Why study Economics?

Face it, nobody going to college wants to take economics. You may be good at it, but chances are you find economics to be a challenge and are forced to take the class. So what's the best way to study and pass economics? With College-Cram, of course!

Once you sign up for free, just follow these three steps to getting better grades:

• Learn - access single topic interactive Cramlets™ to help you understand difficult Economics topics like comparing a city's CPI or shifting the demand curve.


• Practice - use our Bottomless Worksheets and Flash Cards to get unlimited amounts of practice (on topics like the supply and demand curve and the price ceiling) until you can't get it wrong.


• Review - work through our Economics quizzes and Smartacus Study Sheets™ to build up your confidence and reinforce your overall understanding of topics like the Price Floor and the Production Possibilities Frontier curve.

What could be easier?

Don't forget, it all starts when you sign up for free.

P.S. As an added bonus, we also have Economics articles that could help you.

December 2006 Newsletter is out

Thanksgiving is over... Every year I swear I won't overindulge, and every year I end up over-turkeyed, over-pied, and sprawled out on the couch. This year was no different in that regard. Finals are almost here too, and that's more pressure than I care for -- just like last year.

What is different, though, is a new look for College-Cram. Acting on your many suggestions, we've reorganized the subject pages to reflect the Learn, Practice, and Review approach and made it easier to find relevant articles. We also gave the overall layout a fresher look. I hope you enjoy it!

Still struggling to breathe,
Professor Cram

Twelve Days of Finals

'Tis the season for proving to your instructor that you've paid attention this semester and maybe learned something, so we composed a "twelve final exam gifts" into a holiday song for your amusement. Enjoy!

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Seven Keys to Getting Better Grades

It would be outstanding if you could mix a few chemicals and make a potion that would get you better grades. Unfortunately, those of us not named Harry Potter can't rely on magic -- we need to work at it.

Fortunately, there are some best practices that will help you do better next semester. Make these seven keys your New Year's resolution and you'll have a better report card come springtime.

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End-of-Semester Survey

This semester we transformed College-Cram.com into the free study resource that students have been clamoring for. In order to help keep it a free and growing resource, we ask that you take a minute to fill out this survey to help us keep helping you. Thanks!

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Ask Professor Cram: Finding Unit Sales

Dear Professor Cram:
When annual sales, variable cost, contribution margin, fixed costs, and operating income are all known, how can the number of units be determined?

Elias, Baker College

Thanks for your question, Elias.
The categories you mention are actually more information than is required, but that is not unusual in word problem assignments. I am going to show how to do it using my own example, since you didn't give me a specific problem to solve. Here is my example - let's say:

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Ask Professor Cram: Using the Sine Function

Dear Professor Cram:
An escalator is 152 feet in length rises to a platform and makes a 30 degree angle with ground. Find the height of the platform using a trigonometry equation.

Ekta, Middlesex Community College

The problem you describe is a classic sine function equation. Imagine the platform at the top of a right triangle...

Read more

Friends of Professor Cram: Smartacus

This is the first of an occasional mention of companies local to the Dallas/Fort Worth area that are friends of Professor Cram. I encourage you to look them all up and give them your business, if you're in the market for what they offer.

The Smartacus Corporation is a web development company covering the DFW Metroplex, from Grapevine and Flower Mound to Mansfield and Burleson and points in between. They are web developers who specialize in web design, accessibility, and search engine optimization (SEO). The folks at Smartacus developed the database-driven College-Cram.com website, and have done some amazing things with search engine optimization (SEO) for the site.

Need web design in Grapevine? Want better search engine optimization (SEO) in Burleson? Missing web accessibility in Arlington? Give the Smartacus office a call.

Why study Algebra?

Face it, nobody going to college wants to take algebra. Either you're already good at math and don't need it, or you find math to be a challenge and are forced to take it. Either way, you end up stuck with it. So what's the best way to study and pass College Algebra? With College-Cram, of course!

Once you sign up for free, just follow these three steps to getting better grades:

• Learn - access single topic interactive Cramlets™ to help you understand difficult College Algebra topics like solving quadratic equations and factoring trinomials.


• Practice - use our Bottomless Worksheets and Flash Cards to get unlimited amounts of practice (on topics like finding the slope of a line and using the FOIL method) until you can't get it wrong.


• Review - work through our College Algebra quizzes and Smartacus Study Sheets™ to build up your confidence and reinforce your overall understanding of topics like complex numbers and the properties of equality and inequality.

What could be easier?

Don't forget, it all starts when you sign up for free.

P.S. As an added bonus, we also have College Algebra articles that could help you.

Why study Accounting?

Some of us take accounting because we love it, but the rest of us take it because it's a requirement for our business degree. So what's the best way to study Accounting? With College-Cram, of course!

Once you sign up for free, just follow these three steps to getting better grades:

• Learn - access single topic interactive Cramlets™ to help you understand difficult Accounting topics like declining balance depreciation and present value.


• Practice - use our Bottomless Worksheets and Flash Cards to get unlimited amounts of practice (on topics like markups and markdowns) until you can't get it wrong.


• Review - work through our Accounting quizzes and Smartacus Study Sheets™ to build up your confidence and reinforce your overall understanding of topics like cost of goods sold and depreciation methods.

What could be easier?

Don't forget, it all starts when you sign up for free.

P.S. As an added bonus, we also have Accounting articles that could help you.

Why study Chemistry?

Some of us just like the subject, but most of us take it because we have to. So what's the best way to study Chemistry? With College-Cram, of course!

Once you sign up for free, just follow these three steps to getting better grades:

• Learn - access single topic interactive Cramlets™ to help you understand difficult Chemistry topics like Avogadro's Number, the Periodic Table, and chemical bonding.


• Practice - use our Bottomless Worksheets and Flash Cards to get unlimited amounts of practice (on topics like chemical symbols and mole conversions) until you can't get it wrong.


• Review - work through our Chemistry quizzes and Smartacus Study Sheets™ to build up your confidence and reinforce your overall understanding of topics like stoichiometry and organic formulas.

What could be easier?

Don't forget, it all starts when you sign up for free.

P.S. As an added bonus, we also have Chemistry articles that could help you.

Time to give thanks

Among other things, I'm thankful that we've finally finished out redesign of the College-Cram website. It does a better job of highlighting our study philosophy of Learn/Practice/Review, gives you better access to past articles, and more. Plus, it just looks way cooler this way!

November Newsletter is here!

Mid-terms are over, US elections are over, Halloween is over. As winter approaches, it's time to start thinking about next semester. Sure, this semester has some life left in it yet, so don't lose sight of that. Still, you'd better start mapping out your spring and summer semesters to make sure you get the courses you want (or need).

What advice do you have for your fellow students on getting the classes they want? Send us an email and you might see your comments in our next newsletter!

Staying out of the cold,

Professor Cram

Finding a Holiday Job

Every year at this time, tons of retailers prepare for holiday shoppers by hiring seasonal workers. For the typical college student, getting a holiday job is also an annual occurence. So how do you find a prime holiday job? Here are some tips for a productive (and profitable) job search:
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How to Write an Essay

Many of you are thanking the "test gods" because you just found out that your final exam is a multiple choice with some true and false, but others are down in the dumps because they are having an essay exam. Don't fret -- Professor Cram is here to help you out, so let's look at how best to prepare for it.
Read more

New Tutorial: About Aqueous Reactions

Are you taking Chemistry this semester? If so, you'll benefit from this latest addition to our Cramlet family. It's a brief tutorial that describes the terminology involved and explains the different kinds of aqueous reactions.
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Can You Help?

This semester we transformed College-Cram.com into the free study resource that students have been clamoring for. In order to help keep it a free and growing resource, could you take a minute to fill out this survey to help us keep helping you? Thanks!
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Ask Professor Cram: Expanding a Rational Expression

Dear Professor Cram:

I am taking a distance learning college algebra course, so I am left on my own to some extent to learn the material. I'm just beginning to work problems like: (5x²/6y²)³

The book I'm using doesn't give me an example of this type of problem. Where do I start?

Marilyn D., Lancaster, CA

Thank you for using College-Cram.com and for your Algebra question.

The best way to expand this rational expression is to recall that raising anything to the power of three means to multiply it by itself three times:
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Ask Professor Cram: Resistance in a Series Circuit

Dear Professor Cram:

I have a question about series circuits. There are 3 resistors, R1 is 10kohms/.5W and R2 is 3.3kohms/.250W and the third is unknown. If the circuit draws a current of 1.5mA from a 27V source, how do i calculate the ohmic value of the third resistor?

Nicholas, Mohawk College

Thank you for your question, Nicholas. Physics is not normally my forte, but I can certainly help you with this one. Our first step is to determine the power and resistance for the circuit as a whole:
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Ask Professor Cram: Using the Graphing Method

Dear Professor Cram:

What is the solution to the system of equations: x = y and x = -y?

KG, US Navy

KG, thank you for this algebra question. The easiest way to solve this system of equations problem is by using the graphing method, as shown in the illustration:
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Halloween Newsletter

This was a magical time of year when I was a kid. All year our parents made us behave and act civilized, but on Halloween they dressed us up in weird outfits and sent us out into the streets to beg for candy!

These days, I get a kick sitting on my porch giving out candy and watching all the little kids in their costumes. (I still shake my head at the high schoolers that should have given this up years ago...)

In this newsletter, we have mostly treats for you but one potential trick. Read on!

Trick or Treat,

Professor Cram

And Then There Were Two...?

At first glance, the news that Thomson is selling their college textbook publishing business seems unlikely to be of much interest to the average college student. However, this may end up being the biggest and costliest trick you get this Halloween.
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Tricks and Treats to Studying

Just run a Google on how to study and you will find over 268 million entries all boasting theories or techniques for success. So what study habits are most effective?
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New Tutorial: Using the Periodic Table

All of our science textbooks have a Periodic Table in the front cover, but neglect to explain how to use the thing. If you take Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, or any other science, you need to check this out.
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Ask Professor Cram: Two Cars Algebra Problem

Dear Professor Cram:

One automobile starts out from a town at 8am and travels at an average speed rate of 35mph. Three hours later a second automobile starts out to overtake the first. If the second automobile travels at an average rate of 55mph how long before it overtakes the first?

Holly F., Madison Area Technical College

Thank you for your interest in College-Cram, Holly, and thanks for your question.

Your question is a variant of the classic A train leaves Chicago going... question you see on tests like the SAT, but do not let that alarm you...
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Ask Professor Cram: Velocity Vectors

Dear Professor Cram:

An executive flew his corporate jet to a meeting in a city 1500 kilometers away. After traveling the same amount of time on return flight, the pilot mentioned that they still had 300 km to go. The air speed of the plane was 600 km/hr for both legs. Assuming that the wind direction was parallel to the flight path and constant all day, how fast was the wind blowing?

Ekta, Middlesex Community College

Ekta, thank you for this physics question involving vectors. Let us see how we can tackle it.
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Ask Professor Cram: Square Roots

Dear Professor Cram:

First I must tell you, that I am so happy to have found your site, it has given me hope that I can learn what I need to advance in my college studies. Here is my question: how do you find the square root of a radicand?

D. B., University of Louisiana

Thank you for your feedback, we love to hear from people we are helping.

To answer your question, there are a couple of ways of finding a square root without a calculator.
Read more

October Newsletter is out

As US mid-term elections approach on the heels of mid-term exams, it occurs to me just how many similarities there are between government and college. In both cases, we've been compelled up to this point to follow along what others wanted from us, but now we're finally in a position to make our own choices (for good or ill). Thankfully, we don't get the chance to change our elected officials as frequently as some of us change our majors!

So as both mid-terms approach, do prepare yourself. Study the choices in front of you and make informed decisions based on individual merits. Above all, don't forget to show up!

Do or do not - there is no 'try',
Professor Cram

Read this latest newsletter, including articles on
how to give a presentation, how to take a test you haven't prepared for, and more.

How to use the periodic table

Most of my science textbooks had a periodic table in the front or back cover. None of them, though, told me how to read the bloody thing. Check out a great tutorial at College-Cram on using the periodic table.

New learning materials on cell biology

We have some new tutorials on cell membranes at our College-Cram Biology page:

Active Transport is the mediated process of moving molecules and other substances across membranes....

Passive Transport is the cellular process of moving molecules and other substances across membranes....

Endocytosis is a cellular process where cells absorb molecules or substances from outside the cell by engulfing it with the cell membrane....

Exocytosis is a cellular process where cells eject waste products or chemical transmitters (such as hormones) from the interior of the cell....

All these and more help students study their biology coursework in less time.

Big Whoop! Watch Videos and Learn for Free, Why!

Reading the following story on CNN about Yale offering free video classes on-line made me think, "yeah I can go to Yale now."

Interesting that it doesn't earn any credit and cannot be a substitute for "actually teaching." Why take it! Is this the best e-learning can offer, a free web video from Yale?

We are offering over 500 hundred interactive learning modules at College-Cram.com and we didn't need $755,000 to do it. The money would have been nice, but we did it because we truly care about students learning and succeeding in class.

Rewind that I didn't get it, boring!

Professor Cram

Read more at www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCAT...

Attention all advertisers

OK, maybe just some of you...

College-Cram is now offering access to our large and growing subscriber base. Want to get your message in front of college students across the country and around the world? Give us a shout!

(Check out demographics, media kit, pricing, etc. at our advertiser page.

September Newsletter

Another new school year begins...

For you, that means new classes. For us, it means making College-Cram totally free for everyone. You've responded overwhelmingly and positively over the past month, so we're going to keep doing what we can to help you -- cranking out more Cramlets™ and answering your questions. You can help too by sending us more questions and by spreading the word about College-Cram. Got a web page on Facebook or MySpace? Add a link to us!

This month we have an article written for us by one of our student-subscribers. She's been a longtime friend to Professor Cram, and her insights are particularly appropriate for this time of the year.

The bell has rung, and the seats are filling up. It's time for all of us to get back to work. Enjoy!

Go get 'em,
Professor Cram

A Brave New World

(Submitted by a fellow student)
After high school, my expectations towards college were tempered with the stereotypes shown on television and movies. After my first week there, though, I came to recognize a startling number of differences -- college is completely different from high school.
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Calling All Authors

Have you ever thought, "I could do better than that" after reading an article? If so, then Professor Cram wants you!
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Ask Professor Cram: Deadweight Loss

Dear Professor Cram:
I am doing my microeconomics paper at present, and am working on this question: "Assuming the supply and demand curves for cars given below, calculate the deadweight loss that results from a tax of $100 per car collected by the sellers. I am struggling to graph this, can you help please?
Joanne M., New Zealand

Thank you for using College-Cram.com and thank you for your excellent question about deadweight loss.
Deadweight loss is an economic inefficiency - in this case introduced by a tax on a product. The tax raises the price to the buyer but not for the seller, resulting in equilibrium for supply and demand moving from the point of efficiency.

Read more

Ask Professor Cram: Systems of Linear Equations

Dear Professor Cram:
Jerry was 1/3 as young as his grandfather 15 years ago. If the sum of their ages is 110, how old is Jerry's grandfather? What is the easiest way to calculate this? Thanks
Kaye B, Riverdale
Thanks for your word-problem question, Kaye. This is a system of linear equations problem, which we'll solve using the Substitution Method. Let's review the facts first:

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Ask Professor Cram: Financial Ratio Analysis

Dear Professor Cram:
Can you explain to me the concept of ratio analysis and the limitations of ratio analysis? Thanks!
Ken S., Hong Kong
Thanks for your question, Ken. In Finance, ratio analysis is generally used to compare the performance or position of a single company with other companies or with an industry.

Read more

See the complete September newsletter

The tests, they are a-coming...

For many of us, test time is rapidly approaching. Are you ready for it? In case you didn't see them, here are links to newsletter articles on taking good notes in class, getting better grades, and how to write an essay. Follow these suggestions, and this round of tests shouldn't be too bad.

Good luck!
Professor Cram

Sshhhh... don't tell anyone

We've been hard at work here at College-Cram getting a surprise ready for you. If you're into music, you're going to like this...

Nose to the grindstone,
Professor Cram

Happy New Year

We've made it through another year, and 2006 is spread before us. To celebrate the start of another school semester, we're offering a special sale -- get a five-month premium upgrade for the three-month price.

(Or, you can look at it as "buy a three-month and get two extra months free.")

Either way it's a great deal for you, but since it expires at the end of January you better hurry.

Saving you cash,
Professor Cram