Terms to Know

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 510.

The Basic Problems in Economics.

• economics

• scarcity

• factors of production

•land

• labour

• goods

• services

• capital

• productivity

• entrepreneurship

• technology

scarcity: condition of not being able to have all of the goods and services one wants, because wants exceed what can be made from all available resources at any given time

factors of production: resources of land. labour, capital, and entrepreneurship used to produce goods and services

land: natural resources and sur­face land and water

labour: human effort directed toward producing goods and services

goods: tangible objects that can satisfy people's wants

services: actions that can satisfy people's wants

capital:previously manufactured goods used to make other goods and services

productivity:the amount of out­put (goods and services) that results from a given level of inputs (land, labour, capital)

entrepreneurship: ability of risk-taking individuals to develop new products and start new busi­nesses in order to make profits

technology: advance in knowledge leading to new and improved goods and services and better ways of producing them

Pre-teaching Vocabulary

The students make cross-word puzzles using theTerms to Know. Then in pairs students exchange puzzles.

Reading Objectives

1. How do wants and needs differ?

2. Why does scarcity face all people at all times?

3. What are the four factors of production?

Starting at a very young age, many Americans use the words want and need interchangeably. How often do you think about what you "want"? How many times have you said that you need something? When you say, "I need some new clothes," are you stating a want, or a real need?Economics is the study of how individuals, families, businesses, and societies use limited resources to fulfill their unlimited wants.