Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I will move the world." The senten...

Question

Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I will move the world." The sentence above is an example of a ____________ statement.

A. figurative
B. collateral
C. literal
D. figurine

Accepted Answer

A. figurative Archimedes is expressing a principle about mechanical advantage through an exaggerated, non-literal claim — he cannot literally move the Earth with a lever. Such statements that use exaggeration, metaphor, or non-literal language to convey a larger meaning are called figurative statements. A literal statement would mean exactly what it says word-for-word.

Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I will move the world." The sentence above is an example of a ____________ statement. A. figurative B. collateral C. literal D. figurine