Economics- Supply and Gasoline Web Quest

Directions: Write the question and the answers to each question on a separate sheet of paper.

-Go to the website http://www.eia.doe.gov/ and search “Frequently Asked Questions” along the top. Click on the 1st link in the results. Read “What’s up, and down, with gasoline prices lately?”

1) Explain in your OWN WORDS why gasoline prices have gone down and then up again in terms of DEMAND and SUPPLY.


-Go to http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/petroleumproducts.html & scroll to the bottom on the page.

2) (a) What are the products most commonly created from petroleum? (b) Choose one product (NOT automobile gasoline) and discuss how price changes in petroleum could affect the local economy.


-Go to http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/experts/contactexperts.htm and read the page.

3) Can consumers impact the revenue made by certain nations from oil? Explain.


4) Can consumers impact the price of gasoline at the pump? Explain.


-Now, go to the “Can I tell which companies purchase imported crude oil or gasoline?” section, and click on the link in that section on the same page. Then, click on the “Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries” on the next page. Read the “Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries)” list/ chart.

5) What are the top 4 nations from which the US imports oil? How many barrels of oil comes into the US from these countries daily? Do any of these nations surprise you? Why?