Exam 1: Basic Concepts

Trees bearing apples, pears, and apricots all thrive in Washington state. It must be the case that all fruit trees thrive in Washington state.

If you go to foreign films, if you go to documentaries, if you go to independent films, if you go to good films, you will become a better person because you will understand human nature better. Movies record human nature in a better way than any other art form. That's for sure. Roger Ebert

It is a fact that major life forms now on earth were not at all represented in the past. There were no birds or mammals 250 million years ago. It is a fact that major life forms of the past are no longer living. There used to be dinosaurs and Pithecanthropus, and there are none now. It is a fact that all living forms came from previously living forms. Therefore, all present forms of life arose from ancestral forms that were different: birds arose from nonbirds and humans from nonhumans. R.C. Lewontin, "Evolution/Creation Debate: A Time for Truth"

The Chairman of Big Tex Oil Company stated that oil company executives are drastically underpaid. Therefore, it must be the case that oil company executives are indeed underpaid, just as the Chairman says.

After Sally stopped wearing Levi jeans, she started having vision problems. Therefore, to clear up her vision problems, Sally should go back to wearing her Levi's.

The emerald is more expensive than the diamond, and the diamond is less expensive than the sapphire. Therefore, it necessarily follows that the emerald is more expensive than the sapphire.

Which of the following is an inductive argument?

All aerobic exercises are calorie burners and all calorie burners are weight reducers. Thus, all aerobic exercises are weight reducers.

PART A If cell phone companies screen text messages, then freedom of speech is threatened. Thus, freedom of speech is not threatened, because cell phone companies do not screen text messages. Which of the following correctly expresses the form of this argument? PART B Which of the following substitutions proves the argument invalid? A) C = Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, F = George Washington was assassinated. B) C = Joe Smith was beheaded, F= Joe Smith is dead. C) C = Abraham Lincoln was beheaded, F = Abraham Lincoln is dead. D) C = Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, F = Abraham Lincoln is dead. E) C = Abraham Lincoln was beheaded, F = Abraham Lincoln is not dead.

Hair turns color when we age because the follicles at the base of the hair shaft cease to produce melanin. Melanin is a chemical that gives the hair shaft its color (black, brown, blond, red, and all shades in between). The darkness or lightness of your hair depends on how much melanin each strand contains. With age, the cells in the follicle that produce melanin die off. As they do so, that hair strand will become silver, grey, or white, as it grows.

Either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush was president when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed. But Bush was not president at that time. Therefore, Bill Clinton was president when those buildings were destroyed.

Beneath the image of Thomas Jefferson on this U.S. five-cent coin we see "1975." It must be the case that the coin was minted in 1975.

Which of the following words is a premise indicator?

The three main parts of a neuron are the dendrites, cell body, and axon. The dendrites receive information from other neurons and pass it along to the cell body. The cell body decides whether the information should be passed on to other neurons. If it decides it should, then it does so by means of an electrical impulse that travels down the axon. When the impulse reaches the axon terminals, it triggers chemical communication with other neurons. Richard Griggs, Psychology: A Concise Introduction

If a deductive argument has all true premises and a false conclusion, then we know:

Every dancer on the floor has a partner. Hence, there are an even number of dancers on the floor.

The consequences of violence for children are very often grave and damaging. Violence may result in greater susceptibility to lifelong social, emotional and cognitive impairments. Related mental health and social problems include anxiety and depressive disorders, hallucinations, impaired work performance, memory disturbances and aggressive behavior. Early exposure to violence is also associated with later lung, heart and liver disease, fetal death during pregnancy, and suicide attempts. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Report of the Independent Expert On Violence Against Children

Silvia is a middle-aged, dark haired Protestant woman who supports right-to-life issues. Shelly is also a middle-aged, dark haired Protestant woman. Therefore, she probably also supports right-to-life issues.

After examining DNA evidence found at the crime scene, Dr. Jacobs, a highly qualified forensic biologist, says that Alex Foster could not have committed the crime. Therefore, we conclude that Foster is innocent.

In the expression "If a nation engages in torture, then it loses moral authority in the world community," the statement "A nation engages in torture" is called the: