Deck 3: Making Sense of Arguments

Question 1

Generally speaking, an argument is said to be _______ when it succeeds in showing that a statement is worthy of acceptance.

A) good
B) strong
C) valid
D) sound

Answer 1

good

Question 2

A deductively valid argument cannot have _______ premises and a _______ conclusion.

A) true; false
B) false; false
C) false; true
D) true; true

Answer 2

true; false

Question 3

An independent premise offers support to a conclusion

A) with the help of another premise.
B) without the help of any other premises.
C) with implied premises.
D) without implied premises.

Answer 3

without the help of any other premises.

Question 4

How is the argument form known as modus tollens symbolized?

A) If p, then q. q. Therefore, p.
B) If p, then q. If q, then r. Therefore, if p, then r.
C) Either p or q. Not p. Therefore, q.
D) If p, then q. Not q. Therefore, not p.

Question 5

An argument with this form-"If p, then q. If q, then r. Therefore, if p, then r"-is known as

A) modus tollens.
B) hypothetical syllogism.
C) modus ponens.
D) disjunctive syllogism.

Question 6

This argument-"If you're eighteen, you're eligible to vote. But you're only seventeen. You're not eligible to vote"-is

A) invalid.
B) strong.
C) valid.
D) weak.

Question 7

A deductive argument made up of three statements-two premises and a conclusion-is called a

A) disjunction.
B) hypothetical.
C) conditional.
D) syllogism.

Question 8

Detailed argument diagramming is always helpful in assessing arguments.

Question 9

The argument form known as affirming the consequent is not valid.

Question 10

Persuading people to agree with you is not the same as presenting them with a good argument.

Question 11

A deductively valid argument is such that its conclusion must be true regardless of the truth of its premises.

Question 12

Argument forms are not distinct from argument content.

Question 13

When diagramming an argument, the first step is to make a note of any premise or conclusion indicator words.

Question 14

If a deductively valid argument has a false conclusion, you can infer that at least one of the premises is false.

Question 15

Affirming the antecedent is another name for modus ponens.

Question 16

The counterexample method is used to determine whether an argument is valid or invalid.

Question 17

The second part of a conditional statement is known as the antecedent.

Question 18

Only a small portion of an argumentative passage may contain statements that serve as the premises and conclusion.

Question 19

The kind of support that a deductive argument can give a conclusion is absolute.

Question 20

Inductively strong arguments are said to be truth-preserving because of the way they guarantee the truth of their conclusions.

Question 21

The first step in determining whether an argument is deductive or inductive is to find the argument's conclusion and then its premises.

Question 22

The first statement in a conditional premise is known as the consequent.

Question 23

Modus ponens is the only argument form that is both valid and invalid.

Question 24

A condition can either be necessary or sufficient, but it cannot be both.

Question 25

The argument form-"If p, then q. Not p. Therefore, not q"-is valid.

Question 26

The argument form-"If p, then q. Not q. Therefore, not p"-is valid.

Question 27

What are the two basic forms of argument? How are these forms similar? How are they different?

Question 28

What is the procedure for determining whether an argument is deductive or inductive, valid or invalid, and strong or weak?

Question 29

According to the text, what is the difference between persuasion and argument?

Question 30

What does it mean for an argument to be valid or invalid? What does it mean for an argument to be strong or weak?

Question 31

What are two major differences between the argument form known as modus tollens and denying the antecedent? Which form is valid?

Question 32

What is the counterexample method and how is it applied to arguments?

Question 33

Why is it useful to know basic argument forms? Are the differences in the forms based on content?

Question 34

According to the text, what are the four basic steps in assessing a long argument?

Question 35

What is the difference between necessary and sufficient conditions? Provide an example to illustrate the difference.

Question 36

What are the steps involved in diagramming an argument? Provide a sample argument to illustrate the steps in your answer.