Exam 1: Basic Concepts

Nicotine is addictive because its chemical structure is so similar to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that once inside the brain it unlocks several other chemicals. One of these chemicals is dopamine, which produces a highly pleasant sensation. Another is adrenaline, which increases alertness. Yet a third is serotonin, which improves one's mood. When people are deprived of these chemicals, they naturally want more, and this leads to addiction.

It's even more important these days that your computer be protected by a firewall. There are criminal elements lurking in the shadows of cyberspace who send out probes to detect unprotected PCs. Once a vulnerable computer is found, these criminals install software that assists them in committing identity theft and fencing stolen IDs. They also defraud online advertisers by using these zombie computers to visit pay-per-click ads.

The Washington Post carried an article on the huge hurricane that struck the Caiman Islands. The Chicago Tribune is similar in its coverage to the Washington Post. Thus, the Chicago Tribune must have carried an article on that hurricane.

There appears to be a growing happiness gap between men and women. Women today are working more and relaxing less, while men are working less and relaxing more. Forty years ago a typical woman spent 40 minutes more per week than the typical man performing an activity considered unpleasant. Today, with men working less, the gap is 90 minutes and growing.

No theorist has more emphatically stressed the social determinants of personality than Erich Fromm. As a humanistic personologist, Fromm argued that a person's behavior can be understood only in the light of cultural forces existing at a particular moment in history. He believed that needs unique to the human being evolved through the history of humankind and that different social systems have influenced their expression. Larry A. Hjelli and Daniel J. Ziegler, Personality Theories

Laws banning junk e-mail are largely ineffective. Spammers can easily avoid such laws by moving overseas, where local rules allow them free rein. Also, it is often impossible to detect the source of junk e-mail. Much of it is sent from zombie transmitters-personal computers that have been hijacked by viruses. Newspaper Clipping

Computerized scanning equipment has revolutionized the study of brain diseases and injuries. At best, conventional X-rays produce only shadowy images of the brain. Computed tomographic (CT) scanning is a specialized type of X-ray that does a much better job of making the brain visible. In a CT scan, X-ray information is collected by a computer and formed into an image of the brain. A CT scan can reveal the effects of strokes, injuries, tumors, and other brain disorders. Dennis Coon and John O. Mitterer, Psychology: A Journey

If the trade in tiger products is banned, tiger reserves are guarded by well equipped staff, communities abutting tiger habitat are given a stake in protecting tigers, and the makers of traditional medicines can be persuaded that tiger parts are not needed, then tiger poaching will be halted, habitat and life sustaining prey will be restored, and the immanent extinction of tigers in the wild will be averted.

PART A All real libraries are buildings containing books, so some presidential libraries are not real libraries, since some buildings containing books are not presidential libraries. The form of this argument is: PART B Which of the following substitutions proves the argument invalid? A) R = mammals, B = animals, P = cats. B) B = mammals, P = cats, R = dogs. C) P = animals, R = cats, B =mammals. D) R = fish, B = animals, P = dogs. E) B = fish, R = animals, P = cats.

If the Big Bang theory is correct, then the universe is billions of years old. And if the Big Bang theory is correct, then the universe was not created in six days. Thus, if the universe is billions of years old, then it was not created in six days.

As climate change continues, the temperature of the world's oceans will rise. As ocean temperatures rise, hurricanes will become more intense. Therefore, hurricanes in the Caribbean will intensify in the years ahead.

An argument that applies a scientific law to a specific case is usually:

Assume that the universe is 14 billion years old. If we look at a galaxy that is 12 billion light years away, we see it as it was 12 billion years ago, when the universe was only 2 billion years old. Thus, simply by looking to great distances, we can see what parts of the universe looked like when the universe was younger. The key limitation to this ability is the power of our telescopes. Jeffrey Bennett, et al., The Cosmic Perspective, 3^rd edition

PART A All evangelicals are political conservatives, so some fundamentalists are evangelicals, since some fundamentalists are political conservatives. Which of the following correctly expresses the form of this argument? PART B Which of the following substitutions proves the argument invalid? A) E = fish, P = mammals, F = animals. B) E = dogs, P = animals, F = mammals. C) E = dogs, P = animals, F = cats. D) E = birds, P = dogs, F = fish. E) E = animals, P = cats, F = fish.

Each element and compound is a pure substance. However, most materials are neither single elements nor single compounds. Instead, they are mixtures of these simple substances, with one substance mingled with another. Thus, gasoline is a mixture of hydrocarbons and additives blended together to achieve efficient combustion. Loretta Jones and Peter Atkins, Chemistry: Molecules, Matter, and Change, 4^th ed.

The world-wide disappearance of frogs may be the result of agricultural runoff. Scientists have shown that runoff rich in fertilizer causes a pronounced increase in the algae of lakes and ponds. Snails then gorge themselves on the algae, causing parasites living inside them to produce huge quantities of eggs. When the eggs hatch, the parasites infect young frogs, causing severe deformation of their limbs.

If stun guns are safe, then police officers will use them. Stun guns are not safe. Therefore, police officers will not use them.

Henry and Carl, who are neighbors, are about the same age, and they both have heart conditions. Henry takes Digitoxin for his heart, and it relieves his symptoms. Therefore, it would be a good idea for Carl to take the same medicine for his heart.

Which of the following are all inductive arguments?

The billboard ad for Joe's Used Cars says that Joe has fantastic deals. Therefore, it must be the case that Joe does indeed have fantastic deals.