Skip to main content

Chapter 01 Level 1 Quiz

The Power of Critical Thinking

1. Critical thinking concerns ________.

determining the cause of our beliefs 

determining the quality of our beliefs 

pinpointing the psychological basis of our beliefs 

assessing the practical impact of our beliefs 

 determining the quality of our beliefs

While some of your beliefs enable you, some can also blind you. Critical thinking enables you to determine the quality of
your beliefs. See page 3.

* 2. A belief is worth accepting if ________.

we have good reasons to accept it 

it is consistent with our needs 

it has not been proven wrong 

it is accepted by our peers 

Critical thinking focuses not on what causes a belief but on whether it is worth believing. See page 3.

* 3. The word critical in critical thinking refers to ________.

using careful judgment or judicious evaluation 

a fault-finding attitude 

attempts to win an argument 

a lack of respect for other people 

Critical thinking is not about being negative.It involves openness to other points of view, a tolerance for other
perspectives, a focus on the issue at hand, and fair assessments of arguments and evidence. See pages 6-7.

* 4. According to the text, critical thinking complements ________.

our prejudices 

our emotions 

peer pressure 

our unconscious desires 

While some people fear that critical thinking will make them cold and unemotional, critical thinking and feelings actually
work best together. See page 8.
* 5. A statement is ________.

a question or exclamation 

an affirmation of prior beliefs 

an assertion that something is or is not the case 

an assertion that is neither true nor false 

By contrast with questions, greetings, or commands, statements are the sorts of things that are capable of being either
true or false. See pages 11-12.

* 6. Statements backed by good reasons are ________.

to be believed with certainty 

worthy of strong acceptance 

never false 

beyond all possible doubt 

The strength of your belief should depend upon the quality of the reasons in favour of the statements. While
statements backed by reasons are worthy of strong acceptance, statements that fall short of this standard deserve only
weaker acceptance at best. See page 11.

* 7. The statements (reasons) given in support of another statement are called ________.

an argument 

the conclusion 

the premises 

the complement 

In an argument, premises are the statements, or reasons given in support of the conclusion. See page 12.

* 8. The study of good reasoning, or inference, and the rules that govern it is called ________.

psychology 

decision making 

logic 

ethics 

Critical thinking involves logic, but it is broader than logic because it also involves examining the truth or falsity of
individual statements, the evaluation of arguments and evidence, the use of analysis and investigation, and other skills
that help us to decide what to believe or to do. See pages 4-5.

* 9. A group of statements in which some of them are intended to provide support for another is called ________.

a conclusion 

a premise 

an argument 

a reason 
 In an argument, the premises are offered in support of the conclusion. This whole combination of sentences is the
argument. See page 12.

* 10. An argument is a group of statements in which some of them (the premises) are intended to support another of them (the
conclusion).

True 

False 

* 11. If you clearly state your beliefs on a subject, then you have presented an argument.

True 

False 

* 12. An explanation tells us why or how something is the case, but an argument gives us reasons for believing that something is
the case.

True 

False 

* 13. Some common conclusion indicator words are because, since, and given that.

True 

False 

* 14. Probably the best advice for anyone trying to identify arguments is to look for the premises first.

True 

False 

* 15. Common conclusion indicators include therefore, hence, and consequently.

True 

False 

You got 1 out of 15 correct. You have 0 attempts remaining.

Printed from https://learninglink.oup.com/access/content/macdonald-5ce-student-resources/macdonald-5ce-chapter-1-level-1-quiz , all rights reserved. © Oxford University Press, 2023
 Skip to main content
Chapter 01 Level 2 Quiz

The Power of Critical Thinking

* 1. Words that are frequently found in arguments, and signal that a premise or conclusion is present are called ________.

Explanations 

Inferences 

Reasons 

Indicator words 

Words like because, since, and for commonly indicate premises, while words like therefore, thus, and so commonly
indicate conclusions. See page 15.

* 2. The following is a statement: ________.

Does a rectangle have the same number of sides as a square? 

Close the door, please 

Oshawa is east of Toronto 

LOL 

Statements assert that something is or is not the case, and thus must be capable of being true or false. See pages 10-11.

* 3. The following is NOT a claim: ________.

Auston Matthews is the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 

Will the Maple Leafs make the playoffs? 

Connor McDavid is the best hockey player alive 

Montreal is west of Halifax 

Questions are not statements because they are incapable of being either true or false. See pages 10-11.

* 4. The following is a conclusion indicator: ________.

hence 

the reason being 

assuming that 

since 

The reason being, assuming that, and since, are all premise indicators, not conclusion indicators. See page 15.

* 5. The following is a premise indicator: ________.

as a result 
inasmuch as 

which implies that 

 ergo 

As a result, which implies that, and ergo are all conclusion indicators, not premise indicators. See page 15.

* 6. In most extended argumentative passages, premises and conclusions ________.

make up only a small portion of the total wordage 

make up a large portion of the total wordage 

are usually clearly labelled 

are equal in number 

Much of the rest of the passage may consist of background information, explanations, digressions, illustrations, and
descriptive passages. See page 18.

* 7. The process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion based on those premises is known as ________.

persuasion 
valid reasoning 

formulation 

inference 

We infer the conclusion of an argument from its premise or premises. See page 13.

* 8. An explanation tells us ________.

that something is or is not the case 

why an argument fails 

how premises support conclusions 

why or how something is the case 

People sometimes confuse explanations with arguments. However, while arguments have something to prove,
explanations do not. See pages 14-15.

* 9. Premise indicator words include ________.

therefore, so, hence 

because, since, the reason being 

deduction, induction, reasons 

ergo, hence, thus 

Premise indicators typically introduce a statement being given as a reason to believe some conclusion. See page 15.

* 10. A statement is also known as ________.

anargument 

a claim 
 acommand 
aquestion 

Statements, or claims assert that something is or is not the case, and thus are capable of being either true or false. See
page 10.

* 11. The function of a premise is to ________.

make a conclusion deductive 

undermine an argument 
contravene the conclusion 
support the conclusion 

An argument is a group of statements in which some of them (the premises) are intended to support another (the
conclusion). See page 12.

* 12. Critical thinking is about supporting our beliefs with ________.

basic moral feelings 

our desires 

popular ideas 
reasons and arguments 

Critical thinking operates by rational standards because it involves beliefs that are judged by how well they are
supported by reasons. See pages 4 and 12.

* 13. Assertions or statements of beliefs are ________.

arguments in disguise 
inductive arguments 
inferences 

not arguments 

An argument is a group of statements and thus must contain more than one assertion or statement of belief. See page
12.

* 14. The following is a statement: ________.

Don't delete that file 

How are you? 

I want to persuade you 

Hello from the best university in America 

By contrast with commands, questions, and greetings, statements are capable of being either true or false. See pages
10-11.
* 15. Critical thinking is ________.

negative 
cynical 
creatively constrained 

systematic 

Critical thinking is systematic because it involves distinct procedures and methods. See pages 4, 6-7.

* 16. In critical thinking, an argument is ________.

a dignified quarrel 

one or more statements whose primary goal is to persuade 

one or more statements supporting another statement 
an exchange of views 

In everyday conversation, people use the word argument to indicate a debate or angry exchange; however, in critical
thinking the word argument refers to the assertion of reasons in support of a conclusion. See page 12.

* 17. Critical thinking is rarely used outside of academia.

True 
False 

* 18. Critical thinking is chiefly concerned with the cause of our beliefs.

True 
False 

* 19. Critical thinking necessarily makes a person cynical and negative.

True 
False 

* 20. Statements that support other statements are called premises.

True 
False 

* 21. If you state your beliefs forcefully, you give an argument.

True 

False 

* 22. Giving an argument is the same thing as stating a claim.

True 
 False 

* 23. Logic and critical thinking are not synonymous.

True 
False 

* 24. An argument must contain no more than two premises.

True 
False 

* 25. Strong statements are the main focus of critical thinking.

True 
False 

* 26. Inference is the process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion.

True 

False 

* 27. It is possible for a passage of prose to be filled with statements, clarifications, and explanations and still not contain an
argument.

True 
False 

* 28. A consequence of not thinking critically is a loss of personal freedom.

True 
False 

* 29. Critical thinking is the enemy of human emotions.

True 
False 

* 30. Disagreements always contain at least one argument.

True 
False 

You got 0 out of 30 correct. You have 0 attempts remaining.

Printed from https://learninglink.oup.com/access/content/macdonald-5ce-student-resources/macdonald-5ce-chapter-1-1-level-2-quiz , all rights reserved. © Oxford University Press, 2023
 Skip to main content
Chapter 01 Practice Quiz

* 1. "If the cost of the new fighter plane exceeds 700 million dollars, then it will not be funded." This is an example of
________.

a statement 

an explanation 

an argument 

an indicator statement 

* 2. All of the following are claims except for ________.

"Joe owns a pet dog." 

"The entropy of an isolated system never decreases." 

"Think globally, act locally." 

"We should not tolerate the senseless slaughter of baby seals." 

* 3. "Justin Trudeau has been elected Prime Minister of Canada. I really think he is handsome. I hope he does well." This
passage is best classified as ________.

an argument for the claim that Trudeau is handsome 

an explanation of why the speaker voted for Trudeau 

an argument supporting the claim that Trudeau is the current Prime Minister 

neither an argument nor an explanation 

* 4. "I do not want to see the latest Star Wars movie. I really don't like science fiction movies, and I didn't like the others in the
series." This passage constitutes ________.

an argument for the claim that the new Star Wars movie is likely to be poor 

an explanation of why the speaker won't see the new Star Wars movie 

an argument for the claim that the speaker will not see the new Star Wars movie 

neither an argument nor an explanation 

* 5. "The car skidded because the driver braked suddenly on the icy road." This is an example of ________.

an explanation 

an argument 

neither an argument nor an explanation 

both an argument and an explanation 

* 6. "All abortions are immoral. This is an example of ________.

an argument 

a premise indicator 

a claim 
 a conclusion indicator 

* 7. "James is late. His plane must have been delayed." This is an example of ________.

an argument 

an explanation 
a statement 

an indicator 

* 8. An example of a premise indicator is ________.

"therefore" 
"so" 

"it follows that" 

"given that" 

* 9. An example of a conclusion indicator is ________.

"so" 
"assuming that" 

"in view of the fact that" 

"inasmuch as" 

* 10. An example of a statement is ________.

"Good day, Sir!" 

"When is your birthday?" 

"Mars is a planet." 

"Tickets, please." 

* 11. In order to be an argument, a group of statements must contain premise or conclusion indicators.

TRUE 
FALSE 

* 12. The premise of an argument is the overall point that is being supported.

TRUE 
FALSE 

* 13. Critical thinking primarily explores the origins of core societal beliefs.

TRUE 
FALSE 

* 14. Logic is the study of how people make errors in reasoning.

TRUE 
 FALSE 

* 15. Critical thinking can often complement creative thinking.

TRUE 

FALSE 

* 16. In order to be a statement, a sentence must be true.

TRUE 

FALSE 

* 17. "Hence is a premise indicator.

TRUE 
FALSE 

* 18. "Ergo is a conclusion indicator.

TRUE 

FALSE 

* 19. "The seasons change because of the Earth's axial tilt" is an argument.

TRUE 

FALSE 

* 20. The process of reasoning from a premise or premises to a conclusion based on those premises is called "inference.

TRUE 

FALSE 

You got 0 out of 20 correct. You have 0 attempts remaining.

Printed from https://learninglink.oup.com/access/content/macdonald-5ce-student-resources/macdonald-5ce-practice-quiz-chapter-01 , all rights reserved. © Oxford University Press, 2023