Basic Concepts
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Logic is the study of
A. the way people reason.
B. methods for evaluating arguments.
C. techniques for winning arguments.
D. ways to represent English statements in symbols.
Subject area: Chapter 1, Basic Concepts
2. As understood by logicians, an argument is
A. a set of statements, one of which is supported by the others.
B. a verbal dispute between two or more people.
C. a major contributing factor to the high rate of divorce in the United States.
D. a sentence that is either true or false.
Subject area: Chapter 1, Basic Concepts
,3. The primary purpose(s) of argument is(are)
A. to persuade others to share our views.
B. to discover the truth about something.
C. to intimidate one's opponent.
D. both to persuade others to share our views, and to discover the truth about something.
Subject area: Chapter 1, Basic Concepts
,4. A sound argument is one that is valid and
A. has a true conclusion.
B. has at least one true premise.
C. has all true premises.
D. is accepted by most people.
Subject area: 1.1 Validity and Soundness
5. A term is
A. a 15-week semester of college.
B. a word or phrase that stands for a class.
C. a length of time in public office.
D. a pattern of reasoning.
Subject area: 1.2 and 1.3 Forms, Validity, and Counterexamples
6. A counterexample to an argument form is a substitution instance whose
A. premises and conclusion are well-known truths.
B. premises are well-known falsehoods.
C. premises are well-known truths and conclusion a well-known falsehood.
D. conclusion is a well-known falsehood.
Subject area: 1.2 and 1.3 Forms, Validity, and Counterexamples
, 7. The statement "Pat is a mother only if Pat is a woman" is a stylistic variant of which type
of statement?
A. disjunction
B. conditional
C. negation
D. conjunction
Subject area: 1.3 Some "Famous Forms"