D265 - WGU - Critical Thinking - Reason and Evidence COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2023

1. PROPOSITIONS: Are statements that can be true or false 2. NON-PROPOSITONS: Are sentences that are not statements about matters of fact or fiction. They do not make a claim that can be true or false. 3. SIMPLE PROPOSITIONS: Have no internal logic structure, meaning whether they are true or false does not depend on whether a part of them is true or false. They are simply true or false on their own. (Example: Harry Potter wears glasses. The sky is blue.) 4. COMPLEX PROPOSITIONS: Have internal logic structure, meaning they are composed of simple propositions. Whether they are true or false depends on whether their parts are true or false. (Example: The sky is blue, but it does not look blue to me right now. 1 / 10 The cat ate the food, but he did not like it. The GDP of Canada is either $3 trillion or $12 trillion.) 5. Words used to identify Independent Propositions: AND, OR, EITHER, BUT, IF, THEN. 6. CONCLUSION INDICATORS: THEREFORE, SO, IT FOLLOWS THAT, HENCE, THUS, ENTAILS THAT, WE MAY CONCLUDE THAT, IMPLIES THAT, WHEREFORE, AND AS A RESULT. 7. PREMISE INDICATORS: BECAUSE, FOR, GIVEN THAT, AS, SINCE, AS INDICATED BY. 8. DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS: Arguments where the premises guarantee or necessitate the conclusion. - mathematical arguments, logical arguments, arguments from definition. 9. INDUCTION ARGUMENTS: Arguments where the premises make the conclusion probable. - analogies, authority, causal inferences, extrapolations, etc. 10. INFERENCE TO THE BEST EXPLANATION OR ABDUCTION: Arguments where the best available explanation is chosen as the correct explanation. 11. FORMAL FALLACY: Concerns the structure of an argument 12. INFORMAL FALLACY: Concerns the informational content of an argument 13. A FORMAL FALLACY IS A TYPE OF: Bad Argument Structure 14. Which piece of information would be the most helpful to know in assessing the credibility of a news story?: Whether the name of the author and the publication are identified 15. Which questions are most appropriate for evaluating the credibility of an information source?: Who funded it? & Does it try to get you to distrust other sources? 16. While researching a topic on the internet, a student encounters two different websites, one of that looks more official than the other and includes tables, charts, and statistics, while the other does not. What is the line of reasoning this student should employ to determine which site is more credible?: It is not feasible to determine which site is more credible from the information provided. 17. In which way should an information source b