Exam 3: Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Pricing Decisions

Discuss whether the vagueness of the following passage is appropriate to the context that is stated or implied. Pay particular attention to the underlined expressions. One demographer thinks that more than 20 percent of the women born in the mid-1950s are childless, a rate that is almost triple that of the previous generation. You will hear this ascribed to a breakdown of traditional values or to rampant selfishness. But this glib explanation misses the deeper truth, which is more subtle and less personal. People haven't suddenly become more selfish. Changing economic and social realities have simply made children less economically essential and, therefore, more a matter of choice. When people urge a return to traditional values, they're talking about the impossible: reversing centuries of economic and technological change that have altered women's roles. Women's liberation is less an idea than the result of changes that, by reducing pressures for childbearing, inevitably led to more educational and job opportunities. -Adapted from a newsmagazine essay

Classify the following: "To philosophers, a realist is a person who believes in the existence of a world outside the mind."

Criticize the following claim based on the material from Chapter 3 of the text. "To make tea, make water not too hot. Too hot water is not for best flavor." -Instructions to an imported tea

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. A precising definition is used to reduce vagueness.

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

Criticize the following claim based on the material from Chapter 3 of the text. "Alcohol is present in about 50 percent of fatal traffic accidents among teenagers."

Considering the context in which it was most likely uttered, would you say the following claim is ambiguous, too vague, or neither? "In Los Angeles, a 'humor wagon' makes weekly visits to hospitals to entertain children with cancer." -UPI article

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. "Now if we set about to find out what... [a] statement means and to determine whether to accept or reject it, we would be engaged in thinking which, for lack of a better term, we shall call critical thinking."- B.Othanel Smith

Rank the claims in the following set from general to least vague. a. Whitney was hungry, so she helped herself to more potatoes. b. "I'm drowning!" she screamed. "Someone help me!" c. Morgan helped her mother at every opportunity. d. Derrick discovered he could not lift the box unless someone helped him by lifting one end. e. The word "help" has four letters in it.

For the following, indicate whether the definition given is by example, by synonym, or analytical: What I mean by setting a good example is not putting your feet on the table.

Considering the context in which it was most likely uttered, would you say the following claim is ambiguous, too vague, or neither? According to the USDA guidelines, you should eat "two to three servings of vegetables each day."

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. Most of the science books in the high school library were published before 1960.

Classify the following: "The simple tools are the pulley, lever, inclined plane, wheel and axle, screw, and wedge."

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. Crime report on television (or in the newspaper): "Police are looking for a white man about thirty years old, with brown hair and brown eyes, and about five feet ten inches tall. He has tattoos on both forearms-a picture of a snake on the right and the word 'mother' on the left."

For "educator," provide an analytical definition that is flattering.

Indicate whether this informal definition is by example, by synonym, or analytical: Interest is an amount paid for the use of borrowed money.

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

For "politician," provide an analytical definition that is flattering.

Rank the claims in the following set from general to least vague. a. His were the most awful, despicable, outrageous crimes that have been committed in this county in the entire century. b. He murdered seven innocent people. c. He shocked the sensibilities of the whole region with his horrible crimes. d. He was guilty of seven felonies and about nine misdemeanors, including murder and abuse of the mails. e. He chopped up seven people and sent their parts to the governor's office.

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