Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 1
INSTRUCTIONS: Select the best answer for each argument.
1. Clearly the moral standards of our youth have decayed. Two doctors at Central Hospital appeared recently on a talk
show, and both were convinced that the youth of today have no morals at all.
a. Argument against the person, abusive.
b. Hasty generalization.
c. Weak analogy.
d. Appeal to unqualified authority.
e. Missing the point.
2. Smith, Adams, and Harris all outlived their wives, and their wives were younger than they were. It must be the case that
men outlive women these days.
a. False cause.
b. Accident.
c. Weak analogy.
d. No fallacy.
e. Hasty generalization.
3. A spokesman for the government has argued that our insistence on a twelve percent increase in pay for steel workers is
inflationary. But the government’s own actions are far more inflationary than ours. The government just gave a fifteen
percent increase to every single employee of the giant federal bureaucracy.
a. Tu quoque (you, too).
b. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
c. Appeal to ignorance.
d. Straw man.
e. Hasty generalization.
4. No fish are mammals. Therefore, no mammals are fish.
a. Equivocation.
b. Begging the question.
c. No fallacy.
d. Missing the point.
e. Accident.
5. Gold Medallion wine is the finest wine in the United States. This is true because it’s preferred by more people of
discriminating taste. Furthermore, we know that it’s preferred by more people of discriminating taste because it’s the finest
wine in the United States.
a. Suppressed evidence.
b. Slippery slope.
c. Missing the point.
d. False cause.
e. Begging the question.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 2
6. Twenty percent of the women attending Ponderosa College are beautiful. Since Charlotte attends Ponderosa College, it
follows that twenty percent of her is beautiful.
a. Hasty generalization.
b. Division.
c. Amphiboly.
d. Composition.
e. Accident.
7. Aspirin is a drug that relieves pain, and it is appropriately purchased over the counter. Morphine, like aspirin, is a drug
that relieves pain. Therefore, it would be appropriate that morphine be available over the counter.
a. Weak analogy.
b. Appeal to pity.
c. Appeal to ignorance.
d. No fallacy.
e. Appeal to unqualified authority.
8. You have been rather outspoken lately in your criticism of the administration; but I am sure that you will want to keep
your mouth shut in the future, because several of those who have been critical in the past have now lost their jobs.
a. Tu quoque (you, too).
b. Argument against the person, abusive.
c. Red herring.
d. Complex question.
e. Appeal to force.
9. Dog owners have asked that they be allowed to bring their pets to the beach. This request will have to be denied. If dogs
are allowed on the beach, then soon we will have horses and cows. Before long there will be sheep, goats, pigs, and
chickens. All that potential food will attract the owners of jaguars, lions, and tigers. In the end, the beach will be a war
zone.
a. False dichotomy.
b. Suppressed evidence.
c. Begging the question.
d. Slippery slope.
e. Composition.
10. Every patch in this patchwork quilt is some shade of green. Therefore, the entire quilt is green.
a. Division.
b. No fallacy.
c. Accident.
d. Composition.
e. False cause.
11. Either you send Hallmark cards or you don’t care enough to send the very best. Surely you care enough to send the
very best. Therefore, you will want to send Hallmark cards.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 3
a. False dichotomy.
b. No fallacy.
c. Amphiboly.
d. Equivocation.
e. Complex question.
12. Dr. Harrison has argued that the open position in the mathematics department should be given to Dr. George. But
Harrison’s arguments should be discounted since Harrison and George are good friends.
a. Weak analogy.
b. Argument against the person, abusive.
c. Red herring.
d. Straw man.
e. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
13. Oak trees are shady. Shady things are not to be trusted. Therefore, oak trees are not to be trusted.
a. Amphiboly.
b. False cause.
c. Missing the point.
d. Begging the question.
e. Equivocation.
14. Mr. Fuller, who is running for the U.S. Senate, was seriously wounded during the last war. Therefore, it is certain that
he would make a great senator.
a. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
b. False dichotomy.
c. Weak analogy.
d. Missing the point.
e. Red herring.
15. Stealing is wrong. Therefore, it would be wrong for me to steal the spark plug wires from that getaway car while the
driver is busy robbing the First National Bank.
a. Hasty generalization.
b. Accident.
c. Appeal to pity.
d. Division.
e. Weak analogy.
16. Nobody has ever seen Mr. Fearnside drive a car. He does own a car, though, but his wife is the only one to drive it.
Therefore, probably Mr. Fearnside doesn’t drive.
a. Begging the question.
b. Suppressed evidence.
c. No fallacy.
d. Complex question.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 4
e. Appeal to ignorance.
17. The Surgeon General recently issued a report arguing that one third of the cancer fatalities in the United States can be
attributed to smoking. But this claim is ridiculous. Smoking produces a great deal of enjoyment for millions of Americans.
What would life be like if you can’t enjoy something once in a while?
a. Slippery slope.
b. Red herring.
c. Appeal to unqualified authority.
d. Complex question.
e. No fallacy.
18. Steve, I know that you’ve never been in a serious accident, but do you still drive your car like a madman?
a. Complex question.
b. Accident.
c. Argument against the person, abusive.
d. No fallacy.
e. Tu quoque (you, too).
19. Most elderly people who are hospitalized with cancer eventually die from the disease. Thus, if an elderly person wants
to recover from cancer he or she must, at all costs, refuse hospitalization.
a. Appeal to ignorance.
b. Appeal to the people.
c. Accident.
d. False cause.
e. Hasty generalization.
20. Sparky the Weasel is clearly unqualified to operate the Paradise Day Care Center for young children. A few years ago
Sparky was convicted of fifteen counts of child molestation and statutory rape.
a. Appeal to the people.
b. Begging the question.
c. Argument against the person, abusive.
d. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
e. No fallacy.
21. You have heard Congressman Doyle’s arguments in favor of reduced military expenditures. But surely you won’t take
them seriously. Doyle, as you know, is an admitted alcoholic, and rumor has it that he abuses his wife and children.
a. Argument against the person, abusive.
b. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
c. Straw man.
d. Missing the point.
e. No fallacy.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 5
22. Each word in Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” is very ordinary. Therefore, the “Gettysburg Address” must be a very
ordinary speech.
a. No fallacy.
b. Appeal to the people.
c. Composition.
d. Division.
e. Hasty generalization.
23. The Court Reporter said that after the jurors had heard the testimony of the convicts they were returned to their cells
for the night. One can only conclude that the jurors’ rights have been violated, since jurors are not supposed to be locked
up in cells.
a. Amphiboly.
b. Equivocation.
c. Appeal to force.
d. Appeal to pity.
e. Appeal to unqualified authority.
24. Karen bought a new red Nissan Altima, and she says she gets great gas mileage. Tony, who has the same driving
habits as Karen, also bought a new Nissan Altima—a yellow one, but with the same size engine and transmission.
Probably he gets great gas mileage too.
a. Accident.
b. No fallacy.
c. Begging the question.
d. Weak analogy.
e. Composition.
25. More people in America drink Budweiser than any other beer. Clearly, then, if you drink beer, you should drink Bud.
a. Appeal to ignorance.
b. Hasty generalization.
c. Weak analogy.
d. No fallacy.
e. Appeal to the people.
26. No one has ever proved that smoking small amounts of marijuana over long periods of time is harmful. We can
therefore conclude that this practice is completely safe.
a. Red herring.
b. False cause.
c. No fallacy.
d. Appeal to ignorance.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 6
27. During the past two thousand years, no human being has ever set foot on Mars. Therefore, it is unlikely that any
human being will set foot on Mars during the next two thousand years.
a. Accident.
b. Suppressed evidence.
c. Hasty generalization.
d. Composition.
e. Appeal to ignorance.
28. Mr. Jones, surely you will find me qualified for the open position in your accounting department. I provide the sole
support for my aged mother, who is crippled with arthritis, and if I don’t get a job soon I know I’ll have a nervous
breakdown.
a. Appeal to ignorance.
b. Missing the point.
c. Appeal to pity.
d. Appeal to ignorance.
e. No fallacy.
29. The use of contraceptives is immoral, because anything that violates nature is immoral.
a. Begging the question.
b. Complex question.
c. Appeal to the people.
d. Weak analogy.
e. No fallacy.
30. Smooth, round stones apparently have the power to cure the flu. The last time Harriet got the flu, she put 10 smooth,
round stones in her left pocket, and each day she transferred one of them to her right pocket. After all the stones were
transferred, the flu was gone! Many others have tried this cure, and it has worked every time.
a. Hasty generalization.
b. Red herring.
c. False cause.
d. Missing the point.
e. Appeal to unqualified authority.
31. Ladies and gentlemen, the minds of our children are in jeopardy. Today a reckless band of heathen teachers is shoving
Darwinism down our children’s throats. This ridiculous theory holds that human beings, the children of God, developed
from mere monkeys. It holds that blind accident accounts for all life. Down with this godless theory! Fire the heathen
teachers! Return God to the classroom!
a. Red herring.
b. Appeal to the people.
c. Appeal to force.
d. Missing the point.
e. Appeal to ignorance.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 7
32. Mr. Rankin has just given his argument favoring equal pay for women. It seems what he is saying is that working
women should become men. They should all go out and get sex change operations. That’s what Rankin wants. Well, I
think we are all smart enough to reject that argument.
a. Argument against the person, abusive.
b. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
c. Red herring.
d. Missing the point.
e. Straw man.
INSTRUCTIONS: Select the correct answer for each question.
33. The fallacy in which the arguer attempts to create a mob mentality is:
a. Appeal to authority.
b. Appeal to the people.
c. Amphiboly.
d. False cause.
e. Argument against the person.
34. In which of the following statements is an attribute predicated distributively?
a. Lemons are sour.
b. Cancer fatalities are increasing.
c. Model T Fords are disappearing.
d. Stars are numerous.
e. Bank robberies are frequent.
35. The fallacy in which the arguer attempts to lead the reader or listener off the track is:
a. False cause.
b. Division.
c. Red herring.
d. Argument against the person.
e. Amphiboly.
36. A fallacy that can be detected through mere inspection of the form of an argument is:
a. An informal fallacy.
b. A fallacy of weak induction.
c. A fallacy of relevance.
d. A fallacy of ambiguity.
e. A formal fallacy.
37. The fallacy in which an arguer attempts to discredit an argument by making its author appear as a hypocrite is:
a. Ad hominem circumstantial.
b. Ad hominem abusive.
c. Red herring.
Name:
Class:
Date:
Chapter 03 Test G
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero.
Page 8
d. Tu quoque (you, too).
e. Straw man.
38. Which of the following is not mentioned in the text as leading to the commission of informal fallacies?
a. A careless mental posture.
b. An emotional disposition favoring or opposing something.
c. A failure to distinguish appearance from reality.
d. Presuppositions in the arguer’s worldview.
e. The intentions of the arguer.
39. The non causa pro causa variety of the false cause fallacy is committed whenever the arguer:
a. concludes that just because X happens before Y, X causes Y.
b. concludes that just because X and Y occur over the same interval of time, X causes Y.
c. concludes that an apparent cause is not really a cause.
d. proceeds from cause to effect.
e. concludes that one of several causes is the sole cause.
40. If a defense attorney in an American or Canadian criminal trial argues that because the prosecutor has proved nothing
beyond a reasonable doubt about the guilt of the defendant, the defendant is innocent, then the defense attorney commits:
a. An appeal to ignorance.
b. A false cause.
c. No fallacy.
d. A hasty generalization.
e. A missing the point.