Exam 3: Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Pricing Decisions

For "conservative (noun)," provide an analytical definition that is unflattering.

Any definition by example of the word "dog" would also be a definition by example of the word "animal."

Arrange the lettered items below in order of increasingly favorable emotive meaning. Instructor and/or students may want to fuss about some of our rankings in these problems. We've said (a) = (b) when (a) and (b) seem equally favorable to us. Karl's diet really took the pounds off; he looks really a. slender. b. thin. c. svelte. d. trim.

Classify the following: "When I saw my old crowd at my high school reunion, I suddenly realized what the phrase 'motley crew' really meant."

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: She looks more like her mother than her father.

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

Which item in the following set of claims has the most negative emotive meaning? When he told others what he thought of them, he was a. honest. b. blunt. c. ruthless. d. rude.

Classify the following: "Skiing-outdoor fun combined with knocking down trees with your face."-Dave Barry

Using a name or description of an item that you can't point to, provide a definition by example for "industrial hazard." If you have difficulty doing so, try to identify the source of the trouble.

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. "... what we call temperature is nothing else but a measurement of the degree of molecular agitation [in a substance]."-George Gamow, One, Two, Three... Infinity

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

Exercise: Are you familiar with the word, "trenchant?" Provide a definition. If the term is unfamiliar, make a guess about its meaning based on its appearance or sound, and create your own definition. Then look the word up, and find out how close you got. (We provide a thumbnail meaning as answer.)

Indicate whether this informal definition is by example, by synonym, or analytical: "Either" is a disjunctive correlative used before two or more words, phrases, or clauses that are joined by "or."

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: He dislikes her smoking.

Classify the following: "Conservative, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from a liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."-Ambrose Bierce

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: From an accident report: In my attempts to kill a fly I drove into a telephone pole.

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: Did he tell you what he said in his email?

Exercise: Find an example in a radio or television advertisement of a claim that is vague enough to add nothing new to a potential buyer's information. (These are easy to find-your instructor may require a number of them.)

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. Every account that Delwood has worked on has come back with computational errors in it.

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: From a rebate offer sticker for Johnson's vinegar: "Mail this form, along with a proof of purchase from a one-quart bottle of Johnson's Vinegar, to the address below. You'll receive your $1.00 rebate check in about four weeks."