Assignment:
Answer all questions fully, using any illustration that enhances your answer.
Part-1
1. Why do economists use the scientific method to analyze real world situations that are often too complicated to understand off-hand?
2. Write down and explain the steps involved in the scientific method. Based on your answer, develop a model or theory of demand for Pizza.
3. Ceteris paribus is the Latin phrase that means "all other things remain unchanged". Why is this phrase invoked as an indispensable assumption in the development of an economic model?
4. The scarcity problem is unique to certain societies but not others.........................TRUE/FALSE.
5. The price of rice increased in Thailand, and technological advancement greatly increased rice output in Vietnam. Therefore, technological advancement in Vietnam caused the price of rice to increase in Thailand. What kind of pitfall in economic reasoning is this? Explain your answer.
6. Which of the following is a normative question, and why?
A. When it rains, there are usually more accidents on the highways.
B. What is the speed limit on campus?
C. How much is the average price of textbooks this semester?
D. Should chewing gum be banned in classrooms?
7. This question requires you to look for the following book, and search for the 8 Key Principles in Economics. Read over them and list them here.We shall discuss these principles in class next week.
[Chiang, Eric P. Microeconomics: Principles for a Changing World, 4th Edition. www.macmillanlearning.com]