Arguments

Question 1

In an argument, the statement that follows from the premises is called the:

Accepted Answer

Conclusion — The premises support a final statement called the conclusion.

Question 2

A statement used as a reason or evidence in an argument is a:

Accepted Answer

Premise — A premise is the supporting statement from which a conclusion is drawn.

Question 3

An argument that reasons from general statements to a specific conclusion is:

Accepted Answer

Deductive — General &rarr; specific is deductive reasoning.

Question 4

An argument that reasons from specific cases to a general conclusion is:

Accepted Answer

Inductive — Specific &rarr; general is inductive reasoning.

Question 5

How many premises does a syllogism have?

Accepted Answer

2 — A syllogism has exactly two premises and one conclusion.

Question 6

"All cats are mammals. Tom is a cat. Therefore, Tom is a mammal." This is:

Accepted Answer

A valid deductive argument — It goes from general premises to a specific conclusion that follows necessarily, so it is a valid deductive argument.

Question 7

Premise 1: All multiples of $10$ end in $0$. Premise 2: $80$ is a multiple of $10$. The conclusion is:

Accepted Answer

"$80$ ends in $0$" — Applying the general rule to the specific case gives "$80$ ends in $0$".

Question 8

Premise 1: All $A$ are $B$. Premise 2: All $B$ are $C$. The conclusion is:

Accepted Answer

"All $A$ are $C$" — Chaining the two premises gives "All $A$ are $C$".

Question 9

An argument is valid when:

Accepted Answer

The conclusion follows logically from the premises — Validity means the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises.

Question 10

"$2, 4, 6, 8, \ldots$ therefore the next number is $10$." This reasoning is:

Accepted Answer

Inductive — Generalising a pattern from observed cases is inductive reasoning.