Course: Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Kessler
Focus: Supply & Market Equilibrium · Objective 2 · SLO A & B

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

Week 4 — Supply & Market Equilibrium

Welcome back! This week you complete the demand-and-supply toolkit you've been building since Week 3. Last week you learned how buyers respond to prices — now we look at sellers, model the market as the meeting point of both curves, and use comparative statics to predict what happens when something in the economy changes. The payoff: you'll be able to answer questions like "What happens to the price of apartments when construction costs rise?" with a graph, an equation, and a sentence.

The big question: Where do prices come from — and what forces move them up or down?

By the end of this week, you can:

• explain the law of supply and list the factors that shift the supply curve (vs. those that only move you along it);
• solve a linear supply-and-demand system for equilibrium price P* and quantity Q*;
• identify a surplus or a shortage at a price above or below equilibrium, and know the pressure that drives the market back;
• apply comparative statics — trace a demand or supply shock through a curve shift to a new (P, Q) — keeping track of which curve moves and in which direction.

Do this, in order:

1. Read & watch — the Week 4 resources (≈35 min). → Readings & Resources page
2. Lecture Tutorial — work through supply, equilibrium, and comparative statics with your AI tutor (≈45 min). Due Sun, Sep 27. → submit the chat share link + summary
3. Practice Exercises — 6 quick reps, ungraded (≈15 min).
4. Quiz 4 — 10 questions, closed to AI (≈20 min). Due Sun, Sep 27.
5. Discussion 4 — "Would building more housing actually lower rents?" Initial post Fri, Sep 25, replies Sun, Sep 27.
6. Assignment 4 — the supply, equilibrium, and comparative-statics problem set (100 pts). Due Sun, Sep 27.
7. Workshop 4 — Graph & Model Workshop — solve two supply-and-demand systems, plot them in Desmos, and trace a supply shift to a new equilibrium (50 pts). Due Sun, Sep 27.

A note before you dive in: the most common trap this week is treating a price change as a shift of the curve. A price change moves you along the supply (or demand) curve; a shift happens when something other than the good's own price changes. Keep that straight and everything else falls into place.

📣 Welcome Announcement (Canvas: Announcement; available_from_offset_days = 0 — posts Mon, Sep 21)

Subject: Week 4 — where prices come from 🎯

Hi everyone,

Last week you met demand. This week we bring in supply, clear the market, and get a working model of where prices actually come from. We'll solve for a market equilibrium with algebra, see why a surplus pushes prices down and a shortage pushes them up, and then shift a curve to predict what happens next. It's one of the most useful things you'll learn in this course.

This week, don't miss:

• The law of supply and what actually shifts a supply curve (hint: the good's own price doesn't shift it).
• Solving for equilibrium — set Qd = Qs and find P* and Q* step by step.
• Comparative statics — trace a real-world shock to its effect on price and quantity, with the graph and the algebra.

Start with the Module Overview ("Start Here"), then the readings, then your AI Lecture Tutorial. Bring the one thing that felt slipperiest to class on Monday.

See you then,
Prof. Kessler