PHIL 347 Critical Thinking Week 4
Checkpoint Quiz 2026/2027 with Detailed
Rationales | Complete Exam-Style
Questions | Pass Guaranteed – A+
Graded
Q1: Which of the following best describes a deductively valid argument?
A. An argument where the premises make the conclusion probable
B. An argument with true premises and a false conclusion
C. An argument where it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false
[CORRECT]
D. An argument supported by strong inductive evidence
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because deductive validity is defined by the impossibility of true premises and a
false conclusion; the logical structure guarantees the conclusion if premises are true.
Q2: A political candidate claims, "My opponent wants to raise taxes on everyone, which will destroy
small businesses." In reality, the opponent only proposed raising taxes on corporations earning
over $10 million. This argument contains which fallacy?
A. Ad hominem
B. False dilemma
C. Straw man [CORRECT]
D. Appeal to ignorance
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because the candidate misrepresents the opponent's actual position by
exaggerating it, which is the defining feature of the straw man fallacy.
, Q3: Consider the following argument: "All mammals are warm-blooded. All dogs are mammals.
Therefore, all dogs are warm-blooded." This argument is an example of:
A. Modus tollens
B. Inductive generalization
C. Categorical syllogism [CORRECT]
D. Analogical argument
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because the argument contains two categorical premises and a categorical
conclusion with three terms (mammals, warm-blooded, dogs), matching the structure of a
categorical syllogism.
Q4: A medical study reports a correlation coefficient of r = -0.85 between hours of sedentary
behavior and cardiovascular health scores. Which interpretation is most accurate?
A. Sedentary behavior causes poor cardiovascular health
B. There is no meaningful relationship between the variables
C. There is a strong negative linear correlation between sedentary behavior and cardiovascular
health [CORRECT]
D. 85% of cardiovascular cases are caused by sedentary behavior
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because a correlation coefficient of -0.85 indicates a strong negative linear
relationship; however, correlation alone does not establish causation.
Q5: "You should vote for this policy because everyone in our community supports it." This
argument commits which fallacy?
A. Appeal to emotion
B. Slippery slope
C. Bandwagon (ad populum) [CORRECT]
D. False cause
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because the argument appeals to popularity as a reason for acceptance, which
is the bandwagon or ad populum fallacy; popularity does not establish truth.
Q6: In a categorical syllogism, the fallacy of the undistributed middle occurs when:
A. The conclusion is negative while one premise is affirmative
B. Both premises are negative
C. The middle term is not distributed in at least one premise [CORRECT]
D. The syllogism contains four distinct terms
Correct Answer: C
Checkpoint Quiz 2026/2027 with Detailed
Rationales | Complete Exam-Style
Questions | Pass Guaranteed – A+
Graded
Q1: Which of the following best describes a deductively valid argument?
A. An argument where the premises make the conclusion probable
B. An argument with true premises and a false conclusion
C. An argument where it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false
[CORRECT]
D. An argument supported by strong inductive evidence
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because deductive validity is defined by the impossibility of true premises and a
false conclusion; the logical structure guarantees the conclusion if premises are true.
Q2: A political candidate claims, "My opponent wants to raise taxes on everyone, which will destroy
small businesses." In reality, the opponent only proposed raising taxes on corporations earning
over $10 million. This argument contains which fallacy?
A. Ad hominem
B. False dilemma
C. Straw man [CORRECT]
D. Appeal to ignorance
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because the candidate misrepresents the opponent's actual position by
exaggerating it, which is the defining feature of the straw man fallacy.
, Q3: Consider the following argument: "All mammals are warm-blooded. All dogs are mammals.
Therefore, all dogs are warm-blooded." This argument is an example of:
A. Modus tollens
B. Inductive generalization
C. Categorical syllogism [CORRECT]
D. Analogical argument
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because the argument contains two categorical premises and a categorical
conclusion with three terms (mammals, warm-blooded, dogs), matching the structure of a
categorical syllogism.
Q4: A medical study reports a correlation coefficient of r = -0.85 between hours of sedentary
behavior and cardiovascular health scores. Which interpretation is most accurate?
A. Sedentary behavior causes poor cardiovascular health
B. There is no meaningful relationship between the variables
C. There is a strong negative linear correlation between sedentary behavior and cardiovascular
health [CORRECT]
D. 85% of cardiovascular cases are caused by sedentary behavior
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because a correlation coefficient of -0.85 indicates a strong negative linear
relationship; however, correlation alone does not establish causation.
Q5: "You should vote for this policy because everyone in our community supports it." This
argument commits which fallacy?
A. Appeal to emotion
B. Slippery slope
C. Bandwagon (ad populum) [CORRECT]
D. False cause
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Correct because the argument appeals to popularity as a reason for acceptance, which
is the bandwagon or ad populum fallacy; popularity does not establish truth.
Q6: In a categorical syllogism, the fallacy of the undistributed middle occurs when:
A. The conclusion is negative while one premise is affirmative
B. Both premises are negative
C. The middle term is not distributed in at least one premise [CORRECT]
D. The syllogism contains four distinct terms
Correct Answer: C
