Exam 3: Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Pricing Decisions

It is possible to explain the meaning of the word "thing" by using a definition by example.

Classify the following: "'It was a dark and stormy night' is what I mean by 'cliché.'"

Invent three examples of semantically ambiguous claims.

Criticize the following claim based on the material from Chapter 3 of the text. LOUISIANA GOVERNOR DEFENDS HIS WIFE, GIFT FROM KOREAN -Headline in Milwaukee Journal

For "physicians," provide an analytical definition that is unflattering.

Rank the claims in the following set from general to least vague. Joanna a. is left of center in her political views. b. has voted for the socialist candidate for president in the last four elections. c. usually doesn't vote for Republicans. d. is a liberal.

Evaluate the following claim, paying particular attention to problems of clarity. Note that claims may also present problems of knowability, though we don't address knowability per se in this chapter. Nobody under seventeen is permitted unless accompanied by an adult.

For the following, indicate whether the definition given is by example, by synonym, or analytical: The oud is a stringed musical instrument shaped much like a guitar and played primarily in Middle Eastern countries.

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: Take two of these pills three times daily before meals.

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: She watched him dance with intensity.

Which item in the following set of claims has the most negative emotive meaning? Luigi is a. clumsy. b. like a bull in a china shop. c. a klutz. d. not very well coordinated.

For the term, "Marxism," invent a persuasive definition (either positive or negative). Remember, persuasive definitions can be analytical definitions, definitions by example, or definitions by synonym.

Identify any unnecessary and potentially offensive references to gender, race, or other features in the following passage and, as necessary, rewrite the passage in neutral language. The one hundred most highly paid chief executives in America are paid from one million to twenty-seven million dollars a year. The men in those jobs cannot possibly be worth that kind of money.

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: "I can't tell you how much I love you. You make me very happy."

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: Teacher to student: "How long should your term paper be? As long as it takes to do justice to your subject."

Criticize the following claim based on the material from Chapter 3 of the text. "Bruce Sutter has been around for a while and he's pretty old. He's thirty five years old. That will give you some idea of how old he is."-Ron Fairly, San Francisco Giants broadcaster (quoted in Ross and Petras, The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said)

Define "decayed" by synonyms, using one synonym that carries a complimentary meaning and one that carries a derogatory emotive meaning.

Considering the context in which it was most likely uttered, would you say the following claim is ambiguous, too vague, or neither? "Men burn off 438 calories per hour gardening." -Breakthroughs

Classify the following definition according to its use: to reduce vagueness, to introduce or explain a new or unusual word, to evoke an attitude about something, or to accomplish some other purpose. "Marriage is not only a divine institution, but is the only one instituted in the Garden of Eden which has come down with its continuous line of blessings to the present time." -Sylvanus Stall, What Every Young Man Should Know (1904)

Definitions are used only to clarify the meaning of expressions that are not understood.