SEHS Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is the strongest counter-argument to the claim: 'Students who attend selective schools always outperform those who don't'?
- Selective schools have better facilities.
- Some non-selective school students outperform selective school graduates. (Correct answer)
- Selective schools have stricter admissions.
- Selective school teachers are better qualified.
Correct answer: Some non-selective school students outperform selective school graduates.
A single counter-example that contradicts an 'always' claim is sufficient to disprove it.
Question 2: Four students each solve a puzzle in 12, 15, 9, and 18 minutes respectively. What is the average time taken?
- 12 minutes
- 13 minutes
- 13.5 minutes (Correct answer)
- 14 minutes
Correct answer: 13.5 minutes
(12 + 15 + 9 + 18) ÷ 4 = 54 ÷ 4 = 13.5 minutes.
Question 3: Which type of reasoning moves from specific observations to a general conclusion?
- Deductive reasoning
- Abductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning (Correct answer)
- Analogical reasoning
Correct answer: Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning generalizes from specific cases to form a broader conclusion.
Question 4: A rectangle has a perimeter of 36 cm and a length of 10 cm. What is its width?
- 6 cm
- 7 cm
- 8 cm (Correct answer)
- 9 cm
Correct answer: 8 cm
Perimeter = 2(l + w), so 36 = 2(10 + w), giving w = 18 − 10 = 8 cm.
Question 5: Which of the following represents the most logical sequence of steps when solving a word problem?
- Calculate, identify, check, re-read
- Re-read, identify key information, set up equation, calculate, verify (Correct answer)
- Guess, calculate, verify
- Identify answer choices, eliminate, guess
Correct answer: Re-read, identify key information, set up equation, calculate, verify
A systematic approach — understand the problem, extract key data, model it, compute, and verify — is the most effective problem-solving sequence.
Question 6: If no cats are dogs, and all dogs are animals, which statement must be true?
- No cats are animals
- Some cats are animals
- No dogs are cats (Correct answer)
- All cats are dogs
Correct answer: No dogs are cats
If no cats are dogs, then logically no dogs are cats — the relationship of exclusion is symmetric.
Question 7: A school ranks students by combined score. Maya scores 85 in math and 90 in English. Jake scores 92 in math and 82 in English. Who has the higher combined score?
- Maya, with 175 (Correct answer)
- Jake, with 174
- Maya, with 170
- They are equal
Correct answer: Maya, with 175
Maya: 85 + 90 = 175; Jake: 92 + 82 = 174. Maya's combined score is higher.
SEHS Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2
Which of the following is the strongest counter-argument to the claim: 'Students who attend selective schools always outperform those who don't'?