AP Microeconomics 7-Day Cram Plan

You have seven days until the AP Microeconomics exam. This plan lets you review each of the 6 CED units with deeper dives into practice FRQs and graph variations. Aim for 3-4 focused hours per day.

Day 1: Economic Fundamentals (3 hrs)

What to review (60 min)

• Scarcity and opportunity cost: production possibility curve (PPC), comparative advantage (trade, specialization), marginal analysis (why firms choose at the margin).
• Allocative efficiency ($P = MC$): resources allocated to highest-value uses.
• Productive efficiency: minimum ATC, no waste.

What to practice (2 hrs)

• 15 MCQs on PPC, opportunity cost, comparative advantage.
• 1 short FRQ: interpret a PPC graph, identify opportunity cost, explain shift due to technology.

💡 Insight: Many students skip Unit 1, but the exam often includes 1-2 questions on PPC and opportunity cost. Don't underestimate.

Day 2: Supply and Demand Deep Dive (3.5 hrs)

What to review (90 min)

• Determinants of supply: production costs, technology, expectations, number of sellers.
• Determinants of demand: income, preferences, substitutes/complements, future prices, number of buyers.
• Elasticity: price, income, cross-price; midpoint method $\frac{(Q_2-Q_1)/[(Q_1+Q_2)/2]}{(P_2-P_1)/[(P_1+P_2)/2]}$.
• Total revenue test: elastic demand, $\text{TR}$ falls when $P$ rises; inelastic, $\text{TR}$ rises when $P$ rises.
• Surplus, shortage, equilibrium: graphical + algebraic.

What to practice (2.5 hrs)

• 1 FRQ: find equilibrium from equations, calculate elasticity at a point, analyze shift in demand.
• 20 MCQs (half calculator, half conceptual).
• Sketch 5 S&D graphs with different scenarios (tax, subsidy, demand shift).

⚠️ Common trap: Students mix up "quantity demanded changes" (movement along demand) with "demand changes" (shift of the whole curve). These are NOT the same.

Day 3: Perfect Competition + Cost Curves (4 hrs)

What to review (90 min)

• Cost curve relationships: MC intersects AVC and ATC at their minimums; AVC always below ATC (by AFC).
• Profit max rule: $MR = MC$ (general for all firms).
• Perfect competition special case: $P = MR = AR$, so set $P = MC$ to maximize profit.
• Shutdown rule: $P < AVC$ ⟹ shut down (avoid fixed costs if revenue doesn't cover variable costs).
• Long-run equilibrium: entry/exit until $P = \text{minimum ATC}$, zero economic profit.

What to practice (2.5 hrs)

• 1 full FRQ: given cost data (TC, ATC, MC columns), identify profit max quantity, calculate profit/loss, sketch the firm graph.
• 1 side-by-side market + firm FRQ: analyze long-run adjustment after demand increase.
• 25 MCQs on cost curves and firm decisions.

Day 4: Monopoly and Deadweight Loss (4 hrs)

What to review (90 min)

• Monopoly firm: price maker, faces the market demand curve, $MR < P$ (because must lower price to sell more).
• Profit max: still $MR = MC$, but then charge the price on demand curve at that quantity.
• Deadweight loss: monopoly underproduces (restricts output below socially efficient level), creating a DWL triangle between demand and $MC = S$.
• Price discrimination: first-degree (perfect, charge each customer their max willingness to pay), second-degree (quantity-based), third-degree (market-based).
• Allocative efficiency lost: $P > MC$ at equilibrium.

What to practice (2.5 hrs)

• 2 monopoly FRQs: one with deadweight loss shading and calculation, one with price discrimination scenario.
• 20 MCQs on monopoly behavior, barriers, and surplus.

Day 5: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly (3.5 hrs)

What to review (60 min)

• Monopolistic competition: many firms, differentiated products (brand loyalty), short-run profits possible, long-run zero profit (demand shifts down until tangent to ATC).
• Excess capacity: firm produces less than minimum ATC (unlike perfect comp, where long-run output is at minimum ATC).
• Oligopoly: few firms, strategic behavior, game theory (Nash equilibrium, dominant strategies).
• Kinked demand: price stickiness; competitors match price cuts but not price increases.

What to practice (2.5 hrs)

• 1 game theory FRQ: fill in payoff matrix, identify dominant strategies, explain Nash equilibrium.
• 1 monopolistic competition long-run graph FRQ (show entry of new firms, demand shift, zero profit).
• 18 MCQs on market structures and game theory.

Day 6: Factor Markets and Externalities (4 hrs)

What to review (90 min)

• Labor demand: derived demand, MRP = MP × P, downward-sloping (diminishing marginal product).
• Wage determination: competitive labor market ($W = MRP$), monopsony ($W < MRP$, employer has wage-setting power).
• Externalities: positive (spillover benefits, like education) and negative (spillover costs, like pollution).
• MSB vs MPB, MSC vs MPC: social includes external benefits/costs.
• Deadweight loss of externalities: misallocation of resources; Pigouvian tax/subsidy corrects.
• Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient: measure income inequality.

What to practice (2.5 hrs)

• 1 full externality FRQ: graph with MSB/MSC, identify DWL, propose Pigouvian tax/subsidy.
• 1 labor market FRQ (competitive + monopsony comparison).
• 22 MCQs on factor markets, externalities, public goods, inequality.

Day 7: Full Practice + Review (4 hrs)

What to practice (3 hrs)

• 35-40 timed MCQs (mix all topics).
• Timed FRQ set: 1 long (10 pts), 2 short (5 pts each) — full exam simulation.

Review (1 hr)

• Skim last-minute review checklist for formulas and traps.
• Review any FRQs where you lost points.

Score boundaries

Approximate ranges out of 120 total points:

• 5: ~80+
• 4: ~65-79
• 3: ~48-64
• 2: ~35-47
• 1: below ~35

You only need ~67% correct to score a 5. You can leave questions blank and still earn the top score.

Ready to start?

Open the AP Microeconomics topic library → and follow the day-by-day plan above. Good luck.