PHIL 1500 – Critical Thinking

Practice Exam for Unit IV

In the column on the right, circle the letters corresponding to the fallacies illustrated by the following examples. Note that some examples do not involve any fallacy. (5 points each.)

1. NutraSweet causes brain tumors! A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that the occurrence of brain tumors increased by 5% in the years after NutraSweet went on the market. That is frightening!
A. Appeal to authority	B. Appeal to fear	1 A B C D
C. False cause	D. no fallacy
2. I do not care about your industry statistics. A top aeronautics engineer was quoted on the news last night as saying that the engines in the DC-10 are unreliable. If the engines are unreliable, the aircraft is unreliable.
A. Appeal to authority	B. Composition	2 A B C D
C. Ad hominem	D. no fallacy
3.The United States must either put a large military contingent on the ground in Zaire or stay out completely. Large scale military intervention is not supported by the public. So the U.S. can do nothing to relieve the plight of the refugees in Zaire.
A. False cause	B. False dilemma	3 A B C D
C. Appeal to sympathy	D. no fallacy
4. We surveyed hundreds of homeless people last year. Few of them had jobs of any kind or even knew where they would get their next meal. We observed clear signs of mental illness in 83% of them. One must conclude that most unemployed people are mentally ill.
A. Affirming the consequent	B. Hasty generalization	4 A B C D
C. Appeal to sympathy	D. no fallacy
5. With the average you have so far, it’s mathematically impossible for you to pass the course. Would you rather withdraw or get an F? If you get an F, it will ruin your GPA. A poor GPA will keep you out of law school.
A. Begging the question	B. Affirming the consequent	5 A B C D
C. Complex question	D. no fallacy
6. If George ran the red light and struck the other car, then he is the person responsible. If George is a responsible person, then I can trust him to borrow my car. So if George ran the red light and struck the other car, then I can trust him to borrow my car.
A. False dilemma	B. Affirming the consequent	6 A B C D
C. Equivocation	D. no fallacy
7. A movie is worth the price of admission only if it is not boring. My friend says this movie is not boring. So this movie is worth the price of admission.
A. Denying the antecedent	B. Affirming the consequent	7 A B C D
C. Disjunctive fallacy	D. no fallacy
8. You wouldn’t go to a movie if you didn’t think you would enjoy it, would you? You don’t expect to enjoy your history class. Don’t go.
A. Denying the consequent	B. Complex question	8 A B C D
C. False analogy	D. no fallacy
9. All evidence to the contrary, Africans did not practice slavery. The history books showing that Africans did practice slavery were written by Europeans. Whatever evidence they might present, their conclusions are just the result of their own bias.
A. Ad hominem	B. Division	9 A B C D
C. False analogy	D. no fallacy
10. In recent polls, 85% of those questioned were opposed to the President’s new health plan. So it will neither improve health in this country nor reduce medical costs. We shouldn’t adopt a plan that will waste money.
A. Hasty generalization	B. Appeal to fear	10 A B C D
C. Appeal to the people	D. no fallacy
11. The first logic class I ever taught had 32 students in it. 23 of these made an A in the course and another 8 made a B. I realized then that logic is easy for college students.
A. Hasty generalization	B. Accident	11 A B C D
C. Begging the question	D. no fallacy
12. Aristotle said that it is difficult to be happy if one is poor. Few people in America today are poor. America must be a happy nation.
A. Appeal to the people	B. Appeal to authority	12 A B C D
C. Denying the antecedent	D. no fallacy
13. Clearly, Jean Valjean stole the candlesticks from the abbey. But this was his first offense and his children were starving. He should be given the lightest sentence the law allows.
A. Appeal to sympathy	B. Appeal to ignorance	13 A B C D
C. Ad hominem	D. no fallacy
14. Physics is a tough course. Either Joe studied or he didn’t make an A. Joe didn’t make an A. So he didn’t study, the lazy bum.
A. Ad hominem	B. Disjunctive fallacy	14 A B C D
C. False dilemma	D. no fallacy
15. I know that some mammals lay eggs and some fish are born live. But I’ve never heard of a snake that gives birth to live young. There’s no such animal.
A. False analogy	B. Equivocation	15 A B C D
C. Appeal to ignorance	D. no fallacy
16. There’s nothing wrong with my company cutting old growth forests for lumber. Thousands of people make a living at this work. And if my company doesn’t cut these trees, someone else will.
A. Appeal to the people	B. Appeal to pity	16 A B C D
C. Begging the question	D. no fallacy

17. Clem’s five best friends, Algernon, Bubba, Chauncey, Dudley, and Edgar, bought him a deck of cards (marked very subtly,) a book on guns, a Playboy subscription, a case of snuff (a tobacco product,) and a bottle of fine whiskey for Christmas. Clem wants to write thank-you notes, but he mixed up the cards on the gifts and has to figure out who gave him what. He knows that Algernon doesn’t approve of cards, Bubba doesn’t approve of guns, Chauncey doesn’t approve of tobacco, Dudley doesn’t approve of alcohol, and Edgar doesn’t approve of cards, guns, tobacco, or alcohol. Algernon had told him that one of the others was going to get him whiskey. Bubba or Dudley gave him the snuff and the other gave him the whiskey. Which gift did Clem get from each of his five friends? (10 points.)

	Deck of cards	Gun book	Playboy	Snuff	Whiskey
Algernon
Bubba
Chauncey
Dudley
Edgar

18. Mortimer runs the Chapel in the Woods at Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This Saturday he will perform five weddings at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00. The grooms are Buford, Clarence, Desmond, Ferdinand, and Quincy, and the brides are Dierdre, Griselda, Hortense, Matilda, and Porsche. While preparing to do next years taxes, Mortimer decided it would be better if certain records disappeared and he ran them through the shredder. Unfortunately, he ran his schedule of ceremonies for this Saturday through the shredder as well. All he can make out from the bits of paper are the names and the times. But he remembers that the couples were all related to each other in some way or another. Quincy is the father of Buford, Desmond, Griselda, and Matilda, and Quincy and his sons are scheduled for the first three weddings. Porsche has the first wedding and her groom has no children. Porsche’s children are Dierdre, Hortense, and Ferdinand. Ferdinand is in the last wedding, and Dierdre is getting married before Hortense. Hortense is the maid of honor for Quincy’s bride, Clarence is the best man for Matilda’s groom and Buford is giving Porsche away. Complete Mortimer’s schedule for him. (10 points.)

	Dierdre	Griselda	Hortense	Matilda	Porsche	1:00	2:00	3:00	4:00	5:00
Buford
Clarence
Desmond
Ferdinand
Quincy
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00

Wedding Schedule

	Bride	Groom
Time
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00

Last modified 8/19/2004