GEN 499 WEEK 4 QUIZ

GEN 499 WEEK 4 QUIZ | Assignment Help | Ashford University 

Critical Thinking Quiz

Question 1

<11{1[1(19)19]}> All sages provide both wisdom and inspiration. Since Dasha’s speech contained wisdom and greatly inspired her audience, Dasha is a sage.

Which one of the following points out the flaw in the argument above?

o   Just because Dasha is a sage doesn’t mean that she is always wise and inspirational.

o   Just because Dasha’s speech provided wisdom and inspiration doesn’t mean that it provided more wisdom than inspiration.

o   Just because Dasha satisfied two requirements of being a sage doesn’t necessarily mean that she satisfies all the requirements of being a sage.

o   Just because Dasha provided wisdom and inspiration in a speech doesn’t mean that all sages use speeches to provide wisdom and inspiration.

Question 2

<11{1[4(17)17]}> Mrs. Orlof teaches two history classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Yesterday she gave the same test to both classes. Anyone who failed the test must take a retest. Since a greater percentage of students who took the morning test failed the test than students who took the afternoon test, more of Orlof’s morning history students than afternoon history students will have to take the retest.

The conclusion above is not necessarily valid because:

o   More students may have taken the test in the afternoon than in the morning.

o   Some of the students who passed the afternoon test may have received information about the test from morning students.

o   Some students may have been absent from both classes.

o   More students in the morning class may have passed the test than failed the test.

Question 3

<11{1[4(23)23]}> People have claimed that Jamie’s paintings have given them the blues. Clearly this cannot be entirely correct, since many of Jamie’s paintings contain no blue at all.

The argument above is flawed because the author:

o   Is not a noted painting expert.

o   Relies on contradictory facts.

o   Misinterprets a key term.

o   Provides no evidence.

Question 4

<11{1[3(02)02]}> Catherine goes to her local movie theater only to see romantic comedies. Since Catherine did not go to the movies yesterday, there is not a romantic comedy playing at her local theater.

The reasoning above is flawed because the evidence:

o   Does not suggest that Catherine goes to see every romantic comedy that plays at her local movie theatre.

o   Implies that Catherine is uninterested in most types of movies.

o   Does not indicate whether Catherine watches only romantic comedies at home.

o   Suggests that Catherine’s local movie theater hardly ever shows romantic comedies.

Question 5

<11{1[2(06)06]}> Reporter: A new campaign finance reform bill being considered by Congress would limit the amount of campaign contributions that political candidates can receive. However, a survey of candidates running for mayor, governor, and senate seats shows that not one of them favors the bill. Clearly, there is no desire among politicians to limit campaign contributions.

Which one of the following points out the flaw in the reporter’s argument above?

o   The views of candidates currently running for office do not necessarily represent the views of all politicians.

o   The reporter wrongly assumes that no politician has ever supported a bill intended to limit campaign contributions.

o   The evidence provided by the reporter suggests that most politicians are in favor of the new bill.

o   The reporter does not indicate the amount that the new bill would limit campaign contributions.

Question 6

<21{1[1(13)13]}> A recent study of 100 employees from six departments of a major corporation found 65% to be sleep deprived. The researchers concluded that the majority of corporate employees are sleep deprived.

The researcher’s conclusion is suspect because it:

o   Relies on a sample that is too small to represent the entire corporate workforce.

o   Fails to describe the effects the sleep deprivation has.

o   Is based on evidence that is statistically impossible.

o   Assumes that corporate employees are more sleep deprived than other people.

Question 7

<11{2[3(11)35]}> Some politicians claim to support the environment in speeches they make around the country. However, to get to those speeches they ride in gas guzzling, pollution creating private planes. They therefore clearly do not believe a word of what they say and are actually making the environmental problem worse.

Which one of the following, if true, would best weaken the argument above?

o   Improvements to the environment brought about through the politicians’ public support of environmental regulations more than offset the damage done to the environment by the politicians’ private planes.

o   A majority of voters surveyed agree that politicians sometimes make society’s problems worse.

o   Most people who hear the politicians’ speeches on the environment are unconvinced by their arguments.

o   Some of the politicians try to hide the fact that they travel by private plane to their speeches around the country.

Question 8

<11{2[3(02)26]}> Aron: The two double A batteries in my CD player are dead, so the CD player doesn’t work. My television remote control, which also uses two double A batteries, works fine. Therefore, if I move the two batteries from my television remote control to my CD player, the CD player will definitely work.

Aaron’s argument is most strengthened if which one of the following is true?

o   Double A batteries provide less energy than either C batteries or D batteries.

o   Aaron has used his television remote control more times than he has used his CD player since inserting the current batteries into each device.

o   The amount of energy required to power the CD player is not greater than the amount of energy needed to power the television remote control.

o   Aron inserted the current batteries in his television remote control two months before he inserted the current batteries in his CD player.

 Question 9

<21{2[2(12)36]}> Career counselor: It is best for artists to build a practical and safe career that will guarantee them a secure income, and then pursue their art in their spare time. That way, they will be motivated to work hard at their day jobs to support their art making, and both their career and their art will thrive.

Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument?

o   Splitting time between two pursuits in life often causes both to suffer.

o   Having the time and money to make art does not guarantee an artist commercial success.

o   Many people who are not artists prefer to pursue practical and safe careers.

o   Some forms of art making are expensive and require a good deal of money to pursue.

Question 10

<21{3[2(08)44]}> Surveys show that people who use calorie information to decide which foods to eat consume on average 100 calories less than they would if they didn’t check calorie information before eating. Strangely though, people who use calorie information in this way weigh more on average than people who don’t check calorie information before eating.

Which one of the following, if true, best explains the surprising statistic stated above?

o   People with a weight problem are most likely to check calorie information before eating.

o   Some people who check calorie information before eating don’t consume any fewer calories than they would if they didn’t check.

o   People who usually check calorie information before eating consume more calories if they stop checking.

o   There are fewer people who check calorie information before eating than people who don’t check calorie information before eating.

Question 11

<11{3[1(03)39]}> Last season at City Opera House, far more people attended opera X than opera Y. However, opera Y generated far greater net profits for City Opera House than did opera X.

Each of the following could directly explain the result indicated above EXCEPT:

o   A difference in the merchandise sales associated with operas X and Y.

o   A difference in the subject matters of operas X and Y.

o   A difference in the operating expenses of operas X and Y.

o   A difference in the ticket prices of operas X and Y.

Question 12

<21{4[1(10)54]}> Choose the pair of words/phrases among the choices that exhibits the same logical relationship as the words/phrases in the following pair.

o   heavy : weight

o   color : size

o   Hot: temperature

o   Feather: scale

o   dry: wet

 Question 13

<11{4[2(06)50]}> Choose the pair of words/phrases among the choices that exhibits the same logical relationship as the words/phrases in the following pair.

gavel : judge

o   ruler : math

o   Stop sign : driver

o   Symphony: composer

o   Baton: conductor

Question 14

<21{4[3(02)46]}> Choose the pair of words/phrases among the choices that exhibits the same logical relationship as the words/phrases in the following pair.

conductor : orchestra

o   Director: cast

o   Producer: movie

o   teacher: principal

o   skater: rink

Question 15

<11{5[1(01)57]}> Arthur: The solutions to most mystery novels I read are not believable. However, my enjoyment of a mystery novel depends only on its suspenseful mood and colorful characters.

Norton: Roughly 80% of the mystery novels I read have believable solutions, which is good since I do not enjoy mystery novels that don’t have believable solutions.

The speakers above:

o   Disagree on whether an author’s enjoyment in creating a mystery novel influences whether that novel will have a believable solution.

o   Disagree on whether a believable solution is required for the enjoyment of a mystery novel.

o   Agree that a suspenseful mood and colorful characters add to the enjoyment of a mystery novel.

o   Agree that most mystery novels do not have believable solutions.

 Question 16

<11{5[1(05)61]}> Memmie: The greater the population near a restaurant, the more potential customers it has and the greater chance its popularity will spread through word-of-mouth. O’Sullivans Restaurant just opened in the very densely populated town of Redville, so its chances for success are great.

Sam: But the more people living in an area, the more restaurants there are in that area, so the more competition each one faces. There are twelve other restaurants serving the people of Reedville. Mamie and Sam seem to disagree about whether:

o   O’Sullivans will serve a different kind of food than the other restaurants in Redville.

o   O’Sullivans will fail in its first few months.

o   Word-of-mouth about a restaurant can spread in a densely populated town like Reedville.

o   The high population of Redville ensures that O’Sullivan’s has a great chance for success.

Question 17

<11{6[2(03)67]}> Only circus animals with a clean bill of health will perform in today’s exhibition. A monkey, a poodle, and a horse will perform in today’s exhibition. No circus animals with a clean bill of health were prescribed medications this week.

If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them?

o   Neither the monkey nor the horse performing in today’s circus exhibition was prescribed medications this week.

o   No more than two circus animals have a clean bill of health.

o   No circus animals were prescribed medications this week.

o   The monkey, poodle, and horse are the only animals performing in today’s circus exhibition.

Question 18

<11{6[1(07)71]}> The higher the price of an antique, the greater people’s expectation that the object is rare. That, in turn, makes the antique appear more valuable.

If the statements above are correct, then offering an antique for sale at a bargain price:

o   Should be discouraged because it lessens a quality that makes that antique desirable.

o   Should be encouraged because it increases the likelihood that antique will be sold.

o   Will guarantee that the antique will not sell at a profit.

o   Will likely increase people’s expectations that the antique is valuable.

Question 19

<7{6[3(02)66]}> In a survey of 10 film historians, half voted for No sferatu as the greatest vampire film ever made, and the other half voted for Dracula. However, when asked which lead vampire character they considered more charismatic, all of the film critics chose Dracula over No sferatu.

Based on the information above, it must be true that for some film critics, their feelings about the charisma of the lead character:

o   Is not the most important factor they consider when comparing two films.

o   Is the most important factor they consider when comparing two films.

o   Is the least important factor they consider when comparing two films.

o   Is the only factor they consider when comparing two films?

Question 20

<21{7[1(04)80]}> A company can either invest in employee training seminars or update its computer network. Since updating the computer network would result in more measurable benefits, the company would be best off updating its computer network.

The argument above assumes that:

o   The benefit of the company investing in employee training seminars cannot be measured at all.

o   The employee training seminars would focus on teaching employees to use the updated computer network.

o   The more measurable a benefit, the greater value that benefit has to a company.

o   Investing in employee training seminars would yield negative results for the company.

Question 21

<11{7[1(01)77]}> Detective: The robbery at the mall was carried out by a mall employee acting alone roughly one hour after the mall closed last Saturday night. The only employees present at the mall at the time of the robbery were security guards Evans and Clark. Since the thief just before the robbery disabled the mall’s surveillance system, the thief must be Evans.

The argument above would be valid if:

o   The mall’s surveillance system is usually used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

o   Evans and Clark are the mall’s only security guards.

o   Both Evans and Clark are capable of disabling the mall’s surveillance system.

o   Clark is incapable of disabling the mall’s surveillance system.

Question 22

<11{7[2(03)79]}> Looking to increase the profits of his lemonade stand, Johann doubled the price of a cup of lemonade from 25 cents to 50 cents. This clearly shows Johan’s lack of business sense, for now he will almost certainly sell fewer cups at the new price and therefore make less money than before.

The argument above assumes that:

o   Even if Johann sells more cups at the new price than he did at the old price, he will still lose money on the lemonade stand.

o   Profits from the price increase will not offset the money lost when fewer cups are sold.

o   The price increase will likely put Johann out of business.

o   Johann is looking to double the profits of his lemonade stand.

Question 23

<21{8[1(07)95]}> Political science professor: Many people insist that the Internet is revolutionizing the political process. They argue that Internet debates and online political polls and chat rooms give people greater access to political information. And they’re right that online political chatter increases daily. But offering or reading anonymous online opinions does not by itself make for active political participation. In the past, one would attend a rally, protest, or town meeting to engage in real politics. Today, people sit passively in front of computer screens under the illusion that they are connecting with their fellow citizens.

Which one of the following best expresses the main idea of the professor’s argument?

o   Internet debates and online political polls and chat rooms give people greater access to political information.

o   Political organizations of the past bear no resemblance to the political organizations of today.

o   Correct!

o   While the Internet has made content that is more political available, meaningful political involvement has decreased.

o   The Internet has revolutionized the political process because it has allowed many more political viewpoints to be expressed.

Question 24

<11{8[1(04)92]}> The very large increase in allergies over the last thirty years is due to the great success of immunizations administered over this time period. Since immunizations have nearly eliminated life-threatening diseases such as polio, the human immune system increasingly targets other environmental substances in order to keep working properly. Allergy symptoms such as runny nose and itchy eyes result when the immune system attacks pollen that is breathed in from the air.

Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage above?

o   The use of immunizations has led to an increase in allergies.

o   Viruses that once caused polio now cause allergies.

o   Immunizations have been very successful in eliminating life-threatening diseases.

o   Immunizations often have surprising side effects.

Question 25

<11{8[1(10)98]}> Sometimes people get caught in a “downward spiral,” a case in which something leads to a result which in turn leads to more of the original thing, bringing on more of the result. As the process continues, the result continually gets worse and worse. An example is when people turn to binge eating when depressed, which causes them to put on weight and feel unhealthy, which then makes them more depressed, leading to more overeating, and so on.

The author is mainly concerned with:

o   Convincing people not to overeat.

o   Explaining the process of the “downward spiral.”

o   Showing how overeating can lead to depression.

o   Showing how some processes lead to surprising results.