Question 1

Which of the following premises provides the strongest support for the conclusion that Harry is a lousy driver?

Accepted Answer

Harry has poor vision and can't tell the brake pedal from the accelerator. This premise provides the strongest support for the conclusion that Harry is a lousy driver because it indicates that he lacks the basic skills necessary to operate a vehicle safely.

Question 2

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument, given that the second and third propositions are conclusions? (1) Most soda contains high-fructose corn syrup.
(2) Most soda tastes sweet.
(3) Most soda can cause cavities.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 3

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) Atlantis will probably be discovered soon because
(2) Edgar Cayce predicted it and
(3) Edgar Cayce is never wrong.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 4

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) Tonia West drives a very expensive car and
(2) she lives in a mansion.Based on those things, I think that
(3) she is a millionaire.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 5

For which argument below are the premises independent?

Accepted Answer

The premises in argument D are independent because each parent's opinion about the speaker's smile is not influenced by the other parent's opinion.

Question 6

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) No good deed goes unrewarded and
(2) volunteering at the children's hospital is a good deed.Thus
(3) volunteering at the children's hospital will be rewarded.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 7

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument, given that the first proposition is the conclusion? (1) Superman is an excellent superhero.
(2) Superman has X-ray vision.
(3) Superman can fly.

Accepted Answer

This argument follows the pattern of Modus Ponens, where the first premise is the conclusion and the second premise is a supporting premise. In this case, the conclusion is "Superman is an excellent superhero" (1), and the supporting premises are "Superman has X-ray vision" (2) and "Superman can fly" (3). Option D presents this argument in the correct order, where premise (1) is at the top and premises (2) and (3) are below it as supporting premises.

Question 8

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? Inasmuch as
(1) bees are dying off around the world,
(2) crops that rely on pollination will be threatened and
(3) honey will become more expensive.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 9

For which argument below are the premises independent?

Accepted Answer

In option E, the premises about the humidifier helping with congestion and being good for wooden floors are independent reasons that support the conclusion to buy a humidifier. They do not rely on each other to support the conclusion.

Question 10

The value of an argument is measured according to:

Accepted Answer

The value of an argument is measured by how much evidence it provides to support its conclusion. The credibility of the person making the argument or the number of premises or conclusions it has are not necessarily indicative of its value. Whether or not the evaluator believes the conclusion is subjective and not relevant to the argument's value.

Question 11

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) Some Arthurian legends must be fictional, considering that
(2) Arthurian legends involve sorcery and
(3) sorcery is fictional.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 12

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) The spaceship will not return to collect the alien on account of the facts that
(2) he is unpopular with the other aliens and
(3) he insulted the ship's captain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 13

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument, given that the first proposition is the conclusion? (1) Extremely sarcastic people feel inadequate.
(2) Extreme sarcasm is a form of unprovoked hostility.
(3) Unprovoked hostility results from feelings of inadequacy.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 14

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? Because
(1) the human heart has more than three valves and
(2) it has fewer than five valves,
(3) it must have four valves.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 15

In the diagram of an argument with dependent premises, the minimum number of arrows is:

Accepted Answer

In a dependent premise diagram, there is always one arrow indicating which premise the argument depends on. Therefore, the minimum number of arrows is one.

Question 16

For which argument below are the premises dependent?

Accepted Answer

The conclusion in D is dependent on both premises, as it combines information from both to make the inference. The other arguments have premises that are not necessarily related or necessary to each other for the conclusion to be made.

Question 17

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? Considering that
(1) the union has threatened a strike, I think that
(2) we will soon receive higher salaries and
(3) our number of vacation days will be increased.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following diagrams is the...

Question 18

In the diagram of an argument with independent premises, the minimum number of arrows is:

Accepted Answer

An independent premise is a premise that does not depend on any other premise in the argument. In a diagram of an argument with independent premises, each premise will be represented by a node, and each conclusion will be represented by a node. The arrows in the diagram will represent the logical relationships between the premises and conclusions. Since each premise is independent, there will be no arrows pointing from one premise to another premise. However, there will be at least one arrow pointing from each premise to a conclusion. Therefore, the minimum number of arrows in a diagram of an argument with independent premises is two.

Question 19

Is it always permissible to add another independent premise to an argument?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Is it always permissible to add another...

Question 20

Evaluating an argument means:

Accepted Answer

Evaluating an argument involves assessing its quality or strength, determining how well it supports its conclusion, and whether the premises logically lead to the conclusion.

Quiz 4: Argument Analysis

Which of the following premises provides the strongest support for the conclusion that Harry is a lousy driver?

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument, given that the second and third propositions are conclusions? (1) Most soda contains high-fructose corn syrup. (2) Most soda tastes sweet. (3) Most soda can cause cavities.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) Atlantis will probably be discovered soon because (2) Edgar Cayce predicted it and (3) Edgar Cayce is never wrong.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) Tonia West drives a very expensive car and (2) she lives in a mansion.Based on those things, I think that (3) she is a millionaire.

For which argument below are the premises independent?

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) No good deed goes unrewarded and (2) volunteering at the children's hospital is a good deed.Thus (3) volunteering at the children's hospital will be rewarded.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument, given that the first proposition is the conclusion? (1) Superman is an excellent superhero. (2) Superman has X-ray vision. (3) Superman can fly.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? Inasmuch as (1) bees are dying off around the world, (2) crops that rely on pollination will be threatened and (3) honey will become more expensive.

For which argument below are the premises independent?

The value of an argument is measured according to:

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) Some Arthurian legends must be fictional, considering that (2) Arthurian legends involve sorcery and (3) sorcery is fictional.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? (1) The spaceship will not return to collect the alien on account of the facts that (2) he is unpopular with the other aliens and (3) he insulted the ship's captain.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument, given that the first proposition is the conclusion? (1) Extremely sarcastic people feel inadequate. (2) Extreme sarcasm is a form of unprovoked hostility. (3) Unprovoked hostility results from feelings of inadequacy.

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? Because (1) the human heart has more than three valves and (2) it has fewer than five valves, (3) it must have four valves.

In the diagram of an argument with dependent premises, the minimum number of arrows is:

For which argument below are the premises dependent?

Which of the following diagrams is the best fit for this argument? Considering that (1) the union has threatened a strike, I think that (2) we will soon receive higher salaries and (3) our number of vacation days will be increased.

In the diagram of an argument with independent premises, the minimum number of arrows is:

Is it always permissible to add another independent premise to an argument?

Evaluating an argument means: