Economics · Lesson Plan
Law of Demand
The law of demand says that, all else equal, people buy more of a good as its price falls and less as it rises. This lesson introduces the inverse price-quantity relationship and ceteris paribus, then has the class build a real demand curve by polling how many students would buy a soda at rising prices. Students then complete demand schedules and graph their own demand curves.
For Teachers
Lesson at a glance
- Topic
- Economics
- Grade Level
- Grades 6–10
- Resource Type
- Lesson + Worksheet
- Estimated Time
- 45–60 minutes
- Format
- Lesson + worksheet
- Materials
- Printable lesson, worksheet, whiteboard
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- State the law of demand
- Explain the inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded
- Define ceteris paribus
- Build a demand schedule from data
- Graph a demand curve
Materials
What you’ll need
- Printed lesson and worksheet (one per student)
- Two sodas (one regular, one diet) for the polling demo
- Graph paper or printed grids
- Whiteboard
Key Terms
Vocabulary
- Law of demand
- As price falls, quantity demanded rises (all else equal).
- Quantity demanded
- How much of a good buyers will purchase at a given price.
- Ceteris paribus
- Latin for ‘all other things being equal.’
- Demand schedule
- A table of prices and the quantities demanded at each.
- Demand curve
- A graph of the demand schedule.
- Willing and able
- The two conditions a buyer must meet to count as demand.
For Teachers
Lesson plan
Estimated time: one 45–60 minute class period.
Lesson sequence
- Introduce (10 min). Define the law of demand and ceteris paribus; show a sample demand curve and a change in quantity demanded.
- Build a class curve (15 min). Poll how many students would buy a soda at $.50, $.75, $1.00 … up to $2.00; record the schedule and sketch the curve. Repeat with diet soda and discuss why they differ.
- Worksheet (15 min). Students complete demand schedules that follow the law of demand, then graph them.
- Review (10 min). Check that schedules and curves are correctly labeled with price and quantity.
Assessment
Assess the completed schedules and graphs for correct (downward-sloping) demand relationships.
Discussion
Discussion questions
- What does the law of demand say about price and quantity?
- What does ceteris paribus mean, and why does it matter?
- Why must a buyer be both willing and able to count as demand?
- Why might two products have very different demand curves?
- What does a demand curve look like, and why does it slope that way?
Printable Lesson & Worksheet
Law of Demand — Lesson & Worksheet
A printable law-of-demand lesson with a class demand-curve demo and a worksheet to complete and graph demand schedules.
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