Drawing Deductive Conclusions Questions and Answers Flashcards
7 cards from real Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
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Premises: All managers attend the weekly briefing. Sandra is a manager. Conclusion: Sandra attends the weekly briefing.
Answer: The conclusion follows
Since all managers attend and Sandra is a manager, the conclusion follows necessarily by universal instantiation.
Premises: No reptiles are warm-blooded. All snakes are reptiles. Conclusion: Some snakes are warm-blooded.
Answer: The conclusion does not follow
If no reptiles are warm-blooded and all snakes are reptiles, then no snakes can be warm-blooded — so the conclusion contradicts the premises.
Premises: If it rains, the game is cancelled. The game was not cancelled. Conclusion: It did not rain.
Answer: The conclusion follows
This is the valid logical form modus tollens: if P→Q and ¬Q, then ¬P; therefore the conclusion follows.
Premises: Some students passed the exam. All students who passed received a certificate. Conclusion: All students received a certificate.
Answer: The conclusion does not follow
The premises only guarantee that the students who passed received certificates, not all students, so the conclusion is too strong.
Premises: Every employee who works overtime earns a bonus. James earned a bonus. Conclusion: James worked overtime.
Answer: The conclusion does not follow
Earning a bonus may have other causes; the premises do not state that overtime is the only way to earn a bonus, so affirming the consequent is a fallacy.
Premises: All fruits contain seeds. Bananas are fruits. Conclusion: Bananas contain seeds.
Answer: The conclusion follows
The syllogism is valid: all fruits contain seeds, bananas are fruits, therefore bananas contain seeds — the conclusion follows from the premises as stated.
Premises: No members of the committee voted for the proposal. Helen is not a member of the committee. Conclusion: Helen voted for the proposal.
Answer: The conclusion does not follow
The premises only restrict committee members' votes; they say nothing about how non-members voted, so no conclusion about Helen's vote follows.