Physician Assistant Academic Ability 3

Question 1

Which logical fallacy is committed when someone argues, 'You can't trust Dr. Smith's research on smoking because he once smoked himself'?

Accepted Answer

Ad hominem

Answer

An ad hominem fallacy attacks the person rather than evaluating the merits of the argument or evidence.

Question 2

A table shows that 60 out of 400 patients developed a side effect. What percentage of patients experienced the side effect?

Accepted Answer

15%

Answer

60 / 400 = 0.15 = 15%.

Question 3

The word 'ameliorate' most nearly means:

Accepted Answer

Improve

Answer

To ameliorate means to make something bad or unsatisfactory better.

Question 4

A researcher wants to determine the median of the following data set: 7, 3, 12, 5, 9. What is the median?

Accepted Answer

7

Answer

Ordered: 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 — the middle value is 7.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of deductive reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Noting that all mammals breathe air and concluding that whales breathe air

Answer

Deductive reasoning applies a general rule (all mammals breathe air) to a specific case (whales) to reach a certain conclusion.

Physician Assistant Practice Test