In your opinion, do unions have a useful, even necessary, role to play in the modern American economy? How do you think unions affect the current economy? In what ways might the economy be improved if unions were stronger, or how might the economy be weakened by more unionization? Defend your point of view with facts and evidence in a one-page paper.

Design a controlled experiment to demonstrate that birds do not spontaneously generate on bird feeders.

Solve each equation or inequality. If there is no solution, write no solution.

$$| 2 d | + 3 = 21$$

Design an algorithm to convert the change given in quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies into pennies.

The Modern Language Association plans a three-day meeting. The program committee requests 15 overhead projectors for the first day, 28 for the second day, and 19 for the third day. Projectors may be rented for a single day for $17, and they may be rented for two consecutive days for$30. How many should be rented for a single day and how many should be rented for two consecutive days to minimize rental costs?

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there is a violent crime in the United States every 22 seconds ( $A B C$ News, September 25, 2007). Assume that the time between successive violent crimes is exponentially distributed.

a. What is the probability that there is a violent crime in the United States in the next one minute?

b. If there has not been a violent crime in the previous minute, what is the probability that there will be a violent crime in the subsequent minute?

The writer's opinion statement about the play is best stated in _____. A. the first sentence of paragraph 1 B. the last sentence of paragraph 1 C. the last sentence of paragraph 2 D. the first sentence of the last paragraph

Experiment Design an experiment to show that the process of respiration occurs in living yeast cells.

William Prout (1815) proposed that all other atoms are built up of hydrogen atoms, suggesting that all elements should have integral atomic masses based on an atomic mass of one for hydrogen. This hypothesis appeared discredited by the discovery of atomic masses, such as $24.3 \mathrm{u}$ for magnesium and $35.5 \mathrm{u}$ for chlorine. In terms of modern knowledge, explain why Prout's hypothesis is actually quite reasonable.

You design an experiment to test the effectiveness of a vaccine against a strain of influenza. In the experiment, 100,000 people receive the vaccine and another 100,000 people receive a placebo. Identify a potential problem with the experimental design. Then describe how you can improve it.

Palm oil is one of the world's most versatile raw materials. It is estimated that it is an ingredient in $50 \%$ of all products sold by a typical supermarket. It is used in a wide range of products from margarine, cereals, crisps, sweets and baked goods to soaps, washing powders and cosmetics but it is often listed as just 'vegetable oil'. So, its production benefits customers of these products. In addition, an estimated $1.5$ million small farmers grow the crop in Indonesia, along with about $500000$ people directly employed in the sector in Malaysia, plus those connected with related industries. The governments of these countries have encouraged production as it is a major export for these economies.

However, the industry has a poor image. Palm oil production has led to deforestation with a resulting negative impact on climate change. There has been substantial loss of wildlife habitat, even endangering the orangutan. Palm oil companies have been accused by community groups of driving native people off their land which is then used for palm oil production. Socially responsible businesses, such as KL Kepong in Malaysia, have agreed to an ethical code which aims to make palm oil production 'sustainable' with fair treatment for all local populations affected by it. However, many companies have been accused of breaking the code as there is no strong world body to stop them behaving irresponsibly. In any case, food manufacturers want to maximise profits and final consumers want the cheapest raw materials possible.

Analyse the impact on these two stakeholder groups of a decision by KL Kepong to close one of its palm oil plantations

Design a problem to help other students better understand how inductors work.

How did the creation of the Fed improve our banking system?

Understanding the evolution of our banking system is important because it helps us understand the features of modern banking. Today we have a managed money supply that is accepted by everyone simply because people have faith in it. Which of the following is true about our banking system today?

c) Our banking system is shifting away from electronic bookkeeping.

The following are nine technical accounting terms introduced or emphasized in this chapter:

$$\begin{array}{lll}\text { Responsibility margin } & \text { Transfer price } & \text { Common fixed costs } \\ \text { Contribution margin } & \text { Cost-plus transfer price } & \text { Traceable fixed costs } \\ \text { Performance margin } & \text { Product costs } & \text { Committed fixed costs }\end{array}$$

Each of the following statements may (or may not) describe one of these technical terms. For each statement, indicate the accounting term described, or answer "None" if the statement does not correctly describe any of the terms.

c. Fixed costs that are readily controllable by the manager.