Exam 4: Logic: Probability and Inductive Reasoning

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: It would be suicidal to send the battlecruiser HMS Hood to intercept the German battleship Bismarck, named for the famous "Iron Chancellor" Otto von Bismarck. Battlecruisers have insufficient armour to withstand plunging shellfire from a capital ship. The decision of the Admiralty to send the Hood to intercept the Bismarck is suicidal.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: Everyone who smokes puts themselves at a higher risk of developing lung cancer. So because Bob smokes 5 packs a day, he has a higher risk than a normal person of developing lung cancer. You have to be an idiot to smoke if this is true.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: The government should abolish youth rates. There is no evidence that they work to increase youth employment, and they are unfair. If they don

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: The penalty for texting while driving should be a year in prison. Anything less would not be a deterrent to those idiots who text while they drive.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: If General Custer never really made a "last stand" at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, then the "Custer myth" is actually a myth. In fact, this is correct, since the indians basically swept over Custer

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: Anyone who wants to become a werewolf needs to actually be bitten by a werewolf to become a werewolf. This is not the case with vampires, since you can become a vampire through a blood transfusion. But since there are no werewolves in existence, nobody who wants to become a werewolf can become a werewolf, so the preferences of aspiring werewolves will forever be frustrated.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: The Kobayashi Maru scenario is impossible to beat, so if anyone beat it, then they must have cheated in some way. James T. Kirk is the only person ever to have beaten the Kobayashi Maru scenario and he would do anything to win, so he must have cheated in some way.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: We can

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: If Tokugawa Ieyasu had not triumphed at the Battle of Sekigahara, Japan would not have been subject to the Shogunate for over 250 years until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. But the Shogunate did rule Japan for that long, so he must have won that battle. But Ieyasu would not have won if several of the opposing generals had not changed sides during the battle.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: There

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: The BFG 9000 is the most awesome weapon in the history of video games. No other video game weapon does as much damage to as many enemies as the BFG 9000, and it is the only video game gun to shoot great green balls of fire. Clearly, a great green ball of fire shooting video game gun is better than any other video game weapon.

The following argument is valid or forceful. Identify the irrelevant premise: Wayne Gretzky was the greatest hockey player in the history of the game. Gretzky holds or shares 61 National Hockey League records, and holds the points record for the regular season at 2,875 points and for the playoffs at 382 points. The next highest scorer is Mark Messier with 1,887 points, nearly a thousand less than Gretzky.