The linguist George Kingsley Zipf (1902–1950) proposed a law that bears his name. In a typical English text, the most commonly occurring word is "the." We say that its frequency rank r is 1. The frequency f of occurrence of "the" is about f = 7%. That is, in a typical English text, the word "the" accounts for about 7 out of 100 occurrences of words. The second most common word is "of," so it has a frequency rank of r = 2. Its frequency of occurrence is f = 3.5%. Zipf's law gives a power relationship between frequency of occurrence f, as a percentage, and frequency rank r. (Note that a higher frequency rank means a word that occurs less often.) The relationship is f = cr−1, where c is a constant. (a) Use the frequency information given for "the" to determine the value of c. c = ________________  (b) The third most common English word is "and." According to Zipf's law, what is the frequency of this word in a typical English text? Round your answer to one decimal place. _________  % (c) If one word's frequency rank is twice that of another, how do their frequencies of occurrence compare? The word with twice the frequency rank occurs (___one-fourth__OR__half__)  as often.

Algebra and Trigonometry (6th Edition)
6th Edition
ISBN:9780134463216
Author:Robert F. Blitzer
Publisher:Robert F. Blitzer
ChapterP: Prerequisites: Fundamental Concepts Of Algebra
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1MCCP: In Exercises 1-25, simplify the given expression or perform the indicated operation (and simplify,...
icon
Related questions
Question

The linguist George Kingsley Zipf (1902–1950) proposed a law that bears his name. In a typical English text, the most commonly occurring word is "the." We say that its frequency rank r is 1. The frequency f of occurrence of "the" is about f = 7%. That is, in a typical English text, the word "the" accounts for about 7 out of 100 occurrences of words. The second most common word is "of," so it has a frequency rank of r = 2. Its frequency of occurrence is f = 3.5%. Zipf's law gives a power relationship between frequency of occurrence f, as a percentage, and frequency rank r. (Note that a higher frequency rank means a word that occurs less often.) The relationship is f = cr−1, where c is a constant.

(a) Use the frequency information given for "the" to determine the value of c.
c = ________________ 


(b) The third most common English word is "and." According to Zipf's law, what is the frequency of this word in a typical English text? Round your answer to one decimal place.
_________  %

(c) If one word's frequency rank is twice that of another, how do their frequencies of occurrence compare?
The word with twice the frequency rank occurs (___one-fourth__OR__half__)  as often.
Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 3 steps

Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Research Ethics
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, algebra and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
Recommended textbooks for you
Algebra and Trigonometry (6th Edition)
Algebra and Trigonometry (6th Edition)
Algebra
ISBN:
9780134463216
Author:
Robert F. Blitzer
Publisher:
PEARSON
Contemporary Abstract Algebra
Contemporary Abstract Algebra
Algebra
ISBN:
9781305657960
Author:
Joseph Gallian
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Linear Algebra: A Modern Introduction
Linear Algebra: A Modern Introduction
Algebra
ISBN:
9781285463247
Author:
David Poole
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Algebra And Trigonometry (11th Edition)
Algebra And Trigonometry (11th Edition)
Algebra
ISBN:
9780135163078
Author:
Michael Sullivan
Publisher:
PEARSON
Introduction to Linear Algebra, Fifth Edition
Introduction to Linear Algebra, Fifth Edition
Algebra
ISBN:
9780980232776
Author:
Gilbert Strang
Publisher:
Wellesley-Cambridge Press
College Algebra (Collegiate Math)
College Algebra (Collegiate Math)
Algebra
ISBN:
9780077836344
Author:
Julie Miller, Donna Gerken
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education