BCA Critical Thinking 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A study claims that students who eat breakfast score higher on tests. Which conclusion is best supported by this data?
- Eating breakfast causes higher test scores
- There is a correlation between breakfast and test scores (Correct answer)
- Students who skip breakfast are less intelligent
- Schools should mandate breakfast for all students
Correct answer: There is a correlation between breakfast and test scores
Correlation does not imply causation; the data only shows a relationship, not a causal link.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of an ad hominem fallacy?
- Dismissing an argument because the statistics are flawed
- Rejecting a climate scientist's findings because she drives a large SUV (Correct answer)
- Questioning a study because its sample size is too small
- Doubting a conclusion because the methodology was not peer-reviewed
Correct answer: Rejecting a climate scientist's findings because she drives a large SUV
Ad hominem attacks the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.
Question 3: If all mammals are warm-blooded, and whales are mammals, what can be concluded?
- Whales are the only warm-blooded sea animals
- Whales are warm-blooded (Correct answer)
- All warm-blooded animals are mammals
- Whales evolved from land mammals
Correct answer: Whales are warm-blooded
This is a valid deductive syllogism: the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises.
Question 4: A politician says, 'You're either with us or against us.' What reasoning error does this represent?
- Slippery slope
- False dilemma (Correct answer)
- Straw man
- Appeal to authority
Correct answer: False dilemma
A false dilemma presents only two options when more alternatives exist.
Question 5: Which question best evaluates the credibility of a source?
- Does the source agree with my existing beliefs?
- Is the source recent, peer-reviewed, and from an expert in the field? (Correct answer)
- Has the source been cited by popular media outlets?
- Does the source use technical language?
Correct answer: Is the source recent, peer-reviewed, and from an expert in the field?
Credibility depends on currency, expertise, and peer review, not agreement or popularity.
Question 6: In a logical argument, what is the role of a premise?
- It is the final conclusion drawn from evidence
- It is a statement offered as support for the conclusion (Correct answer)
- It is a counterargument that must be refuted
- It is an assumption that has already been proven
Correct answer: It is a statement offered as support for the conclusion
Premises are the supporting statements from which a conclusion is derived.
Question 7: A researcher only interviews people at a gym about exercise habits. This is an example of:
- Random sampling
- Stratified sampling
- Sampling bias (Correct answer)
- Convenience sampling that is still representative
Correct answer: Sampling bias
Sampling bias occurs when the sample does not represent the broader population being studied.
BCA Critical Thinking 2
A study claims that students who eat breakfast score higher on tests.
Which conclusion is best supported by this data?