Logic Trivia Questions for College Students

Which of the following describes the fallacy of appeal to popularity?

• Asaying someone should do something because he or she dislikes someone else
• Bsaying someone should do something to be better liked by others
• Csaying someone should accept an idea because of the source of the idea
• Dsaying someone should do something because it will make him or her feel good

In a conditional syllogism, when the minor premise denies the antecedent

• Athe conclusion must affirm the antecedent
• Bthe conclusion must deny the consequent
• Cthe conclusion must affirm the consequent
• Dno valid conclusion can be drawn

" _Ad crumenam_ " is a specific kind of

• AHasty Conclusion
• BFalse sign
• CFalse analogy
• DHasty Generalization

Which of the following fallacies happens when someone concludes that a legitimate generalization necessarily applies to a particular case?

• AFalse dilemma
• BBifurcation
• CAccident
• DCircular reasoning

Responding to charges of wrongdoing by saying the accuser or others do the same thing describes which of the following fallacies?

• Aignoratio elenchi
• Bad baculum
• Cad misericordiam
• Dtu quoque

Which of the following fallacies happens when someone argues that a claim should be accepted based on evidence that is not presented, but is asserted to be well known or obvious.

• Asuppressed evidence
• Bappeal to pride
• Cself evident truths
• Dad populum

Which of the following statements is **not** true?

• AA formally valid syllogism must be materially true
• BA formally valid syllogism may be materially untrue
• CA materially true conclusion may arise from a formally valid syllogism
• DThe formal validity of a syllogism does not guarantee it is materially true

Which of the following fallacies happens when someone concludes that someone couldn't have done something good because he or she has negative qualities?

• ALaudatory personality
• BGuilt by association
• CReprehensible personality
• DCircular reasoning

The appeal to joy fallacy involves

• Aarguing that someone should do something based only on the assertion that it will make him or her feel happier
• Bcausing confusion during refutation because of a lack of ability to engage in refutation
• Carguing for a conclusion based only on feeling sorry for someone when that feeling is irrelevant to the conclusion
• Darguing someone should do something only because other people will like him or her for doing it

The fallacy of appeal to force consists of

• Acharacterizing an opponent's position in such a way to make it seem ridiculous
• Battacking the character of the opposing arguer instead of that person's argument
• Cusing threats to get someone to agree with an idea or to do something
• Darguing that an idea or argument should be rejected only because of who came up with the idea

"The minor premise must affirm the antecedent or deny the consequent" is a way to determine the validity of which type of argument?

• ADisjunctive syllogism
• BHypothetical syllogism
• CCategorical syllogism
• DToulmin model

Anecdotal evidence is a specific kind of

• AFalse sign
• BHasty Generalization
• CFalse cause
• DFalse criteria

"Each term must be used twice, no more and no less," is a test of validity for which type of syllogism?

• ADisjunctive
• BConditional
• CEnthymeme
• DCategorical

When a claim is supported only by asserting that unidentified experts accept the claim the arguer has committed which of the following fallacies?

• Aappeal to anonymous authority
• Bsnob appeal
• Cappeal to tradition
• Dad vericundiam

When someone treats an imaginary concept as if it was something tangible that person might commit the fallacy of

• AAmphiboly
• BMisusing ambiguity
• CHypostatization
• DQuestion begging epithets

Arguing in favor of a claim based only on the evidence that some regular people believe the claim is one way to commit which of the following fallacies?

• Aad numerum
• Bsuppressed evidence
• Ccommon person appeal
• Dpoisoning the well

If you think that someone's argument is strong based on their compelling use of language and confident delivery, you've probably committed which fallacy?

• AStyle over substance
• BAmphiboly
• CSpecial pleading
• DEquivocation

If someone attacks the character of an opposing arguer, instead of responding to that opponent's arguments, the first person has probably committed which of the following fallacies?

• Ahorse laugh
• Bignoratio elenchi
• Ctu quoque
• Dargument against the person

Which of the following fallacies happens when someone argues that a choice must be made among a certain set of alternatives, when there are really other alternatives to choose from?

• ALaudatory personality
• BAccident
• CCircular reasoning
• DFalse dilemma

If you summarized an opposing argument in a way that intentionally mischaracterizes it to make it seem ridiculous, you've committed the fallacy of

• Aignorance of refutation
• Btwo wrongs make a right
• Cappeal to compassion
• Dreducing to an absurdity

Which fallacy happens because of a failure to recognize the alternatives presented are not mutually exclusive?

• ACircular reasoning
• BAccident
• CFalse dilemma
• DBegging the Question

When someone confuses figurative language with literal language that person might commit which of the following fallacies?

• AStyle over substance
• BAmphiboly
• CFigure of speech
• DEquivocation

When someone changes the meaning of a word or phrase from one part of the argument to another that person may have committed which of the following fallacies?

• AHypostatization
• BQuestion begging epithets
• CSpecial pleading
• DEquivocation

If someone argues that something should be done in a certain way because that's the way it's always been done, that person has committed which of the following fallacies?

• Aappeal to tradition
• Bargument from authority
• Cad nauseam
• Dslippery slope

Including more than one claim in a proposition may lead to which of the following fallacies?

• ACompound proposition
• BAppeal to ignorance
• CComplex question
• DExtension

When someone argues that making a change will have no significant effect, but there is no evidence that the effect will not be significant, that person has committed which of the following fallacies?

• Apoisoning the well
• Bappeal to tradition
• Csolid slope
• Dargument from authority

Another name for hasty conclusion is

• Aad novitatem
• Bhasty generalization
• Cjumping to a conclusion
• Dpost hoc ergo prompter hoc

The argument against the person consists of

• Aignoring another person's arguments and attacking her character instead
• Bcausing confusion during an argument by a lack of ability to engage in refutation
• Casserting an opposing arguer has taken an easily defeated position, which she has not really taken
• Dusing threats of harm instead of reasoning to gain agreement

The hasty conclusion fallacy is

• Amaking an argument without enough evidence to support the conclusion
• Barguing that a single event caused another when the cause is really several events
• Csubstituting individual stories for a larger sample in support of a claim
• Dreasoning that applies irrelevant criteria to the subject of the argument.

Another name for the bandwagon appeal is

• Aappeal to authority
• Bappeal to the people
• Cappeal to beliefs
• Dcommon man appeal

When someone tries to support a proposition with information that really has nothing to do with the claim being made, that person has probably committed which of the following fallacies?

• Astraw person
• Bgenetic fallacy
• Cirrelevant conclusion
• Dignoratio elenchi

Arguing that someone couldn't have done something good because she holds a particular position commits the fallacy of

• AGuilt by association
• BFalse dilemma
• CReprehensible personality
• DFalse dichotomy

An arguer who threatens another to gain agreement commits the fallacy of

• Astraw person
• Bignorance of refutation
• Cappeal to force
• Dtu quoque

When an arguer causes confusion during refutation because of real or feigned lack of an ability to engage in refutation, that arguer may have committed the fallacy of

• Aignorance of refutation
• Bappeal to compassion
• Cargument against the person
• Dpoor sportsmanship

Which of the following is another name for the fallacy of amphiboly?

• AReification
• BSpecial pleading
• CMisusing ambiguity
• DFigure of speech

Arguing that an idea should be accepted or rejected only because of the source of the idea commits which of the following fallacies?

• Aappeal to popularity
• Bgenetic fallacy
• Cscare tactics
• Dappeal to emotions

Another name for the fallacy of reducing to an absurdity is

• Aad hominem
• Bad baculum
• Creductio ad absurdum
• Dtu quoque

" _Ad antiquitatem_ " is a specific kind of

• AHasty Generalization
• BFalse sign
• CFalse analogy
• DFalse cause

So, how long have you been beating your wife?

• AFalse Dilemma
• BAppeal to Force
• CAttacking the Person (ad hominem)
• DPrejudicial Language

Which of the following is another name for appeal to the people?

• Aoverlooked evidence
• Bappeal to beliefs
• Cno true Scotsman
• Dargument by consensus

Which of the following fallacies happen if someone argues that you are a reasonable and intelligent person, so of course you understand his claim is true?

• Aappeal to pride
• Bslippery slope
• Cargument from authority
• Dsignificance

The fallacy of _ignoratio elenchi_ is also known as

• Aappeal to compassion
• Bthe "you too" fallacy
• Cargument against the person
• Dignorance of refutation

John Stuart Mill: Each person's happiness is a good to that person, and the general happiness, therefore, a good to the aggregate of all persons.

• AFallacy of Division
• BGambler's Fallacy
• CEquivocation
• DFallacy of Composition

Any application is invalid if the fee hasn't been paid. Your application is invalid, so your fee must not have been paid.

• AFalse Dilemma
• BAffirming the Consequent
• CDenying the Antecedent
• DEquivocation

Notice from the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans: We are pleased to confirm your reservation. It will be held on a space-available basis.

• AAffirming the Consequent
• BEquivocation
• CInconsistency
• DGambler's Fallacy

The false cause fallacy is

• Asubstituting individual stories for a larger sample in support of a claim
• Barguing that since someone is poor she must have high moral character
• Carguing that two things are causally related without evidence of a causal relationship
• Darguing that since something is new it is necessarily bad

When someone responds to your argument with a sarcastic statement such as, "Yeah, right. Like that's ever going to happen," that person may have committed which fallacy?

• Aappeal to spite
• Bappeal to indignation
• Ctu quoque
• Dhorse laugh

In a faulty analogy, the things being compared are...

• ASufficiently similar
• BComplete opposites
• CNot sufficiently similar in relevant ways
• DSufficiently similar in irrelevant ways

The use of a word in two different senses in an argument is the fallacy of...

• AAppeal to the person
• BAppeal to tradition
• CEquivocation
• DAppeal to emotion

The fallacy of laudatory personality is a specific type of

• AThe fallacy of accident
• BFalse dilemma
• CCircular reasoning
• DBegging the question