Guided graph mode
Trace the shock, one step at a time
The AP exam does not just want the final graph. It wants the chain: a shock hits, a curve shifts, that changes an outcome, and sometimes the economy adjusts again on its own. Step through each event below and watch the graph move exactly as your written answer should, one labeled step at a time.
Build a class activityTea Gets Pricier
Supply and DemandA jump in the price of tea (a substitute) shifts demand for coffee right to a new equilibrium.
Equilibrium at Quantity 57, Price ($) 44
Start in equilibrium
The market for coffee begins in equilibrium where supply and demand cross. At this price there is no shortage and no surplus, so price and quantity have no reason to change.
Now try it yourself: shift the curves in a graded FRQ drill, or open this graph in the free sandbox.
Every walkthrough
25 shocks traced end to end. Each has its own page with the full causal chain written out, then the same shock to draw yourself.
- Tea Gets PricierA jump in the price of tea (a substitute) shifts demand for coffee right to a new equilibrium.
- Both Curves Shift: LaptopsRising incomes and better production technology both push the laptop market right, so quantity clearly rises but the price change is ambiguous.
- Output Price Rises, So Does Labor DemandA higher price for the firm's product lifts marginal revenue product, shifting labor demand right.
- More Workers Enter, Wage FallsAn increase in the number of available workers shifts labor supply right, lowering the wage and raising employment.
- Negative Demand Shock and Long-Run Self-CorrectionA fall in aggregate demand causes a recession, then falling wages restore full employment at a lower price level.
- Positive Demand Shock and Long-Run Self-CorrectionA surge in aggregate demand overheats the economy, then rising wages return output to full employment at a higher price level.
- Adverse Supply Shock and the Stagflation DilemmaA sudden rise in input costs shifts SRAS left, causing stagflation and a policy dilemma with no clean fix.
- Expansionary Policy: The Fed Buys BondsThe central bank buys bonds, money supply rises, and the nominal interest rate falls, boosting spending.
- Contractionary Policy: The Fed Sells BondsThe central bank sells bonds or raises reserves, money supply falls, and the nominal interest rate rises to cool spending.
- Crowding Out: Government Deficit BorrowingA large government deficit borrows in the loanable funds market, raising the real interest rate and crowding out private investment.
- A Rise in National SavingHigher national saving shifts the supply of loanable funds right, lowering the real interest rate and raising investment.
- Expansionary Policy: Short Run vs Long RunStimulus buys lower unemployment now, but only higher inflation in the long run.
- Falling Inflation ExpectationsWhen people expect less inflation, the short-run tradeoff improves.
- US Interest Rates Rise: The Dollar AppreciatesHigher US interest rates pull in foreign investors, raising demand for dollars and appreciating the dollar.
- Higher US Inflation: The Dollar DepreciatesHigher US inflation pushes Americans toward foreign goods, increasing the supply of dollars and depreciating the dollar.
- Coffee Beans Get ExpensiveA rise in the cost of an input shifts supply left, raising price and cutting quantity.
- Printers Get Pricier, Ink SuffersA rise in the price of a complement shifts demand left, lowering both price and quantity.
- An Excise Tax on SellersA per-unit tax shifts supply left by the amount of the tax, raising the price buyers pay and cutting quantity.
- A Subsidy to SellersA per-unit subsidy shifts supply right, lowering the price buyers pay and raising quantity.
- Drought Hits the Wheat CropA weather shock shifts supply left, raising price and cutting quantity, with revenue depending on elasticity.
- New Sellers Enter the MarketMore firms in the market shifts supply right, lowering price and raising quantity.
- A Recession Lifts an Inferior GoodFalling income raises demand for an inferior good, so price and quantity both rise.
- Buyers Expect Prices to RiseAn expected future price rise shifts demand right today, raising price and quantity now.
- Both Curves Shift: Price Is Certain, Quantity Is NotDemand rises while supply falls, so price definitely rises but quantity is indeterminate.
- A Recession Hits a Normal GoodFalling income shifts demand for a normal good left, so price and quantity both fall.
Running one of these with a class
Each link below opens the walkthrough as a prediction first. Students say what they think happens to price and quantity, lock it in, and only then watch the graph move. It takes about five minutes, there are no accounts, and nothing is graded or stored. Paste one into Google Classroom as a bell-ringer, or open it on the projector and have the room commit out loud before you press play.
- Tea Gets PricierAP Micro
- A Rise in National SavingAP Macro
- Coffee Beans Get ExpensiveAP Micro
- An Excise Tax on SellersAP Micro
- A Subsidy to SellersAP Micro
- Drought Hits the Wheat CropAP Micro
- New Sellers Enter the MarketAP Micro
- Buyers Expect Prices to RiseAP Micro
- A Recession Hits a Normal GoodAP Micro
Common questions
- What is a graph walkthrough?
- It is a guided, step-by-step animation of an economic event on one AP Economics graph. You advance one step at a time, the curves shift as the causal chain unfolds, and each step explains what just moved and why. It is the watch-and-learn companion to actively drawing the graph yourself.
- Why does tracing a shock step by step matter for the AP exam?
- AP free-response questions reward showing the full chain of cause and effect, not just the final answer. The walkthroughs model exactly that habit: a shock hits, one curve shifts, that changes an outcome, which can trigger a further adjustment (like long-run self-correction). Practicing the sequence is how you earn every point on a graph FRQ.
- Which graphs and scenarios are covered?
- Seven core graphs: supply and demand, AD-AS, the money market, loanable funds, the Phillips curve, foreign exchange, and the labor market. Scenarios include multi-step processes a single shift cannot show, such as AD-AS self-correction to the long run, crowding out, and the short-run to long-run Phillips curve adjustment.
Ready to do it yourself? Try the draw-the-graph FRQ drills for graded practice, or explore any model freely in the graph sandbox.