UVA ECON 2010: Principles of Economics: Microeconomics
ECON 2010 is UVA's introductory microeconomics: supply and demand, elasticity, consumer and producer theory, and market structures. It is one of the largest courses at the university and the first step toward the economics major and pre-comm requirements.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with University of Virginia. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
The grade rides on multiple-choice exams that test application: shift the right curve, compute the elasticity, compare the market structures. Each question is quick but the coverage is total, and in a UVA-strength room 'I generally followed lecture' lands mid-curve. Students who skip graph practice because the concepts felt clear are the recurring casualty.
What you'll cover
- • Supply, demand, and equilibrium
- • Elasticity
- • Consumer and producer surplus
- • Costs of production
- • Perfect competition and monopoly
- • Market failures and policy
The ECON 2010 study guide
How to study for UVA ECON 2010, step by step.
- 1
Make practice questions the default study mode
ECON 2010's exams test doing, not recognizing, so study time belongs in application questions from week one, not in rereading notes that already felt clear the first time.
- 2
Draw the graphs by hand until automatic
Curve shifts, surplus regions, cost curves, market structures. Recognizing a correct graph is easy; producing the reasoning behind it under exam time is the actual tested skill.
- 3
Drill elasticity for speed and interpretation
The calculations are simple individually, but exams reward pace and punish hesitation. Practice until the number and what it means both come instantly.
- 4
Build a market-structures comparison sheet
Perfect competition versus monopoly: assumptions, demand curves, output choices, efficiency, side by side. Comparison questions are exam fixtures, and models crammed separately blur together.
- 5
Rehearse the real format before each exam
Timed multiple-choice sets spanning every covered chapter. In a strong curved room, format rehearsal is the difference between knowing the material and scoring like you know it.
Today
Today's ECON 2010 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for ECON 2010. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is ECON 2010 at UVA hard?
The concepts are intro-level, but the exams are fast, comprehensive multiple choice in a strong room; application speed is what's actually graded. Students who practice questions and draw graphs by hand outperform note-rereaders almost mechanically.
Do I need ECON 2010 for McIntire?
Microeconomics is part of the standard pre-comm coursework; most prospective Commerce applicants take ECON 2010 (and usually 2020) early. Requirements evolve, so verify the current McIntire prerequisite list rather than relying on upperclassman folklore.
Should I take ECON 2010 or 2020 first?
They're independent, and either order works. Many students find micro (2010) the more concrete entry point; if scheduling favors macro first, there's no real penalty. Econ-track and pre-comm students typically need both.