Question

I am working on a practice quiz for an upcoming midterm about judging arguments and want to compare my answers with expert answers

Instructions. For each of the following arguments, first determine whether it is deductive or inductive. If it is deductive, state whether it is valid or invalid. If it is inductive, state whether it is strong or weak.

1. All cats are mammals. That’s a mammal. So it must be a cat.

2. All the apples in that large bushel basket are ripe. This apple is from that bushel basket. So this apple must be ripe.

3. This single apple is from that large bushel basket, and it’s ripe, so most of the apples from that bushel basket must be ripe.

4. Don’t bite down hard on that rock! You’re likely to crack a tooth.

5. If you win at least 270 electoral votes, you’ll be elected president. And you won 320 electoral votes. So you’ve been elected president.

6. There are 535 members of congress, but only 365 days in a year. Obviously, then, some congress members share the same birthday (day and month, not necessarily year).

7. Wrapping a cold beverage in insulating foam helps keep it cool. Accordingly, if I wrap myself in insulating foam I’ll probably stay cool too.

8. Most bikers who crash their motorcycles head-on into brick walls at 60 miles per hour don’t get hurt. So if I crash my motorcycle head-on into a brick wall at 60 miles per hour, I probably won’t get hurt.

9. If pigs fly, then hell’s frozen over. There’s a flying pig, so it must be frosty in hell.

10. If you have a 4.0 GPA, you’ll graduate with honors. You graduated with honors, so you must have a 4.0 GPA.

11. Think about the definition of validity in answering this question! It’s a cat flushing the toilet. Therefore it’s a cat.

Answer 1

1. All cats are mammals. That’s a mammal. So it must be a cat. This is deductive argument. It is invalid.

2. All the apples in that large bushel basket are ripe. This apple is from that bushel basket. So this apple must be ripe. This is a deductive argument. It is valid.

3. This single apple is from that large bushel basket, and it’s ripe, so most of the apples from that bushel basket must be ripe. This is an inductive argument. It is weak.

4. Don’t bite down hard on that rock! You’re likely to crack a tooth. This is an inductive argument. It is strong.

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