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Business Cycle Explorer

Run the Business Cycle Explorer MicroSim Fullscreen
Edit in the p5.js Editor

About This MicroSim

This MicroSim visualizes the four phases of the business cycle: Expansion, Peak, Contraction, and Trough. A sinusoidal GDP curve with an upward trend line shows how real GDP fluctuates over time, while color-coded regions highlight each phase. Students can click on any phase to see details about what happens to employment, consumer confidence, and stock markets during that period, with real-world historical examples. Understanding the business cycle helps students recognize that economic ups and downs are a normal part of how market economies function.

How to Use

  1. Click on a Phase Region: Click on any of the four colored regions on the chart (green for Expansion, yellow for Peak, red for Contraction, orange for Trough) to see detailed information in the panel on the right.
  2. Play the Animation: Click "Play Animation" to watch a red dot travel along the GDP curve, automatically highlighting each phase as it passes through. The info panel updates to match the current phase.
  3. Pause and Explore: Click "Pause" to stop the animation at any point and examine the current phase details.
  4. Read the Indicators: Look at the bottom of the chart to see how unemployment, consumer confidence, and stock markets change across different phases.
  5. Reset: Click "Reset" to return the dot to the start and clear the selected phase.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/economics-course/sims/business-cycle-explorer/main.html"
        height="482px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

9-12 (High School Economics)

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Basic understanding of GDP as a measure of economic output
  • Awareness that economies experience periods of growth and decline
  • Familiarity with terms like unemployment and inflation

Activities

  1. Exploration (5 min): Play the animation and watch the dot travel through all four phases. Click on each phase and read the details. Note how the economic indicators (unemployment, confidence, stocks) change from one phase to the next.
  2. Guided Practice (5 min): Click on the Contraction phase and read the historical example (2008 Financial Crisis). Discuss how a contraction differs from a trough. Then click on Expansion and discuss what typically triggers recovery after a trough.
  3. Assessment (5 min): Without looking at the sim, draw a simple business cycle diagram on paper labeling all four phases. Next to each phase, write one characteristic (e.g., "unemployment rising"). Compare your diagram with the sim to check accuracy.

Assessment

  • Students can name and correctly sequence the four phases of the business cycle
  • Students can describe what happens to GDP, unemployment, and consumer confidence during each phase
  • Students can provide a real-world historical example for at least two phases of the business cycle

References

  1. Business Cycle - Wikipedia - Overview of business cycle theory, phases, and historical examples.
  2. Business Cycles - Investopedia - Explanation of the four stages and their economic indicators.
  3. Business Cycle Dating - National Bureau of Economic Research - The official source for US business cycle peak and trough dates.