Introduction
Students have read about the law of demand. In this lesson, students will learn how a changing population can affect demand, and how the change in demand affects the number of firms in an industry.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Census Bureau's Web site to estimate population changes in age categories. Students will also read a description of market changes in purchases of goods by a special category of consumers—grandparents. They will answer four questions and apply this information by writing a plan for the manufacture and sale of a product targeted to grandparents.

Previous Knowledge Expected
Voluntary Exchange: buyers and sellers freely choose to engage in transactions, believing they will be better off (happier or richer)
Law of Demand: an inverse relationship exists between quantity demanded and price
Law of Supply: a direct relationship exists between price and the quantity supplied

Applied Content Standards (from the National Council on Economic Education)
Standard 8: Prices send signals and provide incentives to buyers and sellers. When supply or demand changes, market prices adjust, affecting incentives.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will be able to estimate an increase in demand for a product given population estimates in age categories over a period of years.
2. Students will be able to use this knowledge to write a plan for business growth.

Student Web Activity Answers
1-4: Teacher may prepare an answer sheet from the most recent Census Bureau chart.
5: Students' reports should include production and marketing plans and charts or graphs to support their conclusions.

Go To Student Web Activity