Kaplan Critical Thinking 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is the strongest counterargument to 'Organic food is healthier because it is natural'?
- Natural things are always better than artificial ones
- Many natural substances are toxic, so 'natural' does not guarantee safety or health (Correct answer)
- Organic food costs more, which discourages people from buying it
- Health is subjective and means different things to different people
Correct answer: Many natural substances are toxic, so 'natural' does not guarantee safety or health
Many naturally occurring substances (e.g., arsenic, hemlock) are harmful, showing that 'natural' does not inherently mean healthy.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of identifying unstated assumptions in an argument?
- To make the argument longer and more detailed
- To expose hidden premises that the argument depends on and may be false (Correct answer)
- To restate the conclusion in different words
- To determine the author's emotional tone
Correct answer: To expose hidden premises that the argument depends on and may be false
Unstated assumptions are the hidden premises on which an argument rests; if they are false, the argument may fail even if stated premises are true.
Question 3: A politician says: 'Senator Jones opposes the new highway bill, but he was convicted of a minor traffic violation ten years ago.' This is an example of:
- Red herring
- Ad hominem (Correct answer)
- Appeal to emotion
- Straw man
Correct answer: Ad hominem
Ad hominem attacks the person making the argument rather than addressing the argument's merits.
Question 4: Which scenario best illustrates deductive reasoning?
- After observing 50 swans, all white, concluding all swans are white
- Given all mammals breathe air and whales are mammals, concluding whales breathe air (Correct answer)
- Predicting rain because it has rained the last five Mondays
- Forming a hypothesis based on a pattern in experimental data
Correct answer: Given all mammals breathe air and whales are mammals, concluding whales breathe air
Deductive reasoning draws a certain conclusion from general premises; if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.
Question 5: An editorial argues that crime is rising because rap music became popular in the 1980s. What logical error does this commit?
- Straw man
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Correct answer)
- Appeal to authority
- Hasty generalization
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Post hoc ergo propter hoc assumes that because B followed A, A caused B, ignoring other potential causes.
Question 6: Which of the following best strengthens an inductive argument?
- Using more emotional language
- Increasing the size and representativeness of the sample (Correct answer)
- Restating the conclusion as a premise
- Citing a single expert's opinion
Correct answer: Increasing the size and representativeness of the sample
Larger and more representative samples reduce the chance that observations are coincidental, strengthening inductive conclusions.
Question 7: A researcher wants to test whether a new drug reduces anxiety. The control group receives a placebo. What is the main purpose of the control group?
- To provide a baseline for comparison unaffected by the treatment (Correct answer)
- To increase the total number of participants in the study
- To ensure all participants receive some benefit
- To measure side effects of the new drug
Correct answer: To provide a baseline for comparison unaffected by the treatment
The control group provides a baseline, allowing researchers to isolate the drug's effect by comparing outcomes to a group that received no active treatment.
Kaplan Critical Thinking 3
Which of the following is the strongest counterargument to 'Organic food is healthier because it is natural'?