Course: Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Kessler
Focus: Scarcity, Opportunity Cost, the Production Possibilities Frontier & Economic Models · Objective 1 · SLO A & B

📋 Module Overview Page — "Start Here" (Canvas: Page, published)

Week 1 — Scarcity, Opportunity Cost & the PPF

Welcome to economics! This week answers the question every economic idea is built on: if we can't have everything, how do we choose? You'll meet the field's first tools — opportunity cost, the production possibilities frontier (PPF), and the all-important difference between positive ("what is") and normative ("what ought to be") economics.

The big question: What does a choice really cost — and how do economists model that?

By the end of this week, you can:

• explain scarcity and why it forces every person and society to choose;
• compute an opportunity cost (in goods and in dollars) and explain why the "free" option usually isn't;
• read a PPF, find its slope (the opportunity cost), explain its bowed-out shape, and label points as efficient, inefficient, or unattainable;
• tell a positive statement from a normative one — a skill you'll use all term.

Do this, in order:

1. Read & watch — the Week 1 resources (≈40 min). → Readings & Resources page
2. Lecture Tutorial — work through scarcity, opportunity cost & the PPF with your AI tutor (≈45 min). Due Sun, Sep 6. → submit the chat share link + summary
3. Practice Exercises — 6 quick reps, ungraded (≈15 min).
4. Quiz 1 — 10 questions, closed to AI (≈20 min). Due Sun, Sep 6.
5. Discussion 1 — "Is college 'worth it'? / Positive or normative?" Initial post Fri, Sep 4, replies Sun, Sep 6.
6. Assignment 1 — the opportunity-cost & PPF problem set (100 pts). Due Sun, Sep 6.
7. Workshop 1 — Graph & Model Workshop — build a PPF on Desmos and read off opportunity cost (50 pts). Due Sun, Sep 6.

A note before you start: economics rewards thinking at the margin, not memorizing. Every week we'll work a real example with every step shown, name the traps before you hit them, and have you catch an AI making classic economics mistakes. You've got this. 💪

📣 Welcome Announcement (Canvas: Announcement; available_from_offset_days = 0 — posts Mon, Aug 31)

Subject: Welcome to Microeconomics — let's talk about choices 👋

Hi everyone, and welcome to ECON 1!

Here's the secret of this whole course: economics isn't really about money — it's about choices under scarcity. You already think like an economist every time you decide to sleep in or study, spend or save, work or hang out. This week we give that instinct a toolkit.

This week, don't miss:

• The idea that every choice has an opportunity cost — the next-best thing you gave up. (Your "free" Saturday isn't free.)
• The PPF — one simple graph that shows scarcity, trade-offs, and efficiency all at once.
• The positive vs. normative distinction — the move that keeps economic arguments honest.

Start with the Module Overview ("Start Here"), then the readings, then your AI Lecture Tutorial. Bring a question to our first class — the best ones come from the part that felt slippery.

See you in class,
Prof. Kessler