Teacher's Guide - The Curriculum Project

Supply and Demand (cont’d)Factors Affecting SupplyGroupworkPairwork1. Before students open their books, put them into groups of 3-5 and askthem whether they can think of factors (things) that affect Supply. Givethem 5-10 minutes and then ask each group in turn to give you an idea.Write it on the board and see if the other groups agree.2. In pairs, ask the students to complete the exercise, in their notebooks.Give them 20-30 minutes to complete the activity. Then elicit answers fromdifferent pairs and check agreement with the rest of the class.Answers:1. Thet Win owns a factory in Mandalay making umbrellas. In June, the price of umbrellasrises because the rainy season begins and more people want to buy them. Does Thet Windecide to supply more or less umbrellas to the market? Why?Answer: Thet Win decides to supply more umbrellas to the market, because more peoplewant to buy them, so he can make more money.2. Lam Mu lives in Rangoon. She makes two kind of jewelry - cheap bracelets made ofsilver, and expensive rings made with gold and precious stones. Many people have enoughmoney to buy the bracelets, but only a few people have enough money to buy the rings.Does she make more rings or bracelets? Why?Answer: Lam Mu makes more bracelets than rings because the bracelets are much cheaperthan the rings and so more people are able to buy them.3. Mahn Mahn owns a forge near Mawlamyine. He makes iron farming tools. One day hedecides to produce spare parts for cars as well, as many of the cars in Mawlamyine areold and need regular repair. What happens to the number of farming tools he produceswhen he starts making car parts? Why?Answer: When Mahn Mahn starts making car parts, the number of farming tool that he canproduce decreases, because he has a limited amount for employees, machines and materials.Therefore the supply of farming tools decreases.4. Ye Min owns a chicken farm in Lashio. She sells eggs and meat from the chickens.Demand for eggs is high, so she decides to buy 25% more chickens and produce moreeggs. What happens to the amount of chicken meat she supplies? Why?Answer: Because Ye Min now has more chickens, she will able to produce more chicken meat(as well as more eggs). Therefore the supply of chicken meat will increase.5. Eh Moo Ka Baw lives in a village in Nyaunglebin District . The villagers grow rice onthe land near the village. Sometimes, soldiers from the Burmese Army come and destroythe crops or take them away. What happens to the supply of rice in the village? Why?Answer: When the Burmese Army destroys or steals the rice, the supply of rice in the villagedecreases.The Curriculum Project ECONOMICS: an introduction - Teacher’s Guide17