Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Interpreting Evidence and Data 2

Question 1

A study reports that cities with more coffee shops per capita have higher average incomes. Which conclusion is best supported by this data?

Accepted Answer

Higher income and coffee shop density are correlated

Answer

The data shows a correlation between two variables but does not establish which causes which.

Question 2

A bar chart shows that Product A outsold Product B in Q1 and Q2 but the chart's y-axis starts at 50,000 units rather than zero. What is the most important interpretive caution?

Accepted Answer

The visual gap exaggerates the actual difference in sales

Answer

A truncated y-axis makes small absolute differences appear much larger than they are.

Question 3

Researchers find that 80% of people who ate the cafeteria salad got sick, but 60% of those who did not eat it also got sick. What should you conclude?

Accepted Answer

The salad is not the sole or primary cause of illness

Answer

Because many non-salad eaters also got sick, the salad alone cannot explain the outbreak.

Question 4

A line graph shows employee satisfaction rising from January to June, then the data line ends. A manager claims satisfaction will continue rising through December. This claim is best described as:

Accepted Answer

An extrapolation beyond the available evidence

Answer

Extending a trend beyond the observed period is extrapolation, which is not supported by the existing data alone.

Question 5

A dataset shows that students who sleep more than 8 hours score higher on exams. A classmate says, 'So sleeping more makes you smarter.' What flaw exists in this reasoning?

Accepted Answer

It confuses correlation with causation

Answer

The data shows an association; it does not prove that additional sleep directly causes higher intelligence or scores.

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Interpreting Evidence and Data 2