Homework #2
Critical Thinking
Spring 2012
Due date: April 24
Chapter 8:
1. Exercise 8-2 #20
2. For the following claim, translate it into standard form (A, E, I or O,) and determine the
three corresponding standard form claims. Then, assuming the truth value of the given
claim, determine the truth values of as many of the other three corresponding claims as you
can.
Nobody gets anywhere in this town without owning a car. (true)
3. Find the claim described, and determine whether it is equivalent to the claim you began with:
Find the contrapositive of only students with excessive absences are the ones with skateboards.
4. Abbreviate each category into a letter, then translate the argument into standard form using
the abbreviations. The test the argument for validity using the rules method.
The only surfers around here can moonwalk and anyone who can moonwalk is a
soul searcher so in some cases at least the surfers around here are soul searchers.
5. Abbreviate each category into a letter, then translate the argument into standard form using
the abbreviations. The test the argument for validity using the rules method.
Unless you are a star student, you won’t graduate from Harvard law. But some
folks graduating from Harvard law aren’t successful business men so no star
students are successful business men.
Chapter 10:
1. Decide if the following is (a) an analogical argument or (b) an inductive generalization:
Hiking and camping have this much in common: You can’t do either one without getting chewed up
by mosquitoes. You hate hiking so you’ll hate camping too.
a. analogical argument
b. inductive generalization
2. Decide if the following is (a) an analogical argument or (b) an inductive generalization:
The weather this month has been so cloudy and rainy. I remember last year around this time it was
cloudy and rainy too. So then it must be that it is always cloudy and rainy this time of year.
a. analogical argument
b. inductive generalization
3. For the following argument, Identify (1) the sample, (2) the target, and (3) the property in
question:
The weather this month has been so cloudy and rainy. I remember last year around this time it was
cloudy and rainy too. So then it must be that it is always cloudy and rainy this time of year.
4. For the following argument, Identify (1) the sample, (2) the target, and (3) the property in
question:
The Greek economy collapsed because of all the government pensions. If it happened there, it can
happen here.
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Chapter 11:
1. What is the cause and what is the effect seen in the following passage:
Within eleven months of September 11, 2001, eleven men connected to bioterror and germ
warfare died in strange and violent circumstances. Don’t tell me that’s coincidence!
2. What is the cause and what is the effect seen in the following passage:
You know, all of a sudden she started acting cold? She didn’t like it when I told her I was
going to play poker with you guys.
3. Identify each pattern of reasoning as (a) relevant difference reasoning or (b) common thread
reasoning
Whenever we have people over, the next morning the bird is all squawky and grumpy. The
only thing I can figure is it must not get enough sleep when we have company.
4. Identify each pattern of reasoning as (a) relevant difference reasoning or (b) common thread
reasoning
After an evening when the mosquitoes were particularly bad, Tony rushed out to Ace and
bought a Mosquito magnet. That evening the mosquitoes didn’t seem as bad. “It works,”
Tony told his wife.
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