TJC ECON 2301 FINAL - VOCAB
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 2025/2026
, Economics - ANSWERsocial science concerned with how individuals, institutions, and
society make optimal (best) choices under conditions of scarcity
Scarcity - ANSWERlimited supply of economic resources needed to make goods and
services...demands choices; resources are scarce
Opportunity cost - ANSWERa sacrifice one makes makes choosing between two
things... "choosing is refusing"
Utility - ANSWERthe pleasure, happiness, or satisfaction obtained from consuming a
good or service
"There is no free lunch" - ANSWERResources are used to produce "free" products and
because those resources have alternative uses society gives up something else
Marginal analysis - ANSWERcomparisons of marginal benefits and marginal costs,
usually for decision making
Scientific method - ANSWERconsists of several elements... observing real-world
behavior and outcomes, formulating a possible explanation (hypothesis), testing that
explanation by comparing outcomes of specific events to hypothesis outcome,
accepting/rejecting/modifying explanation, continue to test hypothesis
Economic principle - ANSWERa statement about economic behavior or the economy
that enables prediction of the probable effects of certain actions
Other-things-equal assumption - ANSWERthe assumption that factor other than those
being considered do not change
Microeconomics - ANSWERpart of economics concerned with decision making by
individual customers, workers, households, and business firms
Macroeconomics - ANSWERexamines the performance and behavior of the economy
as a whole; attention goes to economic growth, the business cycle, interest rates,
inflation, and the behavior of major economic aggregates such as the government,
household, and business sectors
Aggregate - ANSWERa collection of specific economic units treated as if they were one
unit
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 2025/2026
, Economics - ANSWERsocial science concerned with how individuals, institutions, and
society make optimal (best) choices under conditions of scarcity
Scarcity - ANSWERlimited supply of economic resources needed to make goods and
services...demands choices; resources are scarce
Opportunity cost - ANSWERa sacrifice one makes makes choosing between two
things... "choosing is refusing"
Utility - ANSWERthe pleasure, happiness, or satisfaction obtained from consuming a
good or service
"There is no free lunch" - ANSWERResources are used to produce "free" products and
because those resources have alternative uses society gives up something else
Marginal analysis - ANSWERcomparisons of marginal benefits and marginal costs,
usually for decision making
Scientific method - ANSWERconsists of several elements... observing real-world
behavior and outcomes, formulating a possible explanation (hypothesis), testing that
explanation by comparing outcomes of specific events to hypothesis outcome,
accepting/rejecting/modifying explanation, continue to test hypothesis
Economic principle - ANSWERa statement about economic behavior or the economy
that enables prediction of the probable effects of certain actions
Other-things-equal assumption - ANSWERthe assumption that factor other than those
being considered do not change
Microeconomics - ANSWERpart of economics concerned with decision making by
individual customers, workers, households, and business firms
Macroeconomics - ANSWERexamines the performance and behavior of the economy
as a whole; attention goes to economic growth, the business cycle, interest rates,
inflation, and the behavior of major economic aggregates such as the government,
household, and business sectors
Aggregate - ANSWERa collection of specific economic units treated as if they were one
unit
