Midterm Practice Exam

A dorm council (illustrative) argues that a repair to the study lounge is "affordable." Making "affordable" precise lets a reader check whether that premise is true. Which evaluation from the course depends on that check?

Select one.

• Whether the argument is valid, since validity needs every premise to be true
• Whether the argument is sound, since soundness needs every premise true
• Whether the passage is an argument or an explanation
• Whether most residents like the council's conclusion

Locke (1690), An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, discusses several kinds of argument that now carry Latin names. Which statement about Locke and the name ad hominem fits the course's account?

Select one.

• He invented the name ad hominem himself and used it in its modern sense, an attack on a speaker's character instead of on the argument.
• He used ad hominem as a general label for any insult made during a debate.
• He recorded ad hominem as a name already in use, meaning pressing someone with their own principles' consequences.
• He named ad hominem, the straw man, and the red herring together as the fallacies of relevance.

A neighbor (illustrative) says: "Look, the street is covered in leaves. If the wind blew hard last night, the street would be covered in leaves, so the wind must have blown hard last night." Which claim is the neighbor's conclusion?

Select one.

• The street is covered in leaves.
• If the wind blew hard last night, the street would be covered in leaves.
• The neighbor looked at the street.
• The wind blew hard last night.

Passage (illustrative): "Each ingredient in this stew tastes great on its own, so the stew will taste great." Which fallacy does the passage commit?

Select one.

• Composition
• Division
• Equivocation
• Persuasive definition

An illustrative neighborhood newsletter says: "The city pool should stay open late during the heat wave. On hot evenings many families need a cool, safe place for their children. The pool is the only public place in the neighborhood with lifeguards on duty after dark. Keeping it open late for the 12 nights of the heat wave costs about 1,800 dollars in lifeguard wages." Which sentence is the conclusion?

Select one.

• The first sentence, that the city pool should stay open late during the heat wave.
• The last sentence, about the 1,800-dollar cost, because a conclusion always comes at the end.
• The second sentence, that families need a cool, safe place for their children.
• None of them, because the newsletter uses no conclusion indicator.

Passage (illustrative): "The debate team is the top-ranked team in the state, so each of its members must be a top-ranked debater." Which fallacy does the passage commit?

Select one.

• Composition
• Division
• Equivocation
• Persuasive definition

A food pantry's notice (illustrative) says, "Some donated cans are dented." Read as the categorical form "Some S are P", how many dented cans does the notice commit to?

Select one.

• Some of the cans, but never all of them
• Most of the cans, though not every one
• At least one dented can
• A few cans, fewer than half of them

An argument (illustrative) reads: "If the kettle is whistling, the water is boiling. The kettle is whistling. So the water is boiling." What does the counterexample method show about it?

Select one.

• It is invalid, since a pot on another burner could also boil water.
• It is valid, since no case makes both premises true and the water not boiling.
• It is invalid, since on a quiet morning its second premise is false.
• It is strong but not valid, since kettles are never perfectly reliable about boiling.

A conditional has the form "if P, then Q." Which assignment of truth values is the only one that makes it false?

Select one.

• P is false and Q is true.
• P is false and Q is false.
• P is false, whatever Q happens to be.
• P is true and Q is false.

A café's sign (illustrative) offers a discount to anyone who orders "a large group meal." A party of five is unsure whether it counts. What is the trouble with the phrase?

Select one.

• It is ambiguous: it has two distinct meanings, and both fit here.
• It equivocates: its meaning shifts between a premise and a conclusion.
• It is vague: it has borderline cases between clear ones.
• It is loaded: it carries an emotional verdict about the customers.

An argument (illustrative) reads: "Every member of the hiking club gets a discount at the outdoor store. The newest transfer student is a member of the hiking club. So the newest transfer student gets a discount at the outdoor store." How should the two premises be drawn on an argument map?

Select one.

• As independent premises with two arrows, because they are written as two sentences.
• As independent premises with two arrows, because the conclusion could be true without them.
• As linked premises sharing one arrow, because neither supports the conclusion alone.
• As an objection and a reply, because the second premise answers the first one.

Four messages reach the volunteers at an animal shelter (illustrative). Which message is an argument?

Select one.

• The dryer in the laundry room stopped twice last week, and a repair worker came and replaced its belt for us.
• Who is covering the dog-walking shift tonight?
• We should start the dog walks earlier, since the afternoon pavement gets hot enough to hurt their paws.
• The new volunteer sign-in tablet is awful.

A bakery's sign (illustrative) says: "Not every pastry here is made with nuts." Which categorical form says the same thing?

Select one.

• No pastries here are made with nuts.
• Some pastries here are not made with nuts.
• All pastries here are made with nuts.
• Some things made with nuts are not pastries here.

An illustrative proposal to keep a campus computer lab open late during project week assumes 3 lab aides working 4 extra hours a night for 6 nights at 15 dollars an hour. What does that come to?

Select one.

• 360 dollars
• 270 dollars
• 1,080 dollars
• 2,160 dollars

An argument (illustrative) reads: "If the power went out, the kitchen clock is blinking. The kitchen clock is blinking. So the power went out." Which case is a counterexample that shows the argument is invalid?

Select one.

• The power went out, and the kitchen clock is blinking.
• The power stayed on, and the kitchen clock is not blinking.
• The power went out, but a backup battery kept the kitchen clock from blinking at all.
• The power stayed on, but someone pressed the reset button, so the clock is blinking.

Passage (illustrative): "A champion skateboarder says this brand of vitamin gummies prevents the flu, so it must work." Which description fits the passage?

Select one.

• A reasonable appeal to authority, since the skateboarder is widely admired
• An attack on the person, since it points to a fact about the skateboarder instead of the flu
• An appeal to unqualified authority, since skating skill is not medical expertise
• Not an argument, since it only reports what someone said

An argument (illustrative) reads: "If the store is having a sale, its parking lot is full. Its parking lot is full. So the store is having a sale." Which verdict is right?

Select one.

• Valid, because on most days when the lot is full, the store really is having a sale.
• Invalid, because a concert next door could fill the lot with no sale at the store.
• Valid, because it follows the same pattern as modus ponens, from a conditional to a claim.
• Invalid, because its first premise, about sales and the parking lot, is false.

Passage (illustrative): "Buy our tire-pressure sensor now, or you will be stranded on a dark highway with a blowout." What is the trouble with the passage?

Select one.

• It has a false premise: the sensor might not work.
• It is fallacious only because it makes the reader afraid, and any argument that stirs up fear is a fallacy for that reason alone.
• It is the appeal to popularity: many drivers use tire sensors.
• It is the appeal to fear: fear of a breakdown stands in for evidence that the sensor works.

An illustrative argument map has 1 linked group (P1 and P2) with a single arrow to C, 1 independent premise (P3) with its own arrow to C, and 1 arrow from P4 to P3. How many support links does the map have to test?

Select one.

• 2 links
• 3 links
• 4 links
• 5 links

Passage (illustrative): "Don't bother with the club secretary's plan for a new meeting room; he still can't parallel park." Which fallacy does the passage commit?

Select one.

• The red herring
• The appeal to popularity (ad populum)
• The straw man
• The attack on the person (ad hominem)

A car lot's ad (illustrative) calls its used cars "pre-owned vehicles." What is "pre-owned" in this ad?

Select one.

• A dysphemism
• An equivocation
• A euphemism
• A precising definition

Passage (illustrative): "Asked why wait times at the dining hall have grown, the manager replies that the hall has new, brighter menu boards." Which fallacy does the passage commit, and why?

Select one.

• The red herring, because the menu boards are a separate issue from the wait times
• The straw man, because it distorts the question about the wait times
• The appeal to popularity, because the brighter menu boards are popular
• The attack on the person, because it ignores whoever asked about the wait

A student puts a gym's membership ad (illustrative) in standard form and ends up with 4 stated premises, 2 supplied premises, and a conclusion. Not counting the "So," line, how many lines of premises and conclusion does the standard form hold?

Select one.

• 7 lines
• 5 lines
• 6 lines
• 8 lines

True or false: when a reader rebuilds a friend's argument in standard form and marks one line "(supplied)", that line repeats words the friend actually said.

True or false.

• True
• False

A library's rule (illustrative) reads: "If a book is more than a week overdue, then the borrower's account is frozen." Which claim is the consequent of this conditional?

Select one.

• A book is more than a week overdue.
• The borrower's account is frozen.
• A book is not more than a week overdue.
• The rule is printed on the library card.