Texts
McEachern, William A.  Microeconomics:  A Contemporary Introduction, 5th ed. Cincinnati:  South-Western, 2000. (Required)

Bergstrom, Theodore C. and John H. Miller. Experiments with Economic Principles: Microeconomics, 2nd ed. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000. (Required)

Lunn, John E.  Study Guide for Microeconomics:  A Contemporary Introduction, 5th ed.  Cincinnati:  South-Western, 2000. (Recommended)

Exams
    There will be two exams and a final exam.  Each exam will be comprehensive, covering all previously treated material.  Each exam will be worth 100 points and count as 20% of the course grade. See the “ Class and Assignment Schedule ” for exam dates.

Quizzes
   Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class on selected Tuesdays and on the last day of class.  Each quiz will cover material from the assigned reading and/or class discussion.  Each quiz will be worth 10 points.  Throughout the semester, twelve quizzes will be given.  The two quizzes with the lowest grades will be dropped when calculating the final grade.  There will be no make-up quizzes given.  In total, the quizzes will count as 20% of the course grade.  See the  “ Class and Assignment Schedule ” for quiz dates.

Experiments
    During the semester we will be conducting five in-class experiments to test the validity of the economic concepts and ideas presented in class and in the text (See “ Experiments in Economics Guidelines ”).  Each experiment requires participation in the experiment and completion of a lab report and homework assignment.  Students are expected to participate in and complete the assignments associated with all experiments.  Each experiment will count as 20 points.  The experiment with the lowest grade will be dropped when calculating the final grade. In total, the experiments will count as 20% of the course grade. See the “ Class and Assignment Schedule ” for experiment dates.

"Real World" Investigative Project
    A student may do an investigative project to earn a maximum of 20 bonus points.  See "Real World Investigative Project" for details.  See "Real World" Investigative Project for details.

Grades
    The course grade will be based on the sum of the scores on the exams, quizzes, experiments, and bonus investigative project.  The following grade scale will then apply:

  A range 500-450           D range 349-300
  B range 449-400            F        299-0
  C range 399-350

Class Activity
    Time does not permit the coverage of all assigned text material in class.  Nevertheless, students are responsible for all material assigned.  It is, therefore, the student's responsibility to ask questions about material not understood.  This emphasizes the importance of doing assignments prior to the class presentation, studying on a regular basis, and seeking personal help early and often.

Academic Integrity
    It is assumed that students will be honest in all aspects of participation in this course.  Providing answers to and obtaining them from another student during exams and quizzes and providing information about the content of an exam or quiz to students not yet taking it is dishonest. Accordingly, on exams requiring the use of calculators, students may not use calculators with pre-programmed information directly related to the exam.  Claiming the work of another as one’s own work on homework assignments is also dishonest.

Additional Instruction and Help
    The classroom activities are only one phase of the educational experience and the student-teacher relationship.  Students desiring personal help or further information are encouraged to visit the instructor in his office during posted office hours or by appointment. Communication by e-mail ( heisler@hope.edu ) is also encouraged, but is not a perfect substitute for face to face interaction.

Course Objectives
 As a result of attending lectures, participating in class, reading assigned materials, engaging in the experiments and studying, students should be able to:
    1) understand and demonstrate the use of the basic tools of microeconomic analysis.
    2) understand and explain the nature of some major modern economic problems and issues.
    3) understand and demonstrate how microeconomic tools can be used to analyze and interpret real world economic problems.