AP Microeconomics

Units

Every unit is assessed on the AP Exam. Supply and demand, in Unit 2, is the model the rest of the course keeps coming back to, so make it solid before moving on to costs and market structures.

1. Unit 1 Basic Economic Concepts 12–15% of the multiple-choice section · 6 topics

   1. 1.1Scarcity
   2. 1.2Resource Allocation and Economic Systems
   3. 1.3Production Possibilities Curve
   4. 1.4Comparative Advantage and Trade
   5. 1.5Cost-Benefit Analysis
   6. 1.6Marginal Analysis and Consumer Choice

   Unit 1 overviewUnit 1 check

2. Unit 2 Supply and Demand 20–25% of the multiple-choice section · 9 topics

   1. 2.1Demand
   2. 2.2Supply
   3. 2.3Price Elasticity of Demand
   4. 2.4Price Elasticity of Supply
   5. 2.5Other Elasticities
   6. 2.6Market Equilibrium and Consumer and Producer Surplus
   7. 2.7Market Disequilibrium and Changes in Equilibrium
   8. 2.8The Effects of Government Intervention in Markets
   9. 2.9International Trade and Public Policy

   Unit 2 overviewUnit 2 check

3. Unit 3 Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model 22–25% of the multiple-choice section · 7 topics

   1. 3.1The Production Function
   2. 3.2Short-Run Production Costs
   3. 3.3Long-Run Production Costs
   4. 3.4Types of Profit
   5. 3.5Profit Maximization
   6. 3.6Firms’ Short-Run Decisions to Produce and Long-Run Decisions to Enter or Exit a Market
   7. 3.7Perfect Competition

   Unit 3 overviewUnit 3 check

4. Unit 4 Imperfect Competition 15–22% of the multiple-choice section · 5 topics

   1. 4.1Introduction to Imperfectly Competitive Markets
   2. 4.2Monopoly
   3. 4.3Price Discrimination
   4. 4.4Monopolistic Competition
   5. 4.5Oligopoly and Game Theory

   Unit 4 overviewUnit 4 check

5. Unit 5 Factor Markets 10–13% of the multiple-choice section · 4 topics

   1. 5.1Introduction to Factor Markets
   2. 5.2Changes in Factor Demand and Factor Supply
   3. 5.3Profit-Maximizing Behavior in Perfectly Competitive Factor Markets
   4. 5.4Monopsonistic Markets

   Unit 5 overviewUnit 5 check

6. Unit 6 Market Failure and the Role of Government 8–13% of the multiple-choice section · 5 topics

   1. 6.1Socially Efficient and Inefficient Market Outcomes
   2. 6.2Externalities
   3. 6.3Public and Private Goods
   4. 6.4The Effects of Government Intervention in Different Market Structures
   5. 6.5Inequality

   Unit 6 overviewUnit 6 check

Labs

The PPC lab has you label a production possibilities curve, move it when resources or technology change, and place points inside, on and outside it. The market policy lab draws supply and demand, then adds a per-unit tax, a price ceiling or a price floor, and shades consumer surplus, producer surplus, tax revenue and deadweight loss as you move it.

• Topic 1.3 Draw the PPC Label the axes of a production possibilities curve, show how it moves when resources or technology change, and place points inside, on and outside it. The page checks your graph.
• Topics 2.6 and 2.8 Market Policy Lab Add a per-unit tax, a price ceiling or a price floor to a market and watch consumer surplus, producer surplus, tax revenue and deadweight loss change.
• Topics 2.1, 2.2 and 2.7 Shift Supply or Demand Read what happened to one market, pick the curve it moves, move it, and mark where the new curves cross. The page checks your graph and says what is off.
• Topic 2.9 Trade and Tariffs Graph Label a domestic market, move the price line to the world price or add a tariff, and mark the quantity domestic producers supply or consumers buy. The page checks your graph.
• Topics 3.5 to 3.7 The Competitive Firm Graph Label a price-taking firm’s cost graph, move its price line when the market price changes, and mark the quantity it produces. The page checks your graph.
• Topics 4.2 and 4.4 The Price-Setting Firm Graph Label a firm's demand and marginal revenue, move demand or costs when the situation changes them, and mark the price and quantity the firm chooses. The page checks your graph.
• Topics 4.2 and 6.4 The Natural Monopoly Graph Label a natural monopoly's demand and marginal revenue, then mark the price and quantity it picks to maximize profit, or the one a regulator sets. The page checks your graph.
• Topic 5.2 The Labor Market Graph Label a labor market's wage and quantity of labor, move labor demand or labor supply when something changes, and mark the new wage and employment. The page checks your graph.
• Topic 5.3 The Competitive Hiring Graph Label one firm's marginal revenue product and the market wage it takes, move whichever one a change moves, and mark how many workers the firm hires. The page checks your graph.
• Topic 5.4 The Monopsony Graph Label a monopsony's labor supply and marginal factor cost, move what a change moves, and mark the wage it pays and the number of workers it hires. The page checks your graph.
• Topics 6.1, 6.2 and 6.4 The Externality Graph Label a competitive market's private benefit and cost, add the social line the market leaves out, and mark the socially optimal quantity and price. The page checks your graph.