NBT Critical Thinking & Argument Evaluation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A politician claims: 'Crime rates fell 15% after we passed the new law, so the law clearly reduced crime.' What is the primary flaw in this reasoning?
- The percentage is too small to be meaningful
- Correlation does not establish causation (Correct answer)
- The politician is biased and cannot be trusted
- The claim uses circular reasoning
Correct answer: Correlation does not establish causation
The argument assumes the law caused the decline without ruling out other possible explanations, confusing correlation with causation.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of a hasty generalization?
- All metals conduct electricity because of their atomic structure
- 'I met two rude people from that city, so everyone there must be rude' (Correct answer)
- The study found that 80% of participants improved with treatment
- Since water boils at 100°C at sea level, altitude affects boiling point
Correct answer: 'I met two rude people from that city, so everyone there must be rude'
Drawing a broad conclusion about an entire group based on just two examples is a hasty generalization.
Question 3: An argument contains the following premise: 'Everyone agrees that this policy is harmful.' What assumption is this statement making?
- The policy has been in effect for a long time
- Universal agreement exists, with no dissenting views (Correct answer)
- The speaker has personally reviewed the policy
- Harm can be objectively measured
Correct answer: Universal agreement exists, with no dissenting views
The phrase 'everyone agrees' falsely assumes unanimous consensus, which is almost never verifiable.
Question 4: Which type of evidence most strongly supports a causal claim in a scientific argument?
- Anecdotal reports from multiple individuals
- Expert opinion published in a newspaper
- Results of a randomized controlled experiment (Correct answer)
- A logical argument with no empirical data
Correct answer: Results of a randomized controlled experiment
A randomized controlled experiment is the gold standard for establishing causation by isolating variables.
Question 5: Read the argument: 'You should not take advice about nutrition from Dr. Smith because she is overweight.' This is an example of which fallacy?
- Straw man
- Ad hominem (Correct answer)
- False dichotomy
- Slippery slope
Correct answer: Ad hominem
Attacking the person's character or appearance rather than their argument is the ad hominem fallacy.
Question 6: A conclusion follows necessarily from its premises if and only if:
- The premises are supported by statistics
- It is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false (Correct answer)
- The argument is written by a credible authority
- The conclusion is widely believed to be true
Correct answer: It is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false
Deductive validity means the conclusion cannot be false when all premises are true.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes a 'false dilemma'?
- Presenting two options as the only possibilities when others exist (Correct answer)
- Making a conclusion that contradicts a stated premise
- Using emotional language to sway an audience
- Repeating a claim multiple times to make it seem true
Correct answer: Presenting two options as the only possibilities when others exist
A false dilemma artificially limits the options to two when more alternatives exist.
NBT Critical Thinking & Argument Evaluation 2
A politician claims: 'Crime rates fell 15% after we passed the new law, so the law clearly reduced crime.' What is the primary flaw in this reasoning?