Exam 3: Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Pricing Decisions

Classify the following: "Four spades and a heart make a four-flush."

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

Criticize the following claim based on the material from Chapter 3 of the text. MAN IS FATALLY SLAIN-headline sent from Bangs Tapscott

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

Exercise: Are you familiar with the word, "parvenu?" 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.)

Invent three examples of claims containing grouping ambiguities.

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: "A lot of people are living to 100 who never used to."-Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle

Rank the claims in the following set from general to least vague. a. I hear a funny noise in my engine. b. I have an engine problem. c. When I give it gas, I hear this funny sound in my engine. d. My engine makes a strange noise sometimes but not at other times. e. There is an unusual ticking sound in my engine when I accelerate from zero to around thirty.

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: Advertisement: "The Aquaclear water filter-it really will improve the taste and odor of your water."

It is possible for two synonyms to have approximately the same emotive meaning.

Which item in the following set of claims has the most negative emotive meaning? She was a. well-traveled. b. tired. c. exhausted. d. shopworn.

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. Lytton is quite rich, but then, he is a. frugal. b. stingy. c. thrifty. d. miserly. e. greedy. f. a skinflint.

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

Considering the context in which it was most likely uttered, would you say the following claim is ambiguous, too vague, or neither? Why You Want Sex Changes as You Age -American Health/Psychology Today

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

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. Plugs come in many shapes and sizes, but the one-quarter-inch size is usually called a phone plug.

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

Indicate whether this informal definition is by example, by synonym, or analytical: "Real property? Why, your house and land are real property."

Exercise: Find an example of an ambiguous claim in a newspaper or magazine. (Hint: Headlines are sometimes great sources of such claims. Groups of them also float around on the Internet.)

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. "When we talk about formatting we are referring to the ways in which Multiplan [a spreadsheet program] allows us to specify the appearance of our information on the screen and on the printer."-Erwin Schneider, Multiplan User's Guide