Critical Thinking Exam Questions with Answers ____________________ involves developing the tools of critical thinking and applying them to current and future challenges. - Answer -Deep learning ." The United States landed the first man on the moon in 1969. " Is this information accurate or inaccurate? - Answer -This is a limited, but accurate, statement. ."Asking people for photo identification when they come to vote is just the first step in establishing a national identity card." - Answer -This is a slipper y slope fallacy. Laws that ask for photo ID at the voting place don't mean a national identity card is inevitable; driver's licenses, passports, or state -issued photo IDs are typically what are accepted for identification purposes. ."Based on the research findings of physicist Steven E. Jones, formerly of Brigham Young University, it is clear that the World Trade Center was destroyed by controlled demolition during the September 11, 2001 attacks." - Answer -There are several reasons that this is a fallaciou s appeal to authority. Jones may be a physicist, but that does not make him an expert on the collapse of modern skyscrapers. Members of BYU's engineering faculty criticized Jones' research (which was not peer reviewed) and Jones retired from BYU in the con troversy that followed. Further, the vast majority of experts (professional associations of architects, structural engineers, and fire safety experts) cited the crash of jets into the World Trade Center towers as the reason for their destruction and conclu de that controlled demolition was not involved. ."Is basketball or ice hockey more fun to watch?" is a: - Answer -This is a question of preference, since it is asking for a subjective choice. ."Reasoning can only be as sound as the ________________ it is based on." - Answer -
information ."The first place winner in the 10K race was Steven Katz. The third place finisher was Gregor Mankins. Fred Habib finished fourth." Is this information adequate or inadequate? - Answer -Inadequate Correct. This is not adequa te information. We are not given the finishing times of the runners, nor who won second. ."The union has a number of legitimate grievances which have never been addressed by management. If you talk to any of the workers involved in these disputes, it's cl ear that their testimony has been ignored." Is this information fairly gathered and reported or biased? - Answer -Biased Correct. This is an example of biased information. While the union point of view is represented, management's POV is not. ."We should f und research on human cloning and only narrow -minded religious fundamentalists oppose it based on their outdated belief system." - Answer -This is an example of an ad hominem fallacy. Opponents of research on human cloning have a series of arguments they ca n make against the practice. Rather than addressing these, this statement attacks "religious fundamentalists" who are "narrow -minded" with "outdated beliefs," using negative descriptive language to attack the person who hold a belief rather than actually c ontesting it. ."We should have stricter gun control because 56% of Americans surveyed by Harris Interactive, Inc., a polling firm, supported tighter restrictions." - Answer -This is an appeal to popularity fallacy. The fact that a majority of Americans sup port stricter gun control demonstrates that the idea is popular. This statement doesn't offer any logical arguments supporting the view that there should be more restrictions on gun. .1. All reasoning has a purpose. - Answer -Take time to state your purpos e clearly. Choose significant and realistic purposes. Distinguish your purpose from related purposes. Make sure your purpose is fair in context (that it doesn't involve violating the rights of others). Check periodically to be sure you are still focuse d on your purpose and haven't wandered from your target. .2. All reasoning is an attempt to figure out something, to settle some question, solve some problem. - Answer -Take time to state the question at issue clearly and precisely. Express the question i n several ways to clarify its meaning and scope. Break the question into sub -questions (when you can). Identify the type of question you are dealing with (historical, economic, biological, etc.) and whether the question has one right answer, is a matter of mere opinion, or requires reasoning from more than one point of view. Think -through the complexities of the question (think -through the question deeply). .3. All reasoning is based on assumptions. - Answer -Clearly identify your assumptions and determi ne whether they are justifiable. Consider how your assumptions are shaping your point of view. .4. All reasoning is done from some point of view. - Answer -Clearly identify your point of view. Seek other relevant points of view and identify their strengt hs as well as weaknesses. Strive to be fair -minded in evaluating all points of view. .5. All reasoning is based on data, information, and evidence. - Answer -Restrict your claims to those supported by the data you have. Search for information that oppose s your position as well as information that supports it. Make sure that all information you use is clear, accurate, and relevant to the question at issue. Make sure you have gathered sufficient information. Make sure, especially, that you have considere d all significant information relevant to the issue. .6. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas. - Answer -
Clearly identify key concepts. Consider alternative concepts or alternative definitions for concepts. Make sure you are using concepts with care and precision. Use concepts justifiably (not distorting their established meanings). .7. All reasoning contains inferences or interpretations by which we draw conclusions and give meaning to data. - Answer -Infer only what the evidence implies. Check inferences for their consistency with each other. Identify assumptions that lead you to your inferences. Make sure your inferences logically follow from the information. .8. All reasoning leads somewhere or has implications and consequences. - Answer -
Trace the logical implications and consequences that follow from your reasoning. Search for negative as well as positive implications. Consider all possible significant consequences. 5.21 Think for Yourself CHECKPOINTS IN THINKING .A ________ is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing by the total number of values in the dataset. - Answer -A mean is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing by the total number of values in the dataset . .A claim that is made without any supporting statements - Answer -is not a conclusion. It is an unsupported claim, or an opinion. .A common problem with applying the critical thinking standard of clarity to information is: - Answer -the information isn't clear .A key to developing questions of judgment is to remember: . - Answer --These will be questions that could be answered differently by people with different view points, and; -Among competing answers, there may be one that is the best (based on the intellectual standards outlined by Paul and Elder). -A question of judgment does not have one correct answer, but a number of well -
reasoned answers .A mechanic ruled out failures in 10 different engine parts before finding the problem in the carburetor. T his is an example of: - Answer -The mechanic is using the process of elimination. .A question with competing and debatable answers - Answer -Question of judgment .A Question with many possible subjective answers - Answer -Question of preference .A question with one correct answer - Answer -Question of fact .A research study is an example of which kind of evidence? - Answer -Quantitative .A rival cause tells us that there is _____________ for why something happened. - Answer -more than one credible explanatio n .A scientist discovered that all laboratory hamsters that had been eating lettuce developed Salmonella poisoning. This is an example of causation by: - Answer -This is an example of causation by a shared common factor. .A systematic, disciplined approac h to asking questions aimed at assessing truth - Answer -Socratic questioning .Absolute number - Answer -The total or aggregate of something, expressed as a number without relationship to other numbers .According to Paul and Elder, a two -step process can b e helpful in developing a rational mind: - Answer -Identifying the predictable, pathological tendencies we have; and Correcting these pathologies through critical thinking. .According to Paul and Elder, egocentrism and sociocentrism are significant barrier s to sound ethical reasoning. True or false? - Answer -True According to the five foundations of ethical thinking introduced by Paul and Elder, egocentrism and sociocentrism are barriers to sound ethical reasoning. .According to Paul and Elder, intellectua l action requires figuring out: - Answer -1) what is going on in a situation; 2) options for action; 3) a justification for choosing an option; 4) ways to reduce the impact of irrational thinking. .According to Paul and Elder, there are two other key in sights into the question of thinking through content: - Answer -all content is organized by concepts; and all content is logically interdependent.
