Q&A

Question 1

1. Choose the alternative that restates as an imperative the following italicized statement: Kofi is working harder than Kwame.

Answer 1

A. Kofi, are you working harder than Kwame?
B. Kofi, you must work harder than Kwame. ✅
C. Amazing! I can’t believe Kofi is working harder than Kwame!
D. Kwame, you are not working as hard as Kofi.

Question 2

2. Choose the alternative that best expresses an interrogative using the meaning content of the particular declarative sentence in italics:
   This plant needs more water.

Answer 2

A. Give this plant more water.
B. Please, did the technician water this plant today?
C. Does this plant need more water? ✅
D. It’s so tedious; this plant needs more and more water!

Question 3

3. From the following items, choose the one which is a sentence fragment:

Answer 3

A. What are you doing?
B. Go now; otherwise, you will be late.
C. Gracious God, look at what you are doing; are you mad?
D. “Light soup.” ✅

Question 4

4. Of the following items, identify which best illustrates an emotive expression:

Answer 4

A. Rice and stew.
B. Come quickly; we have a long journey.
C. Where are we?
D. Gracious God, are you mad? ✅

Question 5

5. Which of the following might be described as both a moral judgment and also an imperative?

Answer 5

A. Are you going to the farm tomorrow?
B. You can’t leave the church service without giving alms for the poor! ✅
C. This is the last time you will be able to get transport to Accra before tomorrow.
D. He’s so handsome; don’t you think so?

Question 6

6. Identify which of the following is a genuine interrogative:

Answer 6

A. Can’t you keep quiet?
B. Is your cousin a graduate of KNUST or of Legon? ✅
C. Don’t you just wish you could own such a car as that?
D. Isn’t Miss Ghana 2009 the most beautiful young woman anyone has ever seen

Question 7

7. Consider which of the following is a sentence fragment:

Answer 7

A. Last year’s Miss Ghana. ✅
B. Meet Miss Ghana, a graduate of KNUST.
C. When are we supposed to graduate?
D. How can you ask such a question? How rude can you be?

Question 8

8. What kind of linguistic utterance (speech act) is being illustrated by the following sentence in italics?
   Tolerating corruption, extortion, and confiscation in public funds amounts to spiritual heresy and will be avenged upon the generations yet unborn.

Answer 8

A. Value judgment (moral) ✅
B. Emotive utterance
C. Value judgment (non-moral)
D. Factual statement

Question 9

9. Identify which of the following clearly is NOT a (moral or non-moral) value judgment:

Answer 9

A. Is it true that you have more cousins than I do? ✅
B. This house is the most magnificent example of the Tudor period in the province.

Question 10

10. If a statement has less empirical content, it is easy to falsify it.

Answer 10

A. True ✅
B. False

Question 11

11. Violation of the following types of law can attract some kind of penalty or reprobation EXCEPT:

Answer 11

A. Moral law ✅
B. Customary law
C. Natural law
D. Constitutional law

Question 12

12. Which type of law is not dependent upon social observance or enforcement by a governing agency in order to remain effective?

Answer 12

A. Natural law ✅
B. Customary law
C. Constitutional law
D. Moral law

Question 13

13. Which of the following is not a natural law-like statement?

Answer 13

A. All salts must dissolve in water.
B. All metals must expand when heated.
C. All mammals must have oxygen in order to live.
D. All human beings must obey God. ✅

Question 14

15. Which of the following methods of reasoning has the danger of resulting in the fallacy of confusing a correlation with a causal connection?

Answer 14

3. Joint method of agreement and difference ✅

Question 15

16. The joint method of agreement and difference is a way of conjecturing that:

Answer 15

3. Two things: that event A was a sufficient condition for event B, and that an event of type A is a necessary condition for the type B event. ✅

Question 16

18. If we want to explain events occurring before the evolution of Homo sapiens, which type of law would NOT feature at all in our hypotheses?

Answer 16

1. Civil ✅

Question 17

19. Which one of the following statements is false?

Answer 17

4. All of the statements (A-D) above are false. ✅

Question 18

20. Consider the following passage and choose the option which BEST analyzes the argument:

Answer 18

1. The premises of the argument do not provide relevant evidence for the conclusion. ✅

Question 19

21. Read again the italicized passage presented for Question 20 above.
    Which of the following fallacies is committed in that argument?

Answer 19

A. Fallacy of semi-attached figures
B. Fallacy of illegitimate appeal to authority
C. False analogy
D. Fallacy of misplaced vividness ✅

Question 20

22. How would you evaluate statements (i) and (ii) below?
    (i) The weatherman said it should rain tomorrow, so let’s wait and see if there will be dry weather for the match.
    (ii) The government should not burden itself with a Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice; people will just cause trouble if they are not happy, and it is too expensive for a developing country.

Answer 20

A. None of the options below (B-E) evaluates (i) and (ii) correctly.
B. (i) is a value judgment, and (ii) is a factual statement waiting for verification. ✅
C. Both (i) and (ii) are factual predictions.
D. Both (i) and (ii) express moral value judgments.

Question 21

23. What type of fallacy is represented by the passage in italics below?
    There is ample evidence to prove that having a very badly sunburned finger causes fatal lung cancer. I know this because every corpse with advanced lung cancer that I examined as a medical student had stains all over the first and the second fingers, usually of the right hand.

Answer 21

A. Genetic fallacy
B. Post hoc ergo propter hoc
C. Confusing cause with effect
D. Ignoring a common underlying cause ✅

Question 22

24. A valid deductive inference is one whose conclusion ought to be accepted if… (complete with the best alternative):

Answer 22

A. All the premises are true; this is necessary for the argument to be valid. ✅
B. At least one of the premises is true; this is sufficient for validity.
C. None of A-D captures the requirements for an argument to be deductively valid.
D. All the premises are either imperatives or normative statements.

Question 23

25. Consider the proverb in italics and choose the best one among the alternatives to describe its function:
    One head does not go into council.

Answer 23

A. A factual description of the limitations of heads in the world.
B. An operational definition of the term “head.”
C. A value judgment or a directive about how decision-making in governance should be conducted. ✅
D. A syllogistic argument about marital counseling.

Question 24

26. Value judgments are expressions that:

Answer 24

A. Describe the world as it is
B. Prescribe how the world should be ✅
C. Provide operational definitions

Question 25

27. The difference between empirical generalizations and normative principles is that:

Answer 25

A. Empirical generalizations are always true. B. Normative principles state how things are. C. Empirical generalizations report observed facts, while normative principles prescribe standards. ✅ D. Normative principles are based on empirical evidence.

Question 26

28. A deductive argument is characterized by:

Answer 26

A. The impossibility of the conclusion being false if the premises are true. ✅ B. The conclusion being probably true if the premises are true. C. The premises providing no support for the conclusion. D. The conclusion being a general statement.

Question 27

29. An inductive argument:

Answer 27

A. Guarantees the truth of the conclusion if the premises are true. B. Suggests the conclusion is probably true based on the premises. ✅ C. Contains premises that are universal affirmations. D. Is always valid.

Question 28

30. A statement is considered particular if:

Answer 28

A. It applies universally. B. Its reference class is finite and countable. ✅ C. It is an empirical generalization. D. It offers a stipulative definition.

Question 29

31. The premises of a deductive argument:

Answer 29

A. Suggest but do not guarantee the conclusion. B. Guarantee the conclusion's truth. ✅ C. Are always in the form of universal affirmations. D. Are derived from empirical observations.

Question 30

32. Validity in deductive arguments means:

Answer 30

A. The premises are likely true. B. If the premises are true, the conclusion cannot be false. ✅ C. The argument is based on strong evidence. D. The premises are universally accepted.

Question 31

33. An argument is sound if:

Answer 31

A. It is valid and all its premises are true. ✅ B. It contains at least one false premise. C. It is inductive and strong. D. The conclusion is probably true.

Question 32

34. A universal affirmation is a statement that:

Answer 32

A. Applies to no entities in a domain. B. States that all entities of a certain type possess a particular property. ✅ C. Is always false. D. Is based on a stipulative definition

Question 33

35. Conditional statements are structured as:

Answer 33

A. If antecedent, then consequent. ✅ B. Either/or statements. C. Universal negations. D. Definitions providing the essence of a term.

Question 34

36. Modus ponens is an argument form where:

Answer 34

A. If the antecedent is true, the consequent must also be true. ✅ B. Denying the antecedent automatically denies the consequent. C. The conclusion is valid regardless of the premises' truth. D. It utilizes universal negation to draw conclusions.

Question 35

37. If it is raining, then the ground is wet. The ground is wet. Therefore, it...

Answer 35

A. Might rain. ✅ B. Is raining. C. Is not raining.

Question 36

38. If you are a teacher, then you work at a school. You are not a teacher. Therefore, you...

Answer 36

A. work at a school B. do not work at a school C. might work at a school D. cannot be determined ✅

Question 37

39. All cats are animals. All dogs are animals. Therefore, all dogs are...

Answer 37

A. cats B. not cats C. animals ✅ D. both A and C are correct

Question 38

40. A student from XYZ University won the math competition. Therefore, all students from XYZ University...

Answer 38

A. are good at math B. won the math competition C. like math competitions D. none of the above ✅

Question 39

41. You must study law, or you will not be successful. You did not study law. Therefore, you...

Answer 39

A. will be successful B. will not be successful ✅ C. might be successful in another field D. cannot determine success

Question 40

42. After the new mayor was elected, crime rates dropped. Therefore, the new mayor...

Answer 40

A. caused crime rates to drop ✅ B. is responsible for crime C. improved the economy

Question 41

43. If we allow students to redo tests, next they'll want to change their grades. Therefore, allowing test redos...

Answer 41

A. improves learning B. leads to grade inflation C. is a fair policy D. cannot determine the outcome ✅

Question 42

44. Books are educational because they provide knowledge. Therefore, books are...

Answer 42

A. boring B. educational because they are books ✅ C. not educational D. expensive

Question 43

45. Ice cream sales increase in the summer. Shark attacks also increase in the summer. Therefore, increasing ice cream sales...

Answer 43

A. cause shark attacks B. have no relation to shark attacks ✅ C. decrease shark attacks D. are a result of shark attacks

Question 44

46. The law implies an obligation. Birds fly by law. Therefore, birds...

Answer 44

A. are obligated to fly B. fly by legal obligation C. fly according to natural laws ✅ D. none of the above is logically consistent

Question 45

47. Every player on the team is outstanding. Therefore, the team...

Answer 45

A. is outstanding ✅ B. might not win the championship C. is made up of outstanding players only D. cannot assume the team's performance based on individual excellence

Question 46

48. No dedicated student fails the test. John, a dedicated student, fails the test.

Answer 46

*Correct answer:* The statement is logically inconsistent and cannot be determined.

Question 47

48. Therefore, John ...

Answer 47

A. was not truly dedicated B. is not a student C. can retake the test D. none of the above justifies his failure ✅

Question 48

49. There is no evidence that ghosts do not exist. Therefore, ghosts ...

Answer 48

A. exist B. do not exist C. might exist D. existence cannot be determined by lack of evidence ✅

Question 49

50. Children are like plants; both grow. Therefore, children ...

Answer 49

A. need water to grow B. grow towards sunlight C. require the same care as plants D. this analogy does not validly support the conclusion ✅

Question 50

51. Criminals use smartphones. Therefore, anyone using a smartphone ...

Answer 50

A. is a criminal B. is under suspicion C. cannot be trusted D. none of the above is a valid conclusion ✅

Question 51

52. The pet is either a cat or a dog. The pet is a cat. Therefore, the pet ..

Answer 51

A. cannot be a dog ✅ B. is not a pet C. is both a cat and a dog D. this does not exclude other possibilities

Question 52

53. A famous actor says this diet pill works. Therefore, the diet pill ...

Answer 52

A. works B. is safe and effective C. is recommended by health professionals D. the actor's endorsement does not prove the pill's effectiveness ✅

Question 53

54. All metals expand when heated. This rod is made of metal. So therefore, this rod will ...

Answer 53

A. melt when heated B. expand when heated ✅ C. shrink when heated D. dissolve when heated

Question 54

55. There's a 70% chance of rain tomorrow according to the weather forecast. So therefore, it is ...

Answer 54

A. impossible to rain tomorrow B. certain to rain tomorrow C. likely to rain tomorrow ✅ D. going to snow instead

Question 55

56. A new study suggests that eating blueberries improves memory in older adults. So therefore, consuming blueberries can ...

Answer 55

A. worsen memory B. do not affect memory C. improve memory in older adults ✅ D. make people dislike blueberries

Question 56

57. Every swan observed in the park has been white. So, therefore, the next swan seen in the park will likely be:

Answer 56

A. black B. white ✅ C. multicolored D. invisible

Question 57

58. A syllogism that violates the rule of having three and only three terms is guilty of:

Answer 57

A. fallacy of four terms ✅ B. begging the question C. equivocation D. non sequitur

Question 58

59. For a syllogism to be valid, it must:

Answer 58

*2.* Have premises that logically lead to the conclusion ✅

Question 59

60. The concept of "soundness" in an argument applies to:

Answer 59

*2.* Deductive arguments with true premises and valid reasoning ✅