Graphing review: Elementary algebra is needed for this course. One thing we will use a lot is the slope of a straight line. This is the "rise over the run" - or, given two points on a line it is the change in y over the change in x, or ?y /?x . The slope tells you what happens to the y variable when the x variable increases by 1. You will soon find out that the tricky part of this course is not the math - we can all figure out the change in y / the change in x. The tricky part is knowing how to apply the math. That is why reading alone is insufficient.

1. A student has 8 hours per week to study and is taking two classes: Art and Math. His production possibilities schedule is

Art Grade	Math Grade
A	F
A	F
A	D
A	D+
A	C
B	C+
C	B
D	B+
F	A

Farmer Bill has a 2-acre farm. He can divide this land in any way he wants between cows and corn (that is, he could use acre to grow corn and 1 acres to raise cows... or any other such division). If he grows grass on the land then each acrecould support 10 cows each year. If he grows corn on theland then one acre - near the river - would yield 5 thousand bushels of corn. The other acre would yield 2 thousand bushels of corn. Consider this land as the only input into production (or, alternatively, his labor exhibits a constant opportunity cost - unlike his land).

A B C D D C B A