SAT Logical Reasoning & Argument Analysis 4

Question 1

Which choice best identifies an 'appeal to authority' fallacy?

Accepted Answer

A celebrity endorses a medical claim outside their expertise

Answer

Relying on someone with no relevant expertise is a faulty appeal to authority.

Question 2

An argument states: 'No one has proven ghosts don't exist, so they must be real.' This error is:

Accepted Answer

Appeal to ignorance

Answer

Claiming something is true because it hasn't been disproven is an appeal to ignorance.

Question 3

Which choice would most effectively weaken: 'Our city's recycling program works because trash is down 10%'?

Accepted Answer

A new landfill fee, not recycling, reduced trash

Answer

Identifying an alternative cause undermines the program's claimed effect.

Question 4

'A school is like a business; therefore it should fire its least productive teachers immediately.' This argument relies on:

Accepted Answer

A possibly false analogy

Answer

The reasoning assumes schools and businesses are alike in all relevant ways.

Question 5

Which is an unstated assumption in 'We should hire Maria because she graduated from a top university'?

Accepted Answer

Top-university graduates make good employees

Answer

The argument assumes graduating from a top school predicts job performance.

SAT Practice Test