Discussion: Scarcity and Opportunity Costs
PDF of disscussion1 is the question. (100 word minimum )
PDF of chapter 2 and chapter2.2 is the knowledge to help to finish DB.
There is the link for the video of chapter 2 pdf.
8/22/2020 Topic: Discussion: Scarcity and Opportunity Costs
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/discussion_topics/382834 1/3
This is a graded discussion: 5 points possible due Aug 23
Discussion: Scarcity and Opportunity Costs
45 45
A fundamental question in Economic is concerned with how we
allocate our scarce resources. As the COVID-19 pandemic
progresses, we are seeing dramatic increases in the number of
COVID-19 patients (particularly those with severe illness) in
many communities, resulting in shortages of critical medical
resources including staffing, beds and ventilators.
Discussion Topics:
1. If you were a supervisor in charge of medical resources
allocation in a local hospital, what method will you use in
allocating scarce medical resources during an emergency?
[Say, which patients should get priority when allocating
ventilators or intensive-care beds? Should it be “first-come, first-
served”? Should it be based on patients’ ability to pay? Should it
be based on expected outcome? Or Should it be based on the
other consideration of patient health benefits?]
2. It is worth bearing in mind that every choice you make has a
cost, called the opportunity cost. What is the Opportunity
Cost of your decision on medical resources allocation?
Share your thoughts.
8/22/2020 Topic: Discussion: Scarcity and Opportunity Costs
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/discussion_topics/382834 2/3
Make your initial posting by 11:59 PM Pacific time on
Sunday, August 23. 100 words minimum.
Respond to at least 2 classmates (with text or video). 50
words minimum. Responses may include describing your own
life experience or other real-world situation related to the post,
adding additional information from assigned content or outside
content, disagreeing respectfully by describing your own
interpretation, proposing a new idea, or asking a probing
question.
Late penalties are 2% per day (including weekends and
holidays). For example, for a discussion that is worth 5 points, if
8/22/2020 Topic: Discussion: Scarcity and Opportunity Costs
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/discussion_topics/382834 3/3
Replies are only visible to those who have posted at least one reply.
Search entries or author
Reply
you turn in one day then you would be deducted 0.10 points; if
you turn in two days late then you would be deducted 0.20
points; and etc.
Unread 8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 1/7
Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost
Get to know Basic Concepts:
Opportunity Cost
Opportunity cost is
one of the most
fundamental concepts
in economics. It refers
to the value a person
could have received
but passed up in
pursuit of another
option.
Due to
scarcity, choices must
be made. Every
choice has an
opportunity
cost. Everyone’s goal
is to make choices
that maximize their
satisfaction.
Opportunity Cost: How Much is Your
Time Worth
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 2/7
Understanding
opportunity cost is
crucial to decision-
making.
Watch the Video:
Opportunity Cost (I)
Watch the Video:
Opportunity Cost (II)
Opportunity CostsOpportunity Costs
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 3/7
Opportunity Cost
Opportunity cost: An opportunity cost is the highest-valued
alternative that must be forgone when a choice is made. In other
words, opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative
or option while making a decision.
Watch the Video:
Lecture: Opportunity Cost
The Cost of Something is What You Give Up to Get ItThe Cost of Something is What You Give Up to Get It
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 4/7
Opportunity Cost: Two Examples
Example#1: An IT worker is offered a new job with a higher
salary in a city with a lower quality of life. The opportunity cost of
the higher salary is a lower quality of life such as reduced air
quality.
Example#2: The opportunity cost of after school violin lessons at
a particular school is the ability to join other after school activities
such as baseball or the chess club.
Watch the Video:
Exercise–Opportunity Cost
1x 0:00 2:55
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 5/7
Measurement of Opportunity Cost
Example#1: Ford Company’s Decision about Production
Watch the Video:
1x 0:00 3:02
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 6/7
Example#2: Gun or Butter Dilemma
Watch the Video:
1x 0:00 0:47
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_2 Opportunity Cost: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-2-opportunity-cost?module_item_id=1202745 7/7
1x 0:00 0:55 8/22/2020 Ch. 2_1 Scarcity, Tradeoff, and Choices: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-1-scarcity-tradeoff-and-choices?module_item_id=1241317 1/5
Ch. 2_1 Scarcity, Tradeoff, and Choices
Scarcity,
Choices,andTrade-offs
1. All economic questions
arise because we want more
than we can get. Our inability
to satisfy all our wants is
called scarcity.
Scarcity means that there
is not enough of an item to
satisfy everyone who wants
it. A fundamental question in
Economic is concerned with
how we allocate our scarce
resources.
Watch the Video:
Scarcity, Choices and Trade-offs
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_1 Scarcity, Tradeoff, and Choices: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-1-scarcity-tradeoff-and-choices?module_item_id=1241317 3/5
For example, given each consumers limited income, a decision
to buy a new car usually means giving up some travel or
postponing furniture purchases.
In 1968, the Rolling Stones
recorded You Cant Always
Get What You Want.
Economists chuckled,
because they had been
singing a similar tune for
decades.
Watch the Video:
Lecture: Scarcity, Choices and Trade-offs
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_1 Scarcity, Tradeoff, and Choices: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-1-scarcity-tradeoff-and-choices?module_item_id=1241317 2/5
Because we face scarcity, we must make choices. Whatever
choice you make, you could have chosen something else. The
scarcity of resources turns every decision into a trade-off.
A trade-off is the giving up of one good or activity in order to
obtain some other good or activity.
People Face TradeoffsPeople Face Tradeoffs
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_1 Scarcity, Tradeoff, and Choices: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-1-scarcity-tradeoff-and-choices?module_item_id=1241317 5/5
The Tradeoff Between Fun and Wages: No Such Thing as a Free LunchThe Tradeoff Between Fun and Wages: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
8/22/2020 Ch. 2_1 Scarcity, Tradeoff, and Choices: Economics CC 2 Sec ON1 (22315) Fall 2020
https://clpccd.instructure.com/courses/21227/pages/ch-2-1-scarcity-tradeoff-and-choices?module_item_id=1241317 4/5
Watch the Video:
“There ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch!”
–The Trade-off between Fun and Wages
If you had to choose, would you rather be a sewer inspector
spending your days underground or a lifeguard on the beach?
Most would say that being a lifeguard is a more fun job, but a
sewer inspector has higher wages to compensate for the less-fun
aspects of the job. In this video, we discuss the trade-off between
fun and wages and show how this illustrates that There aint no
such thing as a free lunch!.
1x 3:03 3:04
