Question

1.Select the correct answer (treat this passage as an argument): Households that have guns are significantly less likely to be victims of crime. Therefore, people should keep guns in their homes. Question 1 options: Unstated premise: The presence of guns causes a decrease in crime Unstated conclusion: People should keep guns in their homes Unstated premise: People should do things that make them less likely to be victims of crime No unstated elements None of the above.

2. Select the correct answer (treat this passage as an argument): A single-payer health care system would raise costs. A single-payer health care system would reduce the quality of care. A single-payer health care system is un-American. [Note: A single-payer health care system is one in which one agency, usually the government, functions either as the sole insurance company or the sole provider of health care.] Question 2 options: Unstated premise: A single-payer health care system would raise costs. Unstated conclusion: A single-payer health care system would be bad. Unstated premise: A single-payer health care system would be good. No unstated elements None of the above.

3. China's economy is likely to explode over the next ten years. They're making the transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society, and previous societies that went through this transition saw stunning economic progress. Write two sentences: Does exercise 7 (about China’s economy) seem like it would or would not have an unstated premise? If it does have one, what would that premise be?

4. Select ALL correct answers (treat this passage as an argument): Romeo: Let's elope. Juliet: Are you crazy? Romeo: What's the problem? Juliet: Our families are the problem, Einstein. They'd kill us for eloping. Romeo: Einstein doesn't get born for another couple of centuries. Kindly restrict your remarks to this century. Juliet: Well, our families would kill us in this century. Is that good enough for you? Romeo: Very persuasive. Question 4 options: Unstated premise: Romeo is crazy. Unstated premise: Neither Romeo nor Juliet wants to be killed. Unstated conclusion: Romeo and Juliet should not elope Unstated conclusion: Romeo and Juliet should elope. No unstated elements.

5. The drop in his grades wasn't caused by the divorce of his parents, because that occurred before he was two. There must be some other cause of the problem. Question 5 options: Argument Explanation Argument about an explanation Neither an argument nor an explanation

6. “Help!” Question 6 options: Argument Explanation Argument about an explanation Neither an argument nor an explanation

“You might be surprised to learn that when you turn your car, your front wheels are not pointing in the same direction. For a car to turn smoothly, each wheel must follow a different circle. Since the inside wheel is following a circle with a smaller radius, it is actually making a tighter turn than the outside wheel.” (Howstuffworks.com 2007)

Question 7 options: Argument Explanation Argument about an explanation Neither an argument nor an explanation

“There is good reason why it is considered important to be able to listen to another person, why we have to listen—for we do not have to learn to interrupt which comes naturally. Interrupting is generally considered impolite. Here indispensable social norms not rooted in the organism's natural inclinations are motivated and determined by propriety and politeness.” (Yakubinsky 1997, 249, material omitted) Question 9 options: Argument Explanation Argument about an explanation Neither an argument nor an explanation

Answer 1

Premise: Households that have guns are significantly less likely to be victims of crime.

Unstated premise: The presence of guns causes a decrease in crime.

Conclusion: Therefore, people should keep guns in their homes.