Department of Business

ECON101

Microeconomics
3 Credit Hours
8-Weeks

Prerequisite(s): None

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Instructor Information Evaluation Procedures

Course Description Grading Scale
Course Scope Course Outline
Course Objectives Policies
Course Delivery Method Academic Services
Course Materials Selected Bibliography

Instructor Information

Biography:
Nicholas Bergan has a Masters in Economics from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science
from St. Louis University. Nicholas has worked in the field of Economics since his attendance at St.
Louis University where he worked for the Federal Reserve Bank as a Data Analyst. While Nicholas was
attending school at Florida State University he worked for the Florida Department of Education as a
Management Consultant. Nicholas has been teaching since he attended school St. Louis University
where he was a student instructor. While at school at Florida State University Nicholas was an
instructor for the Upward Bound Program. He continues to cheer on the Florida State Seminoles at the
college football games and serves on the Florida State Seminole Booster’s Board. Nicholas lives in
South Florida and teaches online courses and in person at schools in South Florida. He enjoys teaching
economics and emphasizes the importance of making economics applicable to students.

Instructor: Nick Bergan

Email: Nicholas.bergan@mycampus.apus.edu
Phone: 561-603-5511
Office Hours: M-F: 7am-9pm, Sat-Sun: open

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Course Description (Catalog)

ECON101 Microeconomics (3 hours)

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of microeconomics. The primary focus of
this course is on how individuals, households, businesses and societies deal with the fundamental economic
problem of scarcity through the operation of markets. In this course the students will be introduced to the
mechanics of a market economy and will understand how markets facilitate the efficient usages of scare
resources.
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Course Scope
Course Scope is not in Content Document
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Learning Objectives

LO-1. Define economics in general terms.

LO-2. Explain how economists use the scientific method to formulate economic principles.
LO-3. Differentiate between microeconomics and macroeconomics.
LO-4. Differentiate between a command system and a market system.
LO-5. Explain the economic problem faced by society when scarce economic resources are
allocated in an effort to satisfy society’s unlimited wants.
LO-6. Define demand and the factors that affect it.
LO-7. Define supply and the factors that affect it
LO-8. Explain how market equilibrium is determined.
LO-9. Define price elasticity of demand and how it can be measured.
LO-10. How price elasticity of demand affects total revenue.
LO-11. Define elasticity of supply and how it can be measured.
LO-12. Define income elasticity of demand and cross elasticity of demand, and how they can be
applied.
LO-13. Distinguish implicit and explicit costs.
LO-14. Define and distinguish fixed and variable costs.
LO-15. Define the law of diminishing returns.
LO-16. Explain how purely competitive firms maximize profits or minimize losses.
LO-17. Explain how the ease of market entry and exit produce economic efficiency.
LO-18. Identify the characteristics of monopolistic competition.
LO-19. Identify the characteristics of oligopoly.
LO-20. Identify the positive and negative effects of advertising on competition..
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Course Delivery Method

This course will offer the student a highly interactive virtual classroom. Each week’s lesson will have a
course announcement, assigned readings and assignments based on either course readings or an internet-
based project. The course will provide the student with the necessary knowledge of the economics system
to better appreciate and comprehend world events and motivations of the numerous key players involved
with shifts in economic environments. Students are expected to research course concepts and be able to
discuss current events in relationship to course concepts.
Since the student is expected to fully participate in discussions and interact with the instructor and other
students, reading assignments and assigned projects should be completed in a timely manner.
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Course Materials

1. Rittenberg and Tregarthen, Principles of Microeconomics

2. Comprehensive Lecture Notes
3. PowerPoint Presentations of Chapters
4. Online Research Library
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Evaluation Procedures

Grades for this course will be based upon four grading instruments. There are discussion questions that are
provided in the Discussion Forums. The student will respond to discussion topic and the posting of other
students. The assignments are used to review what you have learned from reading and independent
research. The grade scale for each of the evaluation procedures is below:
Component Percentage
Discussion Forum Posts 40%
Quizzes 10%
Midterm Exam (Week 4) 20%
Final Exam (Week 8) 20%
Term Project (Week 8) 10%
Weekly
Assignments

Please review the weekly calendar posted in the first week announcement.

Discussion Forums
Please join the discussion forum during the class session. Students must post a reply to the weekly
discussion question and at least two replies to other students. Replies must be posted in the week they are
due unless extenuating circumstances have been approved by your instructor. The discussion forums are
for student interaction and submitting input after the week ends serves no learning objectives. Students
should demonstrate their own knowledge in the discussions boards and avoid copying and pasting from
web sites.

Quizzes
There will be a short quiz on each week’s reading in Weeks 1 -3 and 5-7. The weekly quizzes can be found
in the Test & Quizzes section of the course.
.
Mid-term Exam and Final Exam
Both exams are located under the Test & Quizzes section of the course. The mid-term exam must be
completed by the end of week four and the exam must be submitted by the end of week eight and prior to
the class end date.

Term Project
For the term paper, you are required to pick a current economic topic that relates to the material we have
covered or will cover in this course. You will research and find an article that covers the topic you have
chosen. You can use an article online or offline from any reputable source. You will write up a review of
the article and integrate course concepts into your review. Please make sure you both summarize the article
and discuss how it relates to the course.

Complete this essay in a Microsoft Word document, APA formatted, and then submit it to Turnitin for
plagiarism review. Please note that a minimum of 700 words for your essay is required.

Submission of assignments and grading

Be sure to turn in assignments and exams on time. I will be grading assignments continuously throughout
each week. It is preferred that students visit the class each week and submit assignments during the week
they are due. Note: Review the Late Assignments section below.

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Course Outline

Week Topic(s) Learning Objective(s) Reading(s) Assignment(s)

1 Introduction to LO 1. Define economics in Rittenberg, Intro & Plagiarism
Economic general terms. Chapters 1 & 2 Discussion
Thinking LO 2. Explain how
economists use the scientific Discussion Post 1
method to formulate
economic principles.
Week 1 Quiz
LO 3. Differentiate between
microeconomics and
macroeconomics.
LO 4. Differentiate between a
command system and a
market system.
LO 5. Explain the economic
problem faced by society
when scarce economic
resources are allocated in an
effort to satisfy society’s
unlimited wants.
2 Demand, LO 6. Define demand and Rittenberg, Discussion Post 2
Supply, and the factors that affect it. Chapter 3
Market LO 7. Define supply and the Week 2 Quiz
Equilibrium factors that affect it
LO 8. Explain how market
equilibrium is determined.
3 Elasticity LO 9. Define price elasticity Rittenberg, Discussion Post 3
of demand and how it can be Chapter 4 & 5
measured. Week 3 Quiz
LO 10. How price elasticity of
demand affects total
revenue.
LO 11. Define elasticity of
supply and how it can be
measured.
LO 12. Define income
elasticity of demand and
cross elasticity of demand,
and how they can be applied.
4 Consumer LO 1. Define economics in Rittenberg, Discussion Post 4
Choice general terms. Chapter 6 & 7
LO 2. Explain how Midterm Exam
economists use the scientific
method to formulate
economic principles.
LO 3. Differentiate between
microeconomics and
macroeconomics.
LO 4. Differentiate between a
 command system and a
market system.
LO 5. Explain the economic
problem faced by society
when scarce economic
resources are allocated in an
effort to satisfy society’s
unlimited wants.
LO 6. Define demand and
the factors that affect it.
LO 7. Define supply and the
factors that affect it
LO 8. Explain how market
equilibrium is determined.
LO 9. Define price elasticity
of demand and how it can be
measured.
LO 10. How price elasticity of
demand affects total
revenue.
LO 11. Define elasticity of
supply and how it can be
measured.
LO 12. Define income
elasticity of demand and
cross elasticity of demand,
and how they can be applied.
5 Businesses LO 13. Distinguish implicit Rittenberg, Discussion Post 5
and Their Cost and explicit costs. Chapter 8
LO 14. Define and Week 5 Quiz
distinguish fixed and variable
costs.
LO 15. Define the law of
diminishing returns.
6 Pure LO 16. Explain how purely Rittenberg, Discussion Post 6
Competition & competitive firms maximize Chapters 9 & 10
Monopoly profits or minimize losses. Week 6 Quiz
LO 17. Explain how the ease
of market entry and exit
produce economic efficiency.
7 Monopolistic LO 18. Identify the Rittenberg, Discussion Post 7
Competition characteristics of Chapter 11
and Oligopoly monopolistic competition. Week 7 Quiz
LO 19. Identify the
characteristics of oligopoly.
Term Paper
LO 20. Identify the positive
and negative effects of
advertising on competition.
8 Final Exam LO 13. Distinguish implicit Final Exam
and explicit costs.
LO 14. Define and distinguish
 fixed and variable costs.
LO 15. Define the law of
diminishing returns.
LO 16. Explain how purely
competitive firms maximize
profits or minimize losses.
LO 17. Explain how the ease
of market entry and exit
produce economic efficiency.
LO 18. Identify the
characteristics of monopolistic
competition.
LO 19. Identify the
characteristics of oligopoly.
LO 20. Identify the positive
and negative effects of
advertising on competition.

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Polices

WRITING EXPECTATIONS
All written submissions should be submitted in a font and page set-up that is readable and neat. It is
recommended that students try to adhere to a consistent format, which is described below.
Typewritten in double-spaced format with a readable style and font and submitted inside the electronic
classroom (unless classroom access is not possible and other arrangements have been approved by the
professor).
 Arial 12-point font or Times New Roman styles.
 Page margins Top, Bottom, Left Side and Right Side = 1 inch, with reasonable accommodation
being made for special situations and online submission variances.
 Any material that is not original work must be properly cited and referenced.

CITATION AND REFERENCE STYLE

Assignments completed in a narrative essay or composition format must follow APA format.

PLAGIARISM
1. All students are expected to commit to the highest level of academic honesty and personal
integrity.
2. Students are required to use turnitin.com for written assignments and submit the results with their
assignments.
3. If students do not do use turnitin.com, the instructor will accomplish this.
4. Students do not receive a grade for plagiarized work.
5. All incidents of plagiarism are reported to academics for the proper academic sanctions.
6. Instructions for using turnitin.com are in the course material link.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS
Late assignments are not automatically graded. Students having difficulties meeting class commitments
must communicate with the instructor. Students are expected to complete assignments on time. A 10%
penalty may be applied for each day assignments are late unless the student contacts the instructor ahead of
time about an extenuating situation.

NETIQUETTE
Online universities promote the advance of knowledge through positive and constructive debate--both
inside and outside the classroom. Discussions on the Internet, however, can occasionally degenerate into
needless insults and “flaming.” Such activity and the loss of good manners are not acceptable in a
university setting--basic academic rules of good behavior and proper “Netiquette” must persist. Remember
that you are in a place for the fun and excitement of learning that does not include descent to personal
attacks, or student attempts to stifle the discussion of others.

 Technology Limitations: While you should feel free to explore the full-range of creative
composition in your formal papers, keep e-mail layouts simple. The Educator classroom may not
fully support MIME or HTML encoded messages, which means that bold face, italics, underlining,
and a variety of color-coding or other visual effects will not translate in your e-mail messages.
 Humor Note: Despite the best of intentions, jokes and--especially--satire can easily get lost or
taken seriously. If you feel the need for humor, you may wish to add “emoticons” to help alert
your readers: ;-), : ), J

DISLCAIMER STATEMENT
Course content may vary from the outline to meet the needs of this particular group.
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Academic Services
ONLINE LIBRARY RESEARCH CENTER & LEARNING RESOURCES
The Online Library Resource Center is available to enrolled students and faculty from inside the electronic
campus. This is your starting point for access to online books, subscription periodicals, and Web resources
that are designed to support your classes and generally not available through search engines on the open
Web. In addition, the Center provides access to special learning resources, which the University has
contracted to assist with your studies. Questions can be directed to orc@apus.edu.

 Charles Town Library and Inter Library Loan: The University maintains a special library with a
limited number of supporting volumes, collection of our professors’ publication, and services to
search and borrow research books and articles from other libraries.
 Electronic Books: You can use the online library to uncover and download over 50,000 titles,
which have been scanned and made available in electronic format.
 Electronic Journals: The University provides access to over 12,000 journals, which are available
in electronic form and only through limited subscription services.
 Turnitin.com: Turnitin.com is a tool to improve student research skills that also detect
plagiarism. Turnitin.com provides resources on developing topics and assignments that encourage
and guide students in producing papers that are intellectually honest, original in thought, and clear
in expression. This tool helps ensure a culture of adherence to the University's standards for
intellectual honesty. Turnitin.com also reviews students' papers for matches with Internet materials
and with thousands of student papers in its database, and returns an Originality Report to
instructors and/or students.
 Smarthinking: Students have access to 10 free hours of tutoring service per year through
Smarthinking. Tutoring is available in the following subjects: math (basic math through advanced
calculus), science (biology, chemistry, and physics), accounting, statistics, economics, Spanish,
writing, grammar, and more. Additional information is located in the Online Research Center.
From the ORC home page, click on either the “Writing Center” or “Tutoring Center” and then
click “Smarthinking.” All login information is available.
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Selected Bibliography

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