Tüm alıştırma soruları

The city council is proposing to replace all existing streetlights with new LED models. The council argues that this switch will reduce the city's annual streetlight operating budget. Their sole evidence is that the new LED models consume 40 percent less electricity per hour than the existing streetlights.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the city council's argument?

According to classical utilitarian ethics, an action is morally praiseworthy only if it involves a significant personal sacrifice on the part of the actor. Thus, Mayor Thompson's recent decision to donate his entire annual salary to the local hospital cannot be considered morally praiseworthy. Even though the hospital desperately needs the funds, this highly publicized donation will substantially increase the mayor's chances of winning the fiercely contested upcoming election.

Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion to be properly drawn?

A specific species of crop-destroying beetle in Region X recently developed resistance to the primary pesticide used to control its numbers. In response, farmers introduced a new species of wasp that preys exclusively on these beetles. Since the introduction of the wasps, the beetle population in Region X has declined by 40 percent. Therefore, the introduction of the wasp must be responsible for the recent decline in the beetle population.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument?

Effective urban planning requires a deep understanding of historical zoning laws. Yet, any urban planner whose education was restricted entirely to contemporary civil engineering will lack a deep understanding of historical zoning laws. Therefore, city governments should never employ urban planners whose education was restricted entirely to contemporary civil engineering.

Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion to be properly drawn?

Ecologist: The newly analyzed deep-sea hydrothermal vent network—a complex, interconnected biosphere comprising thousands of distinct organisms—exhibits remarkable metabolic stability even when localized volcanic activity severely disrupts chemical nutrient flows. Consequently, the newly discovered Thermotoga profunda bacterium, which acts as a primary energy producer within this network, must individually maintain extreme metabolic stability during severe fluctuations in chemical nutrient availability.

The ecologist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it:

After the local bakery switched to using organic flour, the total number of pastries it sold per week increased by 25 percent. The bakery owner concluded that the switch to organic flour caused this increase in pastry sales.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the bakery owner's argument depends?

Excavations at the ancient Koris site have uncovered intricate bone flutes dating back approximately 40,000 years. The only hominid remains found at the Koris site from this time period belong to Neanderthals. Based on this evidence, archaeologists conclude that Neanderthals must have possessed the cognitive capacity to create complex musical instruments.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the archaeologists' argument depends?

In a recent decade-long study of 50 agricultural regions, researchers found that the regions that had adopted a newly developed soil conservation technique experienced a significantly lower rate of topsoil erosion than the regions that continued to rely on traditional methods. Based on this data, the researchers concluded that the adoption of the new technique was responsible for the disparity in erosion rates between the two groups.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the researchers' argument depends?

Over the past decade, the municipality of Oakhaven implemented a 'Green Streets' initiative, significantly increasing the number of trees and public parks in its downtown district. During this same ten-year period, the incidence of stress-related illnesses reported by downtown residents decreased by 30 percent. Because clinical studies have consistently demonstrated that exposure to urban green spaces lowers cortisol levels, city officials conclude that Oakhaven's newly added green spaces directly caused the local reduction in stress-related illnesses.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the city officials' argument depends?

Match each logical argument (left) with the piece of evidence (right) that most strengthens its conclusion.

A recent study found that employees who voluntarily take frequent short breaks during the workday are more productive overall than employees who do not take such breaks. Based on this study, the human resources director concludes that if the company mandates frequent short breaks for all of its employees, the company's overall productivity will increase.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the director's argument depends?

Public Health Official: We should adopt the proposed dietary guidelines limiting the intake of synthetic preservatives. Dr. Aris Thorne, a globally recognized epidemiologist who has extensively studied the spread of viral pathogens in urban populations, has argued that synthetic preservatives in our food supply compromise the immune system. When a researcher of Dr. Thorne's caliber issues a warning about public health, it is imperative that policymakers heed that advice and update our nutritional standards.

The public health official's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

Consider the following argument:

City Council Member: Our city's public transit system is currently operating at a significant financial deficit. To eliminate this deficit, the transit authority has proposed a 20 percent increase in all bus and subway fares. However, our studies indicate that this fare increase will cause a 25 percent drop in total ridership as commuters switch to other modes of transportation. Therefore, implementing the fare increase will actually worsen the transit system's financial deficit rather than eliminate it.

The argument above necessarily assumes that the transit system's operating costs will not decrease sufficiently to offset the lost revenue when ridership drops by 25 percent.

A recent workplace study found that employees who regularly use standing desks report 30 percent fewer instances of lower back pain than employees who use traditional sitting desks. Based on this study, a workplace consultant concluded that using a standing desk instead of a sitting desk reduces the risk of developing lower back pain.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the consultant's argument depends?

Historian: Academic consensus holds that the Valerian Empire’s collapse was primarily driven by economic instability. This view is demonstrably false. The celebrated poet Callimachus, who lived during the empire's final days, wrote extensively that the empire crumbled solely because of the moral decay of its ruling class. Furthermore, when polled recently, an overwhelming majority of citizens identified political corruption, not economics, as the true cause of the empire's fall. Therefore, we must conclude that the Valerian Empire fell due to political and moral failure, not economic factors.

Which of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the historian's reasoning?

Any system that qualifies as a moral agent must possess genuine self-awareness. Furthermore, an artificial system can be deemed a moral agent only if it possesses the capacity to form intentions independently of its original programming parameters. Contemporary generative models, despite their sophisticated heuristic learning capabilities, cannot form intentions independently of their original programming parameters. Therefore, imposing legal liability on contemporary generative models for defamatory content they produce is fundamentally unjust.

Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion to be properly drawn?

Sociologist: During the late twentieth century, time-saving domestic technologies, such as automated dishwashers, were widely adopted by households. Paradoxically, surveys from that era indicate that adults in these households reported feeling significantly more pressed for time than adults had in preceding decades. It must be the case that the time saved by these technologies was quickly absorbed by new professional and social obligations, leaving these individuals with less actual free time than people previously possessed.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the sociologist's argument depends?

A political campaign spokesperson made several distinct arguments to persuade voters to support the 'Green Canopy' urban redevelopment initiative.

Which of the following statements made by the spokesperson contain an illegitimate logical appeal to emotion, popular opinion, or unqualified authority? (Select all that apply)

Consider the following argument:

The management of the City Tribune newspaper wants to increase the publication's overall profit margin. To achieve this, they plan to switch from their current high-quality printing paper to a significantly cheaper, lower-quality paper. By reducing these production costs, the management concludes that the newspaper's overall profit margin will undoubtedly increase.

Statement: For the management's conclusion to be logically drawn, the argument necessarily assumes that switching to the lower-quality paper will not cause a decrease in readership and sales severe enough to cancel out the financial savings gained from using the cheaper paper.

In logical reasoning, arguments can be flawed in various ways. An argument commits an appeal fallacy when it relies on an illegitimate appeal to authority, emotion, or majority opinion rather than on relevant logical evidence.

Which of the following statements commit an illegitimate appeal to authority, emotion, or majority? (Select all that apply)