WGU D265 - WGU - CRITICAL
THINKING - REASON AND EVIDENCE
2025/ 2026 QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS
A teacher talks with a student about failing to turn in homework. The student replies by
expressing a desire to dress up as a superhero for Halloween. Which response best matches this
fallacy of relevance? - correct answer -Red herring
Either everyone will devour this pecan pie, or they will choose another dessert. Which two
statements accurately describe this proposition? - correct answer -The proposition mistakes
causation for correlation. & The proposition contains black and white thinking. & The
proposition includes a false dichotomy.
Which fallacy of weak induction best describes the following example? "If we allow the children
to stay home from school today, they will expect to stay home every time it snows. Next they
will expect to stay home whenever it rains, when it is too cold, too hot, or even too nice outside.
Eventually the children will stay home from school every day." - correct answer -Slippery slope
A soccer fan buys a jersey with his favorite player's name and number on the back. When the
player's performance decreases, the fan attributes it to the jersey he bought. Which fallacy of
weak induction best describes this argument? - correct answer -Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
,Equivocation Fallacy - correct answer -The fallacy of equivocation occurs when a key term or
phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the
argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument.
hasty generalization fallacy - correct answer -The hasty generalization fallacy is sometimes
called the over-generalization fallacy. It is basically making a claim based on evidence that it just
too small. Essentially, you can't make a claim and say that something is true if you have only an
example or two as evidence.
appeal to ignorance fallacy - correct answer -This fallacy occurs when you argue that your
conclusion must be true, because there is no evidence against it.
Slippery slope fallacy - correct answer -A slippery slope fallacy occurs when someone makes a
claim about a series of events that would lead to one major event, usually a bad event. In this
fallacy, a person makes a claim that one event leads to another event and so on until we come
to some awful conclusion.
post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy - correct answer -Post hoc ergo propter hoc is an informal
fallacy that states: "Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X."
It is often shortened simply to post hoc fallacy
Shifting the burden of proof fallacy - correct answer -Shifting the burden of proof, a special case
of argumentum ad ignorantium, is the fallacy of putting the burden of proof on the person who
denies or questions the assertion being made. The source of the fallacy is the assumption that
something is true unless proven otherwise. EX: One example of the burden of proof fallacy is
, someone who claims that ghosts exists, but doesn't prove this, and instead shifts the burden of
proof to others, by stating that anyone who disagrees should prove ghosts don't exist.
Confirmation bias - correct answer -Confirmation bias is the tendency of people to favor
information that confirms their existing beliefs or hypotheses. Confirmation bias happens when
a person gives more weight to evidence that confirms their beliefs and undervalues evidence
that could disprove it.
Anchoring bias - correct answer -Anchoring bias is a cognitive bias that causes us to rely too
heavily on the first piece of information we are given about a topic. When we are setting plans
or making estimates about something, we interpret newer information from the reference point
of our anchor, instead of seeing it objectively.
selection bias - correct answer -Selection bias is a distortion in a measure of association (such as
a risk ratio) due to a sample selection that does not accurately reflect the target population. EX:
Selection bias also occurs when people volunteer for a study. Those who choose to join (i.e. who
self-select into the study) may share a characteristic that makes them different from non-
participants from the get-go
sound argument - correct answer -Soundness: An argument is sound if it meets these two
criteria: (1) It is valid. (2) Its premises are true.
valid argument - correct answer -A valid argument is an argument in which the conclusion must
be true whenever the hypotheses are true. EX: "It rains only if I carry an umbrella" can be
rewritten as "If it rains, then I carry an umbrella."
THINKING - REASON AND EVIDENCE
2025/ 2026 QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS
A teacher talks with a student about failing to turn in homework. The student replies by
expressing a desire to dress up as a superhero for Halloween. Which response best matches this
fallacy of relevance? - correct answer -Red herring
Either everyone will devour this pecan pie, or they will choose another dessert. Which two
statements accurately describe this proposition? - correct answer -The proposition mistakes
causation for correlation. & The proposition contains black and white thinking. & The
proposition includes a false dichotomy.
Which fallacy of weak induction best describes the following example? "If we allow the children
to stay home from school today, they will expect to stay home every time it snows. Next they
will expect to stay home whenever it rains, when it is too cold, too hot, or even too nice outside.
Eventually the children will stay home from school every day." - correct answer -Slippery slope
A soccer fan buys a jersey with his favorite player's name and number on the back. When the
player's performance decreases, the fan attributes it to the jersey he bought. Which fallacy of
weak induction best describes this argument? - correct answer -Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
,Equivocation Fallacy - correct answer -The fallacy of equivocation occurs when a key term or
phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the
argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument.
hasty generalization fallacy - correct answer -The hasty generalization fallacy is sometimes
called the over-generalization fallacy. It is basically making a claim based on evidence that it just
too small. Essentially, you can't make a claim and say that something is true if you have only an
example or two as evidence.
appeal to ignorance fallacy - correct answer -This fallacy occurs when you argue that your
conclusion must be true, because there is no evidence against it.
Slippery slope fallacy - correct answer -A slippery slope fallacy occurs when someone makes a
claim about a series of events that would lead to one major event, usually a bad event. In this
fallacy, a person makes a claim that one event leads to another event and so on until we come
to some awful conclusion.
post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy - correct answer -Post hoc ergo propter hoc is an informal
fallacy that states: "Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X."
It is often shortened simply to post hoc fallacy
Shifting the burden of proof fallacy - correct answer -Shifting the burden of proof, a special case
of argumentum ad ignorantium, is the fallacy of putting the burden of proof on the person who
denies or questions the assertion being made. The source of the fallacy is the assumption that
something is true unless proven otherwise. EX: One example of the burden of proof fallacy is
, someone who claims that ghosts exists, but doesn't prove this, and instead shifts the burden of
proof to others, by stating that anyone who disagrees should prove ghosts don't exist.
Confirmation bias - correct answer -Confirmation bias is the tendency of people to favor
information that confirms their existing beliefs or hypotheses. Confirmation bias happens when
a person gives more weight to evidence that confirms their beliefs and undervalues evidence
that could disprove it.
Anchoring bias - correct answer -Anchoring bias is a cognitive bias that causes us to rely too
heavily on the first piece of information we are given about a topic. When we are setting plans
or making estimates about something, we interpret newer information from the reference point
of our anchor, instead of seeing it objectively.
selection bias - correct answer -Selection bias is a distortion in a measure of association (such as
a risk ratio) due to a sample selection that does not accurately reflect the target population. EX:
Selection bias also occurs when people volunteer for a study. Those who choose to join (i.e. who
self-select into the study) may share a characteristic that makes them different from non-
participants from the get-go
sound argument - correct answer -Soundness: An argument is sound if it meets these two
criteria: (1) It is valid. (2) Its premises are true.
valid argument - correct answer -A valid argument is an argument in which the conclusion must
be true whenever the hypotheses are true. EX: "It rains only if I carry an umbrella" can be
rewritten as "If it rains, then I carry an umbrella."
