Exam 1: Basic Concepts

"My brother has a cat named Sully." This is

If the following argument is an instance of one of the "famous" argument forms, name the form and indicate whether the form is valid or invalid; if the argument is NOT an instance of one of the "famous" forms, simply write "unnamed form." If Wilma goes to college in California, then Fred will turn down the job in Florida. Fred turned down the job in Florida, so Wilma must be going to college in California.

"Davy Crockett was executed by Santa Ana." This is

All uncogent arguments are weak.

As understood by logicians, an argument is

Some arguments are false.

A premise of an argument is

Which of the following argument forms is not valid?

If the following argument is an instance of one of the "famous" argument forms, name the form and indicate whether the form is valid or invalid; if the argument is NOT an instance of one of the "famous" forms, simply write "unnamed form." Terrorists have legitimate grievances. And the grievances of terrorists should be addressed assuming that terrorists have legitimate ones. Therefore, the grievances of terrorists should be addressed.

If the following argument is an instance of one of the "famous" argument forms, name the form and indicate whether the form is valid or invalid; if the argument is NOT an instance of one of the "famous" forms, simply write "unnamed form." If states should run efficiently, then they should decrease the number of propositions on ballots. If states should promote direct democracy, then they should increase the number of propositions on ballots. Either states should not decrease the number of propositions on ballots or states should not increase the number of propositions on ballots. So, either states should not run efficiently or states should not promote direct democracy.

Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "If Pete passes the class, then so will Sharon. But, Pete didn't pass the class. ∴ Sharon did not pass the class."

The main feature of a valid argument is

The fallacy of affirming the consequent has the following form:

Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "Approximately 43 percent of pet owners in America own a dog. Ron is a pet owner, so he must have a dog."

"Let's go home now." This is

A counterexample proves that an argument form is invalid.

A premises.

Use a counterexample to show that the following argument is invalid. (Remember, it is usually best to use terms-or statements-whose interrelations are well known.) "All neutron stars are things that produce intense gravity, and all neutron stars are extremely dense objects. Thus, all extremely dense objects are things that produce intense gravity."

"The moon is made of bleu cheese." This is

A conditional statement is the same thing as a hypothetical statement.