Cornell ECON 1110: Introductory Microeconomics
ECON 1110 is Cornell's introductory microeconomics course, covering supply and demand, elasticity, consumer and producer behavior, market structures, and welfare and policy. It's taught in large lectures, required or recommended across many majors, and pairs with ECON 1120 (macro).
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Cornell University. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
Grades come largely from prelims and a final that favor application: shift this curve, compute that elasticity, compare market structures. The questions are quick individually but cover everything, and curved grading means 'I generally got it' lands mid-pack. Students who skip graph practice because lectures felt clear are the standard casualty.
What you'll cover
- • Supply, demand, and market equilibrium
- • Elasticity
- • Consumer and producer surplus
- • Costs of production
- • Perfect competition and monopoly
- • Market failures and policy
The ECON 1110 study guide
How to study for Cornell ECON 1110, step by step.
- 1
Practice application from week one
ECON 1110's grade rides on exams that test doing (shift this curve, compute that elasticity), so study time belongs in practice problems, not note rereading, from the start.
- 2
Draw graphs by hand until automatic
Supply-demand shifts, surplus regions, cost curves, market structures. Recognizing a correct graph is easy; producing the reasoning behind it is what the questions actually require.
- 3
Drill elasticity computations for speed
Elasticity questions are quick individually but cover everything, and the curve rewards pace. Practice until the calculation and its interpretation both come without hesitation.
- 4
Build a market-structures comparison sheet
Put perfect competition and monopoly side by side: assumptions, demand curves, outcomes, efficiency. Comparison questions are a fixture, and crammed models blur together.
Today's ECON 1110 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for ECON 1110. Yours is built from your syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
- Review: Market failures and policyReview · 25 min
Work back through the ECON 1110 material on market failures and policy. In the app, Fennie builds this from your own notes and syllabus.
- Practice: Supply, demand, and market equilibriumPractice · 20 min
Targeted problems on supply, demand, and market equilibrium, the kind ECON 1110 actually tests.
- Quick quiz: ElasticityQuiz · 10 min
Five generated questions to expose weak spots on elasticity before the exam does.
- Preview: Consumer and producer surplusPreview · 10 min
A first pass over consumer and producer surplus so the next session starts from familiar ground.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is ECON 1110 at Cornell hard?
Moderate. The concepts are intro-level, but curved exams reward precision and speed with graphs and scenarios. Students who practice application questions outperform students who reread notes, almost mechanically.
How do I study for ECON 1110 exams?
Work practice questions in exam format: curve shifts, elasticity calculations, and market-structure comparisons under time. Draw graphs by hand until automatic; recognizing a correct graph is far easier than producing the reasoning, and exams test the reasoning.
Should I take ECON 1110 or ECON 1120 first?
Either works; they're independent. Many students find micro (1110) more concrete as an entry point, but if your schedule favors macro first, there's no real penalty. Many programs expect both.