Saturday, 26 May 2012

Shift of and movement along the demand curve


This lesson is aimed distinguishing between a change in demand and a change in quantity demanded.

Objective         :           Distinguish difference between a shift and a change in quantity                                                      demanded
Grade              :           10 -11
Activities
·         Students will be given the  copy of the demand curve below and will be asked the following review questions.

E
 
D
 
C
 
B
 
A
 
  1. What does the demand curve look like?[The demand curve is downward sloping.]
     
  2. Why is the curve downward sloping? [The curve is downward sloping because as the price does down the quantity demanded goes up and as price goes up the quantity demanded goes down.]
     
  3. What is the one factor that resulted in consumer tastes for Bubble Soda to change?
    [The one factor that resulted in consumer tastes for Bubble Soda to change is price.]
     
  4. Why are consumers willing and able to buy more of a product at a lower price?
    [With a given amount of income, a lower price means consumers can afford to buy more of a product. Also, when the price of a product falls, consumers will substitute this less expensive product for more expensive similar products that are similar.]
·         Students will be asked the questions:
1.      What happens to demand as we move from point A to B on the demand curve?
2.      What happens to price as we move from point A to point B on the demand curve?
Teacher will draw students to the realisation that the movement along the demand curve from A to B is caused by a change price and is referred to as a change in quantity demanded.

·         Students will be given a graph containing two demand curves for bubble soda.

D
 
C
 
Shift in demand for Bubble Soda
 

·         Students will be asked the following questions:
1.      What happens to price as we move from point C to point D?
[Price remains the same at $2]

2.      What happens to quantity demanded as we move from point C to point D?
[Quantity demanded increases from Q1 to Q2]

3.   What is the difference between D1 and D2?
      [The demand curve has shifted to the right. This represents an increase in            demand at all given prices]
Teacher will inform students that a shift in the demand curve from D2 to D1 represents a decrease in demand at any of the given prices. The shift in the demand curves is not caused by a change in price but by a change in a non-price determinant of demand. A move from point C to point D indicates that more will be demanded at the same price. Students will be given a handout with Non-price determinants of demand.
            Non price determinants include:
o        Change in the number of consumers in the market for a product
            [If the number of consumers in the market for a product increases, the demand for the   product will increase. If a new high school is built in the same block as a fast food        restaurant, the demand for the fast-food restaurant's products will increase. When the          school closes for summer vacation, the demand for the fast-food restaurant's products     will decrease.]
o        Change in consumer tastes and preferences for a product
            [If consumer tastes and preferences for a product change, the demand for the product    will change. If fashion magazines are showing short skirts, the demand for short skirts     will increase. If fashion magazines show few pictures of short skirts, the demand for these   skirts will decrease.]
o        Change in consumer income
            [If consumer income increases, demand for most goods and services will increase. The   reverse is also true. If consumer income decreases, demand for most goods and services            will decrease. For example, if workers at a manufacturing facility sign a new contract      that provides a 5% raise, these workers will have more income and their demand for            goods and services will increase. If Social Security taxes increase for employees,      consumers will have less take-home pay, and as a result, their demand for goods and      services will decrease.]
o        Change in the price of related goods—complements
            [A change in the price of one good can change the demand for another good. One type   of related goods is complements-goods that are purchased together. A decrease in     the price of strawberries will cause an increase in the demand for whipped cream.    An increase in             the price of hamburger will cause a decrease in the demand for     hamburger buns.]
o        Change in the price of related goods—substitutes
            [A change in the price of one good can change the demand for another good. One type   of related goods is substitutes-goods that are bought in place of other goods. If the     price of movie tickets increases, the demand for video rentals may increase. If the      price of Hamburger Heaven's hamburgers decreases, the demand for Big Burger's          hamburgers may decrease.]


·         Teacher will review the handout with students. Based on the second graph students should be able to infer that a shift or movement of the demand curve to the left or right is referred to as a change in demand and is caused by a change in one of the non-price determinants of demand.


·         CONCLUSION
            Remind students that in this lesson they reviewed the law of demand; they learned how price changes affect the amount of a good or service consumers are willing and able to buy.

            They also learned about the non-price determinants of demand and how non-price          determinants result in a change in demand. Review that a change in demand means that          the amount consumers are willing and able to buy changes at each and every price.    

No comments:

Post a Comment