Question 1

Which of the following is true of inductive arguments?

Accepted Answer

A)  An inductive argument guarantees the truth of its conclusion. 
B)  An inductive argument attempts to provide support for the truth of its conclusion. 
C)  The conclusion of an inductive argument must be true if all of the argument's premises are true. 
D)  An inductive argument attempts to provide a necessary proof of its conclusion.

Question 2

Which of the following should any good argument do?

Accepted Answer

A)  merely provide some evidence for a conclusion 
B)  provide irrelevant evidence for a conclusion 
C)  provide sufficient evidence for a conclusion 
D)  guarantee the truth of its premises

Question 3

Which of the following is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Explanations are always reasonable. 
B)  Explanations appear only in deductive arguments, never in inductive arguments. 
C)  Explanations provide arguments for a conclusion. 
D)  All of these answers are correct.

Question 4

Which of the following is a proposition?

Accepted Answer

A)  the conclusion of an argument 
B)  a premise in an argument 
C)  Neither the conclusion of an argument nor a premise in an argument is a proposition. 
D)  Both premises and conclusions in an argument are propositions.

Question 5

The conclusion of an argument is always stated or written down.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Which of the following is true about issues?

Accepted Answer

A)  Issues are always clearly defined. 
B)  Identifying an issue requires good communication skills. 
C)  Issues are always simple. 
D)  All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

"John,don't jump!" can be a prescriptive premise.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

"Since" always indicates a premise.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Which of the following is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  The purpose of rhetoric is to discover the truth. 
B)  The purpose of argumentation is to discover the truth. 
C)  The purpose of argumentation is to convince others of the truth of what you believe. 
D)  None of these answers is true.

Question 10

Which of the following best describes an argument in the context of critical thinking?

Accepted Answer

A)  two people angrily disagreeing with one another over an important issue and calling each other nasty names 
B)  attempting to provide rational support for a claim with a set of premises 
C)  the process of defending a deeply held belief without considering opposing evidence 
D)  None of these answers is correct.

Question 11

Which of the following is true of arguments?

Accepted Answer

A)  All arguments are rationally compelling. 
B)  Some arguments do not explicitly state their conclusion. 
C)  All arguments are deductive. 
D)  No arguments are inductive.

Question 12

Conclusions follow from conditional statements alone.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which of the following is a definitional premise?

Accepted Answer

A)  "Dogs are like a good friend in that both are loyal." 
B)  "Stay off the grass!" 
C)  "Dogs have four legs." 
D)  None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

Which of the following is true of arguments?

Accepted Answer

A)  All arguments are clearly stated. 
B)  Good listening skills are sometimes necessary to clarify someone's argument. 
C)  Openness to the ideas of others can only serve to prevent you from understanding an argument. 
D)  None of these answers is correct.

Question 15

All issues can be reduced to two sides.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Explanations are not arguments.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

If no argument can be provided to support a claim,then that claim must be false.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

Which of the following best describes a valid deductive argument?

Accepted Answer

A)  an argument with two premises 
B)  a persuasive argument 
C)  an argument that provides just some reason for believing its conclusion 
D)  an argument that guarantees the truth of its conclusion if its premises are all true

Question 19

Which of the following is a premise indicator?

Accepted Answer

A)  therefore 
B)  since 
C)  or 
D)  thus

Question 20

"Since" is a conclusion indicator.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 6: Recognizing, Analyzing, and Constructing Arguments

Which of the following is true of inductive arguments?

Which of the following should any good argument do?

Which of the following is true?

Which of the following is a proposition?

The conclusion of an argument is always stated or written down.

Which of the following is true about issues?

"John,don't jump!" can be a prescriptive premise.

"Since" always indicates a premise.

Which of the following is true?

Which of the following best describes an argument in the context of critical thinking?

Which of the following is true of arguments?

Conclusions follow from conditional statements alone.

Which of the following is a definitional premise?

Which of the following is true of arguments?

All issues can be reduced to two sides.

Explanations are not arguments.

If no argument can be provided to support a claim,then that claim must be false.

Which of the following best describes a valid deductive argument?

Which of the following is a premise indicator?

"Since" is a conclusion indicator.