PHIL103 Bowie State Ch 4 Radio & Recording Industry Exam Questions
Question Description
Part 1. INSTRUCTIONS: The following selections relate to distinguishing arguments from nonarguments and identifying conclusions. Select the best answer for each.
1. Authoritarian states are characterized by strong central governments that fairly stringently limit the range of political activity. More often than not, they are one-party states, which means that only one party, that which supports the government, is allowed to engage in political activity. Free discussion and association are strictly curtailed in these systems. Anyone who might dare to criticize the government or to express ideas that are not in conformity with its policies can be severely punished, even by death.
a. Argument; conclusion: More often than not “¦ engage in political activity. b. Nonargument. c. Argument; conclusion: Authoritarian states “¦ limit the range of political activity. d. Argument; conclusion: Free discussion and association “¦ in these systems.
2. Prior to their extinction, Neanderthals had been widespread in Europe for 100,000 years. Then 50,000 years ago, modern humans moved into Europe from Africa. Twenty-six thousand years after that the last Neanderthal died. At one time it was thought that the Neanderthals were killed by climate change, but this theory has now been discounted. So why did the Neanderthals perish? We may conclude that probably they were killed by the humans.
a. Argument; conclusion: Then 50,000 years ago “¦ Europe from Africa. b. Argument; conclusion: At one time it was thought “¦ now been discounted. c. Argument; conclusion: Prior to their extinction “¦ 100,000 years. d. Argument; conclusion: Probably they were killed by the humans.
3. Hair turns color when we age because the follicles at the base of the hair shaft cease to produce melanin. Melanin is a chemical that gives the hair shaft its color (black, brown, blond, red, and all shades in between). The darkness or lightness of your hair depends on how much melanin each strand contains. With age, the cells in the follicle that produce melanin die off. As they do so, that hair strand will become silver, grey, or white, as it grows.
a. Argument; conclusion: The follicles “¦ cease to produce melanin. b. Argument; conclusion: Hair turns color when we age. c. Argument; conclusion: With age, the cells in the follicle “¦ die off. d. Nonargument.
4. Water is a highly reactive substance, quite different both physically and chemically from most other liquids. Indeed, life as we know it would be impossible if water did not have the properties it does. The first living systems presumably arose in the aqueous environment of shallow seas. It follows that the living organisms of the present are adapted at the molecular level to the special properties of water. a. Argument; conclusion: Water is a highly reactive “¦ most other liquids. b. Argument; conclusion: The living organisms “¦ properties of water. c. Argument; conclusion: Life as we know it “¦ the properties it does. d. Nonargument.
5. Scientists have recently shown that heaps of intact DNA from the extinct wooly mammoth are retrievable from the animals’ fur. A great deal of that fur is readily available in natural history museums. Also, such amounts of DNA make it possible to piece together the entire mammoth genome. Hence, we can expect to see mammoth clones in the future.
a. Argument; conclusion: A great deal of that fur “¦ natural history museums. b. Nonargument. c. Argument; conclusion: Scientists have recently shown “¦ animals’ fur. d. Argument; conclusion: We can expect to see “¦ in the not too distant future.
6. The loss of arctic ice is accelerating as a result of a form of positive feedback. As arctic ice melts, the arctic icecap reflects fewer rays from the sun. When this happens, more rays are absorbed by the surrounding ocean, which causes an increase in its temperature. As the temperature of the ocean rises, more arctic ice melts.
a. Argument; conclusion: When this happens “¦ which increases its temperature. b. Argument; conclusion: As the temperature of the ocean rises “¦ ice melts. c. Argument; conclusion: The loss of arctic ice “¦ positive feedback. d. Nonargument.
Part 2. Deductive and inductive arguments. Select the best answer for each.
7. Which of the following words is a premise indicator?
a. It must be the case that. b. Thus. c. Consequently. d. Given that.
8. Which of the following words is a conclusion indicator?
a. Because. b. For. c. Implies that. d. For the reason that.
9. Imagine that a square A is placed inside a circle B. It follows that the area of A is less than the area of B.
a. Inductive, prediction. b. Inductive, analogy. c. Deductive, mathematics.
d. Deductive, hypothetical syllogism.
10. If people can talk to the dead, then the dead are still alive. People cannot talk to the dead. Therefore, the dead are not still alive.
a. Deductive, disjunctive syllogism. b.