The power of logic, Howard - Exam Preparation Test Bank (Downloadable Doc)

Ch01
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
8. Which of the following argument forms is not valid?
A. modus tollens
B. hypothetical syllogism
C. affirming the consequent
D. disjunctive syllogism

,9. The fallacy of affirming the consequent has the following form:
A. If A, then B; Not A; So, not B.
B. If A, then B; Not B; So, not A.
C. If A, then B; A; So, B.
D. If A, then B; B; So, A.
10. A disjunctive syllogism has the following form:
A. Either A or B; Not A; So, B.
B. If A, then C; If B, then D; Either A or B; So, either C or D.
C. If A, then B; If B, then C; So, if A, then C.
D. Either A or B; A; So, not B.
11. If an argument is strong, then
A. its premises are all true.
B. it is improbable (but possible) that the conclusion is false on the assumption that the premises are true.
C. it is impossible for the conclusion to be false on the assumption that the premises are true.
D. the conclusion is true.
12. Inductive logic is concerned with methods of evaluating arguments for
A. strength and weakness.
B. cogency and uncogency.
C. validity and invalidity.
D. soundness and unsoundness.
13. "Davy Crockett was executed by Santa Ana." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
14. "The moon is made of bleu cheese." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
15. "Will Jean will the election?" This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
16. "Let's go home now." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
17. "Buttercup is a yellow parakeet." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
18. "Pigs can fly." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
19. "Eat your vegetables." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
20. Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "All men are mortal. Socrates is mortal. ∴
Socrates is a man."
A. valid
B. invalid
C. strong
D. weak

,21. Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "No one has ever run a three-minute mile. ∴ No
one ever will."
A. valid
B. invalid
C. strong
D. weak
22. Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "If Pete passes the class, then so will Sharon.
But, Pete didn't pass the class. ∴ Sharon did not pass the class."
A. valid
B. invalid
C. strong
D. weak
23. Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "Approximately 43 percent of pet owners in
America own a dog. Ron is a pet owner, so he must have a dog."
A. valid
B. invalid
C. strong
D. weak
24. Identify the following as valid, invalid, strong, or weak: "Either Williams will win the election or Jarboe
will win it. If Williams wins the election, then recycling will become mandatory. If Jarboe wins the
election, then universal garbage collection will become mandatory. So, either recycling or universal
garbage collection will become mandatory."
A. valid
B. invalid
C. strong
D. weak
25. Which of the following is a statement?
A. "Close the door."
B. "Let's have lunch."
C. "I'm not hungry."
D. "What did you say?"
26. A premise of an argument is
A. a statement intended to provide support for another statement.
B. an underlying assumption.
C. the statement that is being affirmed on the basis of others.
D. a word or phrase whose purpose is to persuade.
27. The main feature of a valid argument is
A. it is possible for the conclusion to be true.
B. it is not necessary that if the premises are true, then the conclusion is true.
C. it is necessary that if the premises are true, then the conclusion is true.
D. it is not possible for the conclusion to be false.
28. An argument form is
A. a word or phrase that stands for a class.
B. a pattern of reasoning.
C. a statement that is used as a premise.
D. a worksheet for identifying the premises and conclusion of an argument.

, 29. Which of the following is a substitution instance of the argument form "All A are B; No B are C; So, no
A are C"?
A. All fish are dogs; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals.
B. All mammals are dogs; No mammals are fish; So, no fish are dogs.
C. All dogs are fish; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals.
D. All dogs are mammals; No fish are mammals; So, no dogs are fish.
30. Which of the following is an example of a conditional statement?
A. Either Bob or Jim will ask Mary to the dance.
B. All whales are mammals.
C. It's not the case that Sue loves Bill.
D. If Pamela loves Joe, then Joe loves Pamela.
31. The argument form "If A then B; Not B; So, not A" is called
A. modus tollens.
B. constructive dilemma.
C. hypothetical syllogism.
D. modus ponens.
32. The fallacy of denying the antecedent has the following form:
A. If A, then B; Not A; So, not B.
B. If A, then B; Not B; So, not A.
C. If A, then B; A; So, B.
D. If A, then B; B; So, A.
33. A hypothetical syllogism has the following form:
A. If A, then B; Not B; So, not A.
B. If A, then B; If B, then C; So, if A, then C.
C. If A, then C; If B, then D; Either A or B; So, either C or D.
D. Either A or B; Not A; So, B.
34. When "or" is taken in the exclusive sense, the statement "We'll go swimming or hiking" says what?
A. We are definitely going swimming.
B. We are definitely going hiking.
C. We'll go swimming or hiking, but not both.
D. We'll go swimming or hiking; maybe both.
35. A cogent argument
A. is valid and has all true premises.
B. has all true premises.
C. is strong and has all true premises.
D. cannot have a false conclusion.
36. "Don't go in the water." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
37. "My brother has a cat named Sully." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
38. "Go to your room!" This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.
39. "Assuming that Peter gets a B on the test, he'll pass the class." This is
A. a statement.
B. not a statement.