The production possibilities curve (PPC) is a graph that shows all of the different combinations of output that can be produced given current resources and technology. Sometimes called the production possibilities frontier (PPF), the PPC illustrates scarcity and tradeoffs. In this video, we model tradeoffs and scarcity using the example of a hunter-gatherer who can split their time between two activities. Created by Sal Khan.

Learn about the profit maximization rule, and how to implement this rule in a graph of a perfectly competitive firm, in this video.

Market systems only function well when property rights are well defined. Take a deeper dive into the role of property rights in a market system in this video.

Psychology 2e is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for the single-semester introduction to psychology course. The book offers a comprehensive treatment of core concepts, grounded in both classic studies and current and emerging research. The text also includes coverage of the DSM-5 in examinations of psychological disorders. Psychology incorporates discussions that reflect the diversity within the discipline, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities across the globe.

The second edition contains detailed updates to address comments and suggestions from users. Significant improvements and additions were made in the areas of research currency, diversity and representation, and the relevance and recency of the examples. Many concepts were expanded or clarified, particularly through the judicious addition of detail and further explanation where necessary. Finally, the authors addressed the replication issues in the psychology discipline, both in the research chapter and where appropriate throughout the book.

Changes made in Psychology 2e are described in the preface to help instructors transition to the second edition. The first edition of Psychology by OpenStax is available in web view here.

The first chapter provides an overview of the textbook and reviews the history of psychology and its methodology. Psychology is described as a science studying how hereditary (nature) and experiential (nurture) variables interact to influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals. The remainder of the text will be organized in sections entitled “Mostly Nature” (Biological Psychology; Sensation & Perception; Motivation & Emotion), “Mostly Nurture” (Direct Learning; Indirect Learning (i.e., observational learning and language); Cognition), and “Nature/Nurture” (Human Development; Personality; Social Psychology; Maladaptive Behavior; Professional Psychology and Human Potential).

Explores the role of government in the economy, applying tools of basic microeconomics to answer important policy questions such as government response to global warming, school choice by K-12 students, Social Security versus private retirement savings accounts, government versus private health insurance, setting income tax rates for individuals and corporations.

This subject is on regional energy-environmental modeling rather than on general energy-environmental policies, but the models should have some policy relevance. We will start with some discussion of green accounting issues; then, we will cover a variety of theoretical and empirical topics related to spatial energy demand and supply, energy forecasts, national and regional energy prices, and environmental implications of regional energy consumption and production. Where feasible, the topics will have a spatial dimension. This is a new seminar, so we expect students to contribute material to the set of readings and topics covered during the semester.

Price controls have the potential to reduce total surplus. In this video we step through some details on how one kind of regulation, a price ceiling, can reduce economic efficiency. A real world example of a price ceiling is rent control, which some cities have experimented with as a way to control rising housing costs. Created by Sal Khan.

In this video, we review the key features, behavior, and consequences of a monopoly. Created by Sal Khan.

Learn the difference between rivalry and excludability, and how these characteristics determine whether a good is a private good, public good, artificially scarce good, or common resource.

This is an example of a redesigned course that uses the OpenStax PreCaculus Textbook. Emphasis is placed on the structure of course (which is not conics centric) and how homework is implemented. To avoid the financial responsiblity of the student or higher education institution purchasing publisher online homework services like Pearson's MyMathLab, ConnectMath or Aleks; students are assigned exercises from the textbook that have answers available. The strategy is to give access to the answers of the problems so that the students have to prove how the answer was obtained. This allows the students some immediate feedback if their written process does not obtain the solution given in the back of the textbook.This allows the student to recognize that a process, operation or strategy was carried out incorrectly which can be used to draw attention that a question needs to be raised during the next lecture or additional assistance may be required on their journey to mastery of the content.

In this video, walk through the solution to a question on the effect of tariffs from the 2012 AP(R) Microeconomics exam.

Dealing with scarcity is the basis of economics, but what does it mean to say that something is scarce? In this video, we explore the definition of scarcity in economics and how scarce resources are different from free resources.

Changes in the demand for labor affect wage rates. Learn why labor demand changes, and the effect of changes in the demand for labor on labor markets.

A firm shut's down temporarily when it can't cover its variable cost, but it exits the industry for good when it's economic profits are negative. In this video, learn more about how to use a graph of cost curves to determine when a firm shuts down, enters an industry, or exits an industry.

Social Problems: Continuity and Change is a realistic but motivating look at the many issues that are facing our society today. As this book’s subtitle, Continuity and Change, implies, social problems are persistent, but they have also improved in the past and can be improved in the present and future, provided that our nation has the wisdom and will to address them.

Every society faces problems that are more than just individual troubles. In this course we will use a sociological perspective to critically examine the bases of social inequality and the resultant problems in society. We will explore concerns related to families, education, the workplace, the media, poverty, crime, drug abuse, health issues, war and terrorism, the environment and global concerns. We will also look at social action and possible solutions to these problems through both individual and community efforts.

If all costs and benefits are captured by the supply and demand curves, then the market outcome is a quantity where marginal social costs equals marginal social benefit. But what if they don't? In this video, see how markets might produce an inefficient quantity.