er 1 Test A
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1
,MULTIPLE CHOICE m
INSTRUCTIONS: The following selections relate to distinguishing arguments from m m m m m m m m
mnonarguments and identifying conclusions. Select the best answer for each.
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1. There appears to be a growing happiness gap between men and women. Women today are
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mworking more and relaxing less, while men are working less and relaxing more. Forty years
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mago a typical woman spent 40 minutes more per week than the typical man performing an
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mactivity considered unpleasant. Today, with men working less, the gap is 90 minutes and
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mgrowing.
a. Argument; conclusion: Today ... the gap is 90 minutes and growing.
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b. Nonargument.
c. Argument; conclusion: Forty years ago ... an activity considered unpleasant.
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d. Argument; conclusion: There appears to be ... between men and women.
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e. Argument; conclusion: Women today are working more and relaxing
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mless. ANS: D
m m PTS: m 2
2. Lead is toxic, but do you know why? Lead is toxic mainly because it preferentially replaces
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mother metals in biochemical reactions. In so doing it interferes with the proteins that regulate
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mblood pressure (which can cause development delays in children and high blood pressure in
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madults), heme production (which can lead to anemia), and sperm production. Lead also displaces
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mcalcium in the reactions that transmit electrical impulses in the brain, which diminishes the
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mability to think and recall information.
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Anne Marie Helmstine, "Your Guide to Chemistry" m m m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: It interferes with the proteins ... and sperm production.
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b. Argument; conclusion: Lead is toxic. m m m m
c. Nonargument.
d. Argument; conclusion: It preferentially replaces other metals in biochemical reactions.
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e. Argument; conclusion: Lead also displaces calcium ... recall
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minformation. ANS: C PTS: m m m 2
3. Aristotle focused on clarifying the concept of virtue itself. He argued that it was virtuous to
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mchoose the proper amount of emotion and/or action called for in a particular situation and that
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mextremes of emotion and action were vices. In all communities there are some men of practical
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mwisdom who have the capacity to judge wisely. Aristotle argued that they have the capacity to
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mfollow the "right rule" whatever the situation.
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David Cooper, Value Pluralism and Ethical Choice m m m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: In all communities ... capacity to judge wisely.
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b. Argument; conclusion: Aristotle focused on clarifying the concept of virtue itself.
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c. Argument; conclusion: They have the capacity to follow ... the situation.
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d. Argument; conclusion: He argued that it was virtuous ... were vices
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e. Nonargument.
ANS: m E PTS: m m 2
4. Illegal immigrants pay local sales taxes, and many of them also pay state, local, and federal
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mincome tax and Social Security tax. They also purchase items from local merchants, increasing
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mthe amount these merchants pay in taxes. In addition, they work for low salaries, which increases
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mthe earnings of their employers and the amount of taxes these employers pay. Thus, it is not
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mcorrect to say that illegal immigrants contribute nothing to the communities in which they live.
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a. Argument; conclusion: It is not correct to say ... communities in which they live.
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2
, b. Argument; conclusion: They work for low salaries ... these employers pay.
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c. Argument; conclusion: Illegal immigrants pay ... Social Security tax.
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d. Argument; conclusion: They also purchase items ... pay in taxes.
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e. Nonargument.
ANS: m A PTS: m m 2
5. Numerous studies have indicated that women of color, black women in particular, are over-
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arrested, over-indicted, and over-sentenced. African-American women are seven times more likely
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mto be arrested for prostitution than women of other ethnic groups. Black women have received
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msignificantly longer sentences for crimes against property and served longer periods in prison. For
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mboth murder and drug offenses, Euroamerican women ended up serving one-third less time for
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mthe same offenses than black women.
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Nancy Kurshan, "Women and Imprisonment in the U.S." m m m m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: African-American women ... other ethnic groups.
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b. Nonargument.
c. Argument; conclusion: For both murder and drug offenses ... black women.
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d. Argument; conclusion: Numerous studies have indicated ... over-sentenced.
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e. Argument; conclusion: Black women have received ... longer periods in
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mprison. ANS: B m m PTS: m 2
6. It's even more important these days that your computer be protected by a firewall. There are
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mcriminal elements lurking in the shadows of cyberspace who send out probes to detect
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munprotected PCs. Once a vulnerable computer is found, these criminals install software that
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massists them in committing identity theft and fencing stolen IDs. They also defraud online
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madvertisers by using these zombie computers to visit pay-per-click ads.
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a. Argument; conclusion: There are criminal elements ... to detect unprotected PCs.
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b. Argument; conclusion: Once a vulnerable computer ... fencing stolen IDs.
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c. Nonargument.
d. Argument; conclusion: They also defraud ... to visit pay-per-click ads.
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e. Argument; conclusion: It's even more important ... protected by a
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mfirewall. ANS: E m m PTS: m 2
7. The earth is of interest to astronomy for many reasons. Nearly all observations must be made
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mthrough the atmosphere, and the phenomena of the upper atmosphere and the magnetosphere
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mreflect the state of interplanetary space. The earth is also the most important object of comparison
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mfor planetologists.
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Hannu Karttunen, et al., Fundamental Astronomy m m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: The phenomena ... state of interplanetary space.
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b. Argument; conclusion: The earth is also ... for planetologists.
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c. Argument; conclusion: The earth is of interest to astronomy.
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d. Nonargument.
e. Argument; conclusion: Nearly all observations ... through the
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matmosphere. ANS: C PTS: m m m 2
8. If the trade in tiger products is banned, tiger reserves are guarded by well equipped staff,
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mcommunities abutting tiger habitat are given a stake in protecting tigers, and the makers of
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mtraditional medicines can be persuaded that tiger parts are not needed, then tiger poaching will be
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mhalted, habitat and life sustaining prey will be restored, and the immanent extinction of tigers in
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mthe wild will be averted.
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a. Nonargument.
b. Argument; conclusion: The trade in tiger products is banned.
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c. Argument; conclusion: Tiger poaching will be halted.
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d. Argument; conclusion: The makers of traditional medicines ... not needed.
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3
, e. Argument; conclusion: Tiger poaching will be halted ... will be
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maverted. ANS: A m m PTS: m 2
9. Humans are biological organisms. To understand our behavior and mental processes, we need to
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munderstand their biological underpinnings, starting with the cellular level, the neuron. How we
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mfeel, learn, remember, and think all stem from neuronal activity. So, how a neuron works and
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mhow neurons communicate are crucial pieces of information in solving the puzzle of human
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mbehavior and mental processing.m m m
Richard Griggs, Psychology: A Concise Introduction m m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: To understand our behavior ... the neuron.
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b. Argument; conclusion: Humans are biological organisms.
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c. Argument; conclusion: How we feel ... neuronal activity.
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d. Argument; conclusion: How a neuron works ... mental processing.
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e. Nonargument.
ANS: m D PTS: m m 2
10. Viruses are acellular entities too small to be seen with a light microscope. They are composed of
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ma nucleic acid and a few proteins. Viruses replicate themselves and display other properties of
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mliving organisms only when they have invaded living cells. Indeed, some viruses can be
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mcrystallized and stored in a container on a shelf for years, but they retain the capacity to invade
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mcells and cause disease.
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Jacquelyn C. Black, Microbiology: Principles and Explorations m m m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: They are composed of a nucleic acid and a few proteins.
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b. Nonargument.
c. Argument; conclusion: Viruses are acellular entities ... microscope.
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d. Argument; conclusion: Indeed, some viruses can be crystallized ... cause disease.
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e. Argument; conclusion: Viruses replicate themselves ... invaded living
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mcells. ANS: B m m PTS: m 2
11. Harnessing the clean, abundant energy of the sun and wind is critical to solving the global
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mwarming problem. Technological advances have brought the cost of electricity generated by the
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mwind down by 82 percent since 1981. Solar energy technology has made remarkable progress as
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mnew photovoltaic cells have been developed to convert even greater amounts of sunlight directly
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minto electricity. Today the costs of wind and solar power are becoming competitive with dirty
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mcoal-fired plants. m
Sierra Club, "Global Warming Solutions" m m m m
a. Argument; conclusion: Today the costs of wind ... dirty coal-fired plants.
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b. Argument; conclusion: Technological advances ... by 82 percent since 1981.
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c. Argument; conclusion: Harnessing the clean ... the global warming problem.
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d. Nonargument.
e. Argument; conclusion: Solar energy technology ... directly into
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melectricity. ANS: D PTS: m m m 2
12. It is likely that innocent prisoners in this country have been executed for crimes they did not
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mcommit. From 1973 until 2007, 124 death row inmates have been exonerated. In many of these
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mcases DNA evidence played a crucial role. Yet, in that same time frame, more than 1000
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mprisoners were executed. For many of these prisoners no DNA evidence was available. If such
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mevidence had been available, how may more would have been exonerated?
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a. Argument; conclusion: In many of these cases ... played a crucial role.
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b. Nonargument.
c. Argument; conclusion: From 1973 ... have been exonerated.
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d. Argument; conclusion: For many of these prisoners ... was available.
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e. Argument; conclusion: It is likely that innocent prisoners ... they did not commit.
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