WGU D265 CRITICAL THINKING UPDATED EXAM
TEST PAPER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Most students in the class scored less than 70% on the exam. This means that the
exam was too difficult to accurately assess student learning. Therefore, as exams are
supposed to accurately assess student learning, the exam must be revised and
readministered.
Which statement is the conclusion of the above argument?
- The exam must be revised and readministered.
- Some students in the class scored higher than 70% on the exam.
- Exams are supposed to accurately assess student learning.
- Most students in the class scored less than 70% on the exam. - ✔✔The exam must be
revised and readministered.
✔✔Which sentences are arguments? Choose 2 answers.
- We know the student cheated on the exam because the instructor caught the student
stealing glances at their neighbor's test.
- The student only cheated on the exam because their financial aid depended on it.
- No one has ever been to the moon, so we do not know that it is not made of cheese.
- If you suspect you have been infected with rabies, then you should contact a medical
professional immediately. - ✔✔- We know the student cheated on the exam because
the instructor caught the student stealing glances at their neighbor's test.
- No one has ever been to the moon, so we do not know that it is not made of cheese.
✔✔Which pairs of sentences are arguments? Choose 2 answers.
- Every time I walk by here, Chris is doing nothing. Chris must not do anything with the
available time.
- We need to act now to reverse greenhouse gas emissions. If we do not, the earth will
soon become inhospitable to human life.
,- John Lennon was shot and killed. So were Bobby Kennedy and his brother John.
- One student cheated on the test. But it was only because the student felt ill prepared. -
✔✔- Every time I walk by here, Chris is doing nothing. Chris must not do anything with
the available time.
- We need to act now to reverse greenhouse gas emissions. If we do not, the earth will
soon become inhospitable to human life.
✔✔I just heard the news about Riley's car. It was vandalized last Saturday. There is no
doubt Jordan did it. I went to the bowling alley that night. I bowled a 160! Anyway, I saw
Jordan there and, although it was barely noticeable, I definitely saw paint on Jordan's
shirt. It is unlikely there would be paint on Jordan's shirt unless Jordan had spray-
painted Riley's car. It is a shame, really, since it was such a nice shirt. It was the green
one. Oh, and you know Jordan has motive. After all, Jordan has a well-known grudge
against Riley. You remember when Riley borrowed Jordan's lawnmower and did not
return it. And there was opportunity, because Jordan does not work on the weekend
and usually stays home watching television. But the lightning storm earlier last week
short-circuited Jordan's TV set. Besides, they canceled Jordan's favorite Saturday
evening show.
Which description best characterizes the above?
- A story
- - ✔✔An argument
✔✔Kinds of Inferences - ✔✔Deduction
Induction
Inference to the best explanation or abduction
✔✔Deduction - ✔✔arguments where the premises guarantee or necessitate the
conclusion
— mathematical arguments, logical arguments, arguments from definition
✔✔Induction - ✔✔arguments where the premises make the conclusion probable
— analogies, authority, causal inferences, scientific reasoning, extrapolations, etc.
✔✔Inference to the best explanation or abduction - ✔✔arguments where the best
available explanation is chosen as the correct explanation
✔✔Truth - ✔✔A true proposition accurately represents reality.
✔✔Validity - ✔✔In a good deductive argument structure, true premises make the
conclusion necessarily true. (If not, it is an invalid structure.)
✔✔Soundness - ✔✔The deductive argument is valid and all premises are true
premises. (If not, it is an unsound argument.)
, ✔✔Sound Argument - ✔✔All True Premises + Valid Structure
✔✔Strength - ✔✔In a strong inductive argument, true premises make the conclusion
probably true.
✔✔Cogency - ✔✔Strong inductive arguments with all true premises are cogent.
✔✔Consider the following argument: Smith inspected 990 jellybeans in the jar. Each of
the beans Smith inspected is red. Therefore, all 1000 of the beans in the jar are red.
Which kind of argument is this?
- A strong argument
- Deductive argument
- A weak argument
- A valid argument - ✔✔A strong argument
✔✔Some arguments are such that the premises of the argument entail its conclusion,
which means that if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true.
What are such arguments called?
- Inductive arguments
- Abductive arguments
- Fallacious arguments
- Valid arguments - ✔✔Valid arguments
✔✔Consider the following argument: If Jones is a baseball player, then Jones is an
athlete. Jones is a baseball player. Thus, Jones is an athlete.
Which kind of argument is this?
- A conditional proposition
- A valid argument
- A strong argument
- An invalid argument - ✔✔A valid argument
✔✔In deductive reasoning, what is the difference between validity and soundness?
- Validity concerns the truth of an argument's premises, but soundness requires a high
degree of probability.
- Validity only concerns the structure of an argument, but soundness requires both
validity and true premises.
- Validity concerns an argument's probability, but soundness requires clearly defined
terms.
TEST PAPER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Most students in the class scored less than 70% on the exam. This means that the
exam was too difficult to accurately assess student learning. Therefore, as exams are
supposed to accurately assess student learning, the exam must be revised and
readministered.
Which statement is the conclusion of the above argument?
- The exam must be revised and readministered.
- Some students in the class scored higher than 70% on the exam.
- Exams are supposed to accurately assess student learning.
- Most students in the class scored less than 70% on the exam. - ✔✔The exam must be
revised and readministered.
✔✔Which sentences are arguments? Choose 2 answers.
- We know the student cheated on the exam because the instructor caught the student
stealing glances at their neighbor's test.
- The student only cheated on the exam because their financial aid depended on it.
- No one has ever been to the moon, so we do not know that it is not made of cheese.
- If you suspect you have been infected with rabies, then you should contact a medical
professional immediately. - ✔✔- We know the student cheated on the exam because
the instructor caught the student stealing glances at their neighbor's test.
- No one has ever been to the moon, so we do not know that it is not made of cheese.
✔✔Which pairs of sentences are arguments? Choose 2 answers.
- Every time I walk by here, Chris is doing nothing. Chris must not do anything with the
available time.
- We need to act now to reverse greenhouse gas emissions. If we do not, the earth will
soon become inhospitable to human life.
,- John Lennon was shot and killed. So were Bobby Kennedy and his brother John.
- One student cheated on the test. But it was only because the student felt ill prepared. -
✔✔- Every time I walk by here, Chris is doing nothing. Chris must not do anything with
the available time.
- We need to act now to reverse greenhouse gas emissions. If we do not, the earth will
soon become inhospitable to human life.
✔✔I just heard the news about Riley's car. It was vandalized last Saturday. There is no
doubt Jordan did it. I went to the bowling alley that night. I bowled a 160! Anyway, I saw
Jordan there and, although it was barely noticeable, I definitely saw paint on Jordan's
shirt. It is unlikely there would be paint on Jordan's shirt unless Jordan had spray-
painted Riley's car. It is a shame, really, since it was such a nice shirt. It was the green
one. Oh, and you know Jordan has motive. After all, Jordan has a well-known grudge
against Riley. You remember when Riley borrowed Jordan's lawnmower and did not
return it. And there was opportunity, because Jordan does not work on the weekend
and usually stays home watching television. But the lightning storm earlier last week
short-circuited Jordan's TV set. Besides, they canceled Jordan's favorite Saturday
evening show.
Which description best characterizes the above?
- A story
- - ✔✔An argument
✔✔Kinds of Inferences - ✔✔Deduction
Induction
Inference to the best explanation or abduction
✔✔Deduction - ✔✔arguments where the premises guarantee or necessitate the
conclusion
— mathematical arguments, logical arguments, arguments from definition
✔✔Induction - ✔✔arguments where the premises make the conclusion probable
— analogies, authority, causal inferences, scientific reasoning, extrapolations, etc.
✔✔Inference to the best explanation or abduction - ✔✔arguments where the best
available explanation is chosen as the correct explanation
✔✔Truth - ✔✔A true proposition accurately represents reality.
✔✔Validity - ✔✔In a good deductive argument structure, true premises make the
conclusion necessarily true. (If not, it is an invalid structure.)
✔✔Soundness - ✔✔The deductive argument is valid and all premises are true
premises. (If not, it is an unsound argument.)
, ✔✔Sound Argument - ✔✔All True Premises + Valid Structure
✔✔Strength - ✔✔In a strong inductive argument, true premises make the conclusion
probably true.
✔✔Cogency - ✔✔Strong inductive arguments with all true premises are cogent.
✔✔Consider the following argument: Smith inspected 990 jellybeans in the jar. Each of
the beans Smith inspected is red. Therefore, all 1000 of the beans in the jar are red.
Which kind of argument is this?
- A strong argument
- Deductive argument
- A weak argument
- A valid argument - ✔✔A strong argument
✔✔Some arguments are such that the premises of the argument entail its conclusion,
which means that if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true.
What are such arguments called?
- Inductive arguments
- Abductive arguments
- Fallacious arguments
- Valid arguments - ✔✔Valid arguments
✔✔Consider the following argument: If Jones is a baseball player, then Jones is an
athlete. Jones is a baseball player. Thus, Jones is an athlete.
Which kind of argument is this?
- A conditional proposition
- A valid argument
- A strong argument
- An invalid argument - ✔✔A valid argument
✔✔In deductive reasoning, what is the difference between validity and soundness?
- Validity concerns the truth of an argument's premises, but soundness requires a high
degree of probability.
- Validity only concerns the structure of an argument, but soundness requires both
validity and true premises.
- Validity concerns an argument's probability, but soundness requires clearly defined
terms.
