Thinking Like an Economist

1. Whichofthefollowingisnotcorrect?

a. Economistsusesomefamiliarwordsinspecializedways.

b. Economicshasitsownlanguageanditsownwayofthinking,butfewotherfieldsofstudydo.

c. Supply,demand,elasticity,comparativeadvantage,consumersurplus,anddeadweightlossarealltermsthat are partoftheeconomist’slanguage.

d. Thevalueoftheeconomist’slanguageliesinitsabilitytoprovideyouwithanewandusefulwayofthinking aboutthe worldinwhichyoulive.

2. Economistsusesomefamiliartermsinspecializedways

a. tomakethesubjectsoundmorecomplexthanitis.

b. becauseeveryrespectablefieldofstudyhasitsownlanguage.

c. toprovideanewandusefulwayofthinking abouttheworld.

d. becauseitwastoodifficulttocomeupwithnewterms.

3. Thelanguageofeconomicsis

a. needlesslyarcane.

b. valuablebecauseitprovidesanewandusefulwayoflearning abouttheworld.

c. easytolearnwithinaday.

d. unnecessarytolearnforathorough understandingofeconomics.

Multiple Choice – Section 01: The Economist as Scientist

1. Economists,likemathematicians,physicists,andbiologists,

a. makeuseofthescientificmethod.

b. trytoaddresstheirsubjectwithascientist’sobjectivity.

c. devisetheories,collectdata,andthenanalyzethesedatainanattempttoverifyorrefutetheirtheories.

d. Alloftheabovearecorrect.

2. Theessenceofscience is

a. thelaboratoryexperiment.

b. thescientificmethod.

c. thestudyofnature,butnotthestudyofsociety.

d. Alloftheabovearecorrect.

3. Thescientificmethodis

a. theuseofmoderntechnologytounderstandthewaytheworldworks.

b. theuseofcontrolledlaboratoryexperimentstounderstandthewaytheworldworks.

c. thedispassionatedevelopmentandtestingoftheoriesabouthowtheworldworks.

d. thesearchforevidencetosupportpreconceivedtheoriesabouthowtheworldworks.

4. Thescientificmethodisapplicabletostudying

a. naturalsciences,butnotsocialsciences.

b. socialsciences,butnotnaturalsciences.

c. bothnaturalsciencesandsocialsciences.

d. Noneoftheaboveiscorrect.

5. Whosaid,”Thewholeofscienceisnothingmorethantherefinementofeverydaythinking”?

a. IsaacNewton

b. AlbertEinstein

c. AdamSmith

d. BenjaminFranklin

6. AlbertEinsteinoncemadethefollowingobservationaboutscience:

a. “Thewholeofscienceisnothingmorethantherefinementofeverydaythinking.”

b. “Thewholeofscienceisnothingmorethananinterestingintellectualexercise.”

c. “Inordertounderstandscience,onemustrelysolelyonabstraction.”

d. “Inordertounderstandscience,onemusttranscendeverydaythinking.”

7. SirIsaacNewton’sdevelopmentofthetheoryofgravityafterobservinganapplefallfromatreeisanexampleof

a. acontrolledexperimentthatleadtotheformulationofascientifictheory.

b. beingintherightplaceattherighttime.

c. anideawhosetimehadcome.

d. theinterplaybetweenobservationandtheoryinscience.

8. Whichofthefollowingstepsdoesaneconomisttakewhenstudyingtheeconomy?

a. devisetheories

b. collectdata

c. analyzedata

d. Alloftheabovearecorrect.

9. Whichofthefollowingisanexampleofusingthescientificmethodwithanaturalexperiment?

a. measuringhowlongittakesamarbletofallfromatenstorybuilding

b. comparingplantgrowthwithandwithoutasoiladditive

c. trackingthepriceofoilwhenawarintheMiddleEastinterruptstheflowofcrudeoil

d. observingthereactionwhentwochemicalsaremixedtogether

10.Thegoalofaneconomistwhoformulatesnewtheoriesisto

a. provideaninterestingframeworkofanalysis,whetherornottheframeworkturnsouttobeofmuchusein understandinghowtheworldworks.

b. provokestimulatingdebateinscientificjournals.

c. contributetoanunderstandingofhowtheworldworks.

d. demonstratethateconomists,likeotherscientists,canformulatetestabletheories.