Micro 103 — Study Plan
What to read, what to watch, and which decks to drill each day — pointed at the comprehensive Final.
The reality, plainly: the Final is 40% of the grade and comprehensive, so it is where this is won or lost. Exam 3 comes first, and every hour on it also counts toward the Final. Nothing is wasted.
Each week has three parts
read firstThe flashcards summarize the course, but the exam questions come from the books and lectures. Do all three each week:
- Watch that week's video lectures on Canvas (posted Mon & Wed). This is where the professor tells you what matters.
- Read the assigned chapters/essays (see the reading map below). The RSM essays especially — they drive test and extra-credit questions.
- Drill that week's deck here to lock it in and test yourself.
The four books
what the codes meanReading map — what to read each week
from the syllabus| Wk | Topic | Read this |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spontaneous Order | GS 1-2 · HH 1-3 · RSM 1 |
| 2 | History of Economic Thought | CM 1-2 · RSM 2 |
| 3 | The Marginal Revolution | GS 3 · CM 3-4 · HH 8-10 |
| 4 | Supply & Demand + Elasticity | GS 4 · CM 5-6 · RSM 3 |
| 5 | The Price System | GS 7 · HH 15-19 · RSM 4 |
| 6 | Opportunity Cost & Comparative Advantage | GS 8 · RSM 5 |
| 7 | International Trade | GS 16 · HH 11-14 |
| 8 | Theory of the Firm | GS 9 · RSM 6 |
| 9 | Cost Curves & Perfect Competition | GS 10 · RSM 7 |
| 10 | Monopoly & Antitrust | GS 11 |
| 11 | Economics of Information | GS 12 · RSM 8 |
| 12 | Income Determination | GS 13-15 + Special Topics 2-8 · HH 20-22 · RSM 9 |
| 13 | Environment | GS Special Topics 9-10 · RSM 10 |
| 14 | Public Choice | GS 5-6 + Special Topics 1 & 3 · RSM 11-13 |
ST = "Special Topics" sections in the GS textbook.
How to actually use the decks
- 1.Read the question, then look away and say or write the answer out loud BEFORE revealing. The struggle is the learning.
- 2.Reveal. If you missed it, mark it hard so it comes back sooner. Getting it wrong then seeing the answer is how it sticks.
- 3.Rereading notes feels productive but does not work. Active recall does.
After a deck, close it and write 2-3 sentences on the big idea in your own words. If you can teach it, you know it. This is exactly how short-answer and essay questions are graded.
Supply/demand, cost curves, monopoly deadweight loss. Draw them on paper until you can do it from memory. Micro exams love graphs.
The course gives extra-credit questions from the anthology essays (the RSM readings). Nearly free points, and they are already summarized in the decks and the Sections 8-11 Reading Guide.
A realistic day is 60-90 minutes. On a bad day, do the 20-minute minimum below. Consistency beats cramming.
Phase 1 — Exam 3 Sprint (Weeks 9-12)
start todayExam 3 is the next hurdle (25%). About 6 days. Sit the exam on the day Canvas announces.
| Day | Watch lecture + drill deck | Read | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Week 9 — Cost Curves & Perfect Competition (hardest; go slow) | GS 10 · RSM 7 | — |
| 2 | Week 10 — Monopoly & Antitrust | GS 11 | Week 9 misses |
| 3 | Week 11 — Economics of Information | GS 12 · RSM 8 | Weeks 9-10 |
| 4 | Week 12 — Income Determination | GS 13-15 · HH 20-22 · RSM 9 | Weeks 9-11 |
| 5 | Review day — re-drill Weeks 9-12; redraw every graph | re-skim weak spots | all hard cards |
| 6 | Mock day — self-quiz + write two 1-paragraph essays; then SIT EXAM 3 | — | quick pass |
Must be able to explain, not just recognize: explicit vs implicit cost, economic vs accounting profit, MR = MC, the shutdown rule, long-run zero-profit equilibrium, why MR < price for a monopoly, deadweight loss, barriers to entry, marginal revenue product and wages, profit/loss as a signal.
Phase 2 — The Final push (comprehensive)
to July 25The Final covers all 14 weeks. Each day: watch/read one week, deep-dive its deck, and fast-review an older week. Weeks 1-8 get a second pass because those exams hurt. Adjust dates once you know the Exam 3 date.
| Day | Watch + read + deep-dive deck | Read | Review | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Week 1 — Spontaneous Order & The One Lesson | GS 1-2 · HH 1-3 · RSM 1 | Wk 9 | One lesson, seen vs unseen, opportunity cost |
| 2 | Week 2 — History of Thought | CM 1-2 · RSM 2 | Wk 10 | Mercantilism, Smith, Menger, subjective value |
| 3 | Week 3 — Marginal Revolution | GS 3 · CM 3-4 · HH 8-10 | Wk 11 | Marginal utility, water-diamond, the margin |
| 4 | Week 4 — Supply & Demand + Week 4B Elasticity (core; know cold) | GS 4 · CM 5-6 · RSM 3 | Wk 12 | Shifts vs movements; equilibrium; elasticity, total-revenue test |
| 5 | Week 5 — The Price System | GS 7 · HH 15-19 · RSM 4 | Wk 1 | Ceilings/floors, min wage, Hayek knowledge problem |
| 6 | Week 6 — Opportunity Cost & Comparative Advantage | GS 8 · RSM 5 | Wk 2 | PPF; comparative advantage (work the example) |
| 7 | Week 7 — International Trade | GS 16 · HH 11-14 | Wk 3 | Tariffs, trade deficits, who pays |
| 8 | Week 8 — Theory of the Firm | GS 9 · RSM 6 | Wk 4 | Coase, transaction costs, Friedman |
| 9 | Week 13 — Environment | GS ST 9-10 · RSM 10 | Wk 5 | Externalities, tragedy of commons, property rights |
| 10 | Week 14 — Public Choice | GS 5-6 + ST 1&3 · RSM 11-13 | Wk 6 | Government failure, rational ignorance, rent-seeking |
| Final wk A | Review Weeks 1-7 (all hard cards) | — | — | Redraw every graph from memory |
| Final wk B | Review Weeks 8-14 (all hard cards) | — | — | Write 3 practice essays |
| Final wk C | Full shuffle of all 15 decks; light review | — | — | Sleep well |
| JULY 25 | FINAL EXAM, 6-10 pm — eat, do not cram day-of |
The 20-minute minimum
bad daysFor low-energy days. Do NOT skip entirely. 20 minutes every day beats one 3-hour session a week.
- 1.Open today's deck, run it once (recall out loud, mark the hard ones). ~12 min.
- 2.Re-run only the cards you marked hard. ~5 min.
- 3.Write one sentence explaining the single biggest idea. ~3 min.
Highest-yield topics for the Final
if time is short- •Supply & demand (Week 4) — shifts vs movements, equilibrium, surplus/shortage
- •Elasticity (Week 4B) — elastic vs inelastic, the total-revenue test, tax incidence
- •Price controls (Week 5) — ceilings cause shortages, floors cause surpluses, minimum wage
- •Opportunity cost & comparative advantage (Weeks 1, 6)
- •Cost curves & MR = MC (Week 9)
- •Monopoly & deadweight loss (Week 10)
- •The one lesson: seen vs unseen (Week 1) — the whole course runs on this
- •Property rights / tragedy of the commons (Week 13) and public choice (Week 14)