CCTST Argument Assessment 5

Question 1

A study finds that students who eat breakfast score higher on tests. A parent concludes: 'To improve my child's test scores, I should make sure they eat breakfast.' This reasoning is best described as:

Accepted Answer

An inductive inference that may be reasonable but could have confounding factors

Answer

The parent's conclusion is a reasonable inductive inference from the data, though correlation does not establish causation and other factors (e.g., family stability) may explain both variables.

Question 2

Which of the following best illustrates the fallacy of 'appeal to ignorance' (argumentum ad ignorantiam)?

Accepted Answer

Claiming something must be true because no one has proven it false

Answer

Appeal to ignorance treats the absence of disproof as sufficient evidence for truth, which is a logical error — lack of evidence against is not evidence for.

Question 3

To identify the 'main conclusion' of a complex argument, a critical thinker should look for:

Accepted Answer

The claim that the other statements are intended to support, often signaled by words like 'therefore' or 'thus'

Answer

The conclusion is the claim that all the reasons (premises) are meant to establish, and conclusion indicators like 'therefore,' 'hence,' or 'so' often signal it.

Question 4

An argument is evaluated as 'valid' but 'unsound.' What does this mean?

Accepted Answer

The logical structure is correct (conclusion follows from premises), but at least one premise is false

Answer

A valid but unsound argument has proper logical structure, but one or more of its premises are actually false, so the conclusion may not be true.

Question 5

Which strategy is MOST effective for critically assessing the strength of a causal claim?

Accepted Answer

Considering whether alternative explanations, confounding variables, or reverse causation could account for the observed correlation

Answer

Rigorous causal assessment requires ruling out competing explanations, including confounds, coincidence, and reverse causation, not just accepting correlation.

(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test

(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test

CCTST Argument Assessment 5