Download Scarcity and the Science of Economics

A1-Scarcity and the Science of
Economics
H-SS 12.1-Students examine the causal relationship
between scarcity and the need for choices.
Scarcity
List 10 things that are scarce
List 10 things that aren’t scarce
• 1
2
3
• 1
2
3
• Scarcity- is the fundamental economic
problem facing all societies that results from a
combination of scarce resources and people’s
virtually unlimited wants.
• In Fact, Economics is the study of how people
try to satisfy seemingly unlimited and
competing wants with the careful use of
limited resources.
Sketch and Label Figure 1.1 (pg. 6)
Need- a basic requirement for survival, includes
food, clothing, and shelter.
Want-is a way of expressing a need. Example- you
need food but you want pizza.
TINSTAAFL-There Is No Such Thing As A Free
Lunch. If you are getting the good or service for
free-- someone paid for it.
Scarcity forces people and societies
to make Choices on how to allocate
its limited resources. All societies
must answer three basic questions:
• What to Produce
• How to Produce
• For Whom to Produce
Factors of
Production
The reason people cannot
satisfy all their wants and
needs is scarcity of
productive resources.
The factors of production
are the resources required
to produce the things we
want and need.
Page 7- read aloud
students take five bullet point notes on each
• Land
• Capital
• Labor
• Entrepreneurs
Scope of Economics
Description-describe economic activity-(GDP)
Gross Domestic Product-measure a country’s
output
Analysis-close look at economic activity to find
out why things are happening.
Explanation-explain how it is working and how to
fix it if needed
Prediction-explain what direction economy is
going—are things getting better or worse?