 

how to find career information, internships, full-time jobs, and graduate schools. You are 

encouraged to utilize the services of the ACPC every year from your first semester to graduation. 

ACPC Location: Second floor – Reed Building 

ACPC Phone: 898-6164 

ACPC Web Site: http://psbehrend.psu.edu/Academics/academic-services/acpc 

“Sail on, sail on 

I will rise each day to meet the dawn 

So high, so high 

I've climbed the mountains of the sky 

Without my wings you know I'd surely die 

I found my freedom flyin' high 

I've climbed the mountains of the sky…” 

-- Kansas

VII. MATERIAL TO BE COVERED* 

(Print this page and keep it with your notebook for easy reference.) 

Chpt Pages Topic Assignment 

Using My Econ Lab Practice Quiz 

1A 24-34 Graphing (appendix to Chapter 1) 1 

1 3-20 Economic Foundations 2 

2 39-60 Trade-Offs/Comparative Advantage 3 

3 69-94 Demand and Supply: Prices 4 

4 103-118 Economic Efficiency – Government None 

EXAM I 

5 141-168 Elasticity 5 

6 179-204 Consumer Choice 6 

7 227-250 Technology, Production, Costs 7 

EXAM II 

8 271-298 Perfect (Pure) Competition 8 

11 371-396 Monopoly 9 

9 307-328 Monopolistic Competition 10? 

10 339-360 Oligopoly 11 

FINAL EXAM 

*This reading list is a tentative guide to the material to be covered. Any changes will be 

announced in class. Appendices to chapters are not required reading. 

Note: there is a glossary of important economic terms and their definitions on 

Angel. It would be helpful to find it and use it if needed.

ECON 102 - Penn State Erie

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