Assignment:
1) View the video "What Is Opportunity Cost," In this video, a little girl interrupts her father who is reading and asks him to come out and play. The father is faced with a choice, which is a clear opportunity cost. Discuss the opportunity cost with which the father is presented? What is the opportunity cost for the little girl spending time with her father? Does she have an opportunity cost? Is there always an opportunity cost present in any given situation? Please explain.
Watch Know What You're Talking About video at https://youtu.be/N_DfnmV4duU : We'll talk about the concepts underlying the discussion question. Understanding the underlying concepts will make it easier for you to provide a substantive response and get full credit for the discussion question.
Explain what opportunity cost is.
Explain what the opportunity cost is for the father to choose to play with his daughter.
Explain what the opportunity cost is for the little girl to choose to play with her father.
Discuss whether or not everything has an opportunity cost.
2) One of your classmates, Madison, is a hardworking student, is serious about her classes, and is conscientious about her grades. Madison is also involved, however, in volunteer activities and an extracurricular sport. If Madison's goal is to get good grades, what is her opportunity cost when she is involved in other activities? If Madison's goal is to be involved in volunteer activities and sports, what is her opportunity cost when she spends her time studying?
3) On January 9, 2015, President Obama announced a proposal to make community college free for all students. What would be the benefit to the economy as a whole resulting from this change? Of the four factors of production (land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship), which factor would be enhanced by such a program? What would happen to the supply of college-educated labor? Would the demand for college-educated workers change? If so, what changes might occur?
4) In 2012, the price of corn was $8 a bushel. In 2014, a huge harvest caused the price to drop to about $4 a bushel because quantity demanded for the corn was less than the quantity supplied. What is the law of supply and how does it explain why farmers increased their production of corn? If quantity demanded for corn is much less than quantity supplied, is that a shortage or a surplus? Would the price of corn be above the equilibrium price or below? Why is the price dropping?