JAMAL PRACHA
CASTLE BUILDING PROJECT
The purpose of this project was to learn about economics and how to manage our budgets in real life. To see how well we were at that we were to build a castle using the economic skills we learned in class with a group of four or five people. Depending on how good you did on the warm up that would be the amount of money you would receive. My group placed 2nd in our class so we got a budget of $40,500. Each one of us had a role and my role was to keep and manage our budget. We, as a group, had to try to fulfill unlimited wants with limited resources.
The process of this project was to buy all the pieces needed for the construction of the castle and then hot glue gun the pieces together on a pieces of flat Styrofoam. Our castle had to have a good defense while taking into consideration that we did not have unlimited resources. Our group also had to experience an opportunity cost which is the loss of benefits when making a decision when deciding whether or not to buy the exact amount of crenellations or a lesser amount of them. Crenellations are gaps on top of walls where archers can fire arrows at the enemies. Our group made a decision and bought less crenellations and then cut them in half to have more. We had to build a castle while still managing a budget of $49,000. By the end of the project we spent $48.876.50.
One challenge that we had was that the supply or amount of glue sticks for the hot glue guns were decreasing so the demand or need for them increased because they were needed to build the castle. The glue sticks became an inelastic good so the demand and price went up because the supply was low but people would still buy them even at $2,000 instead of the original $200.
My first artifact (in slideshow) is my budget sheet that shows the amount of money my group spent and also the amount and types of pieces we bought. In this artifact I learned how to calculate tax better. I think I grew in my ability to communicate because I was able to communicate clearly how much money we had left and how much money we had spent. To me communication means to talk or interact with other so that they could understand what you are trying to tell them. In this case I used writing to tell how much money we had and spent.
My second artifact (in slideshow) is the castle blueprint or planning design incorporated with all of the perimeter, keep, and gatehouse walls. I learned that you must plan your plans out before you buy anything. I think I grew in my ability to be inquisitive because I asked question whether or not my design was cost-efficient or not and if it had good defenses or not. To me inquiry means to ask questions to help you better understand something. In this case I asked questions to help me make the castle better.
By finishing this project this implies that I am able to know when an item is in demand and if the supply of it is low or not. I can know also tell when an item is elastic and inelastic like gasoline which people buy regardless of the amount of money it increases by. This also implies that I know how to decide opportunity costs to make the right decision. This also means that I have learned the basics of economics which can help me later if I am dealing with money in the future.