Critical Thinking Flashcards
6 cards from real BCAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Critical Thinking flashcards as text
A BCAT candidate reads: 'All law students who passed the BCAT scored above 60. James scored above 60.' What conclusion can be drawn?
Answer: James may or may not have passed the BCAT
Scoring above 60 is a necessary condition for passing, not a sufficient one — James could have scored above 60 for other reasons.
Which of the following is an example of an ad hominem fallacy in a legal argument?
Answer: Attacking the opponent's character rather than their argument
Ad hominem attacks the person making the argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself.
In critical thinking for the BCAT, a 'straw man' fallacy occurs when:
Answer: You misrepresent an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack
A straw man replaces an opponent's real argument with a distorted version that is easier to defeat.
Which reasoning error is present in: 'We should reject the new evidence because the lawyer who presented it has been wrong before'?
Answer: Ad hominem
Dismissing evidence based on the presenter's past record rather than evaluating the evidence itself is ad hominem.
A BCAT passage states: 'Either the defendant was at the scene or he is innocent.' This is an example of:
Answer: A false dichotomy
This is a false dichotomy because there may be other possibilities, such as being at the scene but still innocent.
Which of the following best strengthens a deductive argument?
Answer: Ensuring the premises are true and the argument is valid
A deductive argument is strongest when its premises are true and the logical structure is valid, guaranteeing a true conclusion.