MID-TERM EXAM

CHAPTERS: 1, 2, 3, 9, 10

40 MCQ questions - 90 minutes

One A4 note allowed
 MID-TERM EXAM
TEST STRUCTURE

Chapter 1 + 2 + 3: Q1 –Q20 (40 points)

(2pts/correct answers)

Chapter 9: 10 MCQs – 30 points

Chapter 10: 10 MCQs – 30 points

SCORE: 100 points

 Chapter 1

1. Definition of critical thinking

2. Standards of critical thinking
3. Barriers to critical thinking
 Review of Chapter 1

Critical thinking means skilled judgment or observation by clear

intellectual standards

Eight standards of critical thinking Barriers to critical thinking

1. Clarity 1. Egocentrism
2. Accuracy 2. Sociocentrism
3. Precision 3. Unwarranted assumption
4. Relevance 4. Relativistic thinking
5. Consistency 5. Wishful thinking
6. Logical correctness
7. Completeness
8. Fairness
What do the pictures mean?

5
 Chapter 2

1. Statements
2. Non-statements
3. Arguments
4. Non-arguments
 REVIEW OF CHAPTER 2

Statement: sentence/utterance that can Non-statements: Non-arguments:

be viewed as either true or false • Questions • Reports

• Greetings • Unsupported assertions

Statements: core of an argument
• Commands
• Conditional sentences
• Requests
Argument: premise(s) + conclusion(s) • Illustrations
• Proposals
• Explanations
Argument: core of critical thinking • Instructions

• Exclamations

* Assumption: hidden belief/principle that

that decides the value of the conclusion
 Chapter 3

1. Deductive vs. inductive arguments

2. Indicators of deductive and inductive arguments

3. Common patterns of deductive arguments

4. Common patterns of inductive arguments

5. Deductive validity

6. Inductive strength
 Review of Chapter 3

DEDUCTIVE REASONING INDUCTIVE REASONING

1. Hypothetical syllogism 1. Inductive generalization

2. Categorical syllogism
3. Argument from definition
4. Argument from elimination
5. Argument based on mathematics
2. Predictive argument
3. Argument from authority
4. Causal argument
5. Statistical argument
6. Argument from analogy
 Chapter 9: Categorical Logic

1. Four categorical propositions

2. Translating stylistic variants into standard categorical forms
3. Testing validity using Venn diagram
11
 Chapter 10. Propositional logic

1. Conjunction
2. Negation
3. Disjunction
4. Conditional statements
5. Testing validity using the truth table
 Review: Propositional logic
1. Propositions/arguments with 2 variables: a true table of 4 lines
2. Propositions/arguments with 3 variables: a true table of 8 lines
3. For propositions, only set up the truth table.

4. For arguments, check validity:

- look for the lines where all premise values are true, then look for the
conclusion values
-> If all conclusion values are true: valid
-> If at least one conclusion value is false: invalid
Rules:
 If there is one false conclusion value -> stop: invalid
 If conclusion values are true till the last line: valid
 If there is no line where all premises are true: invalid 13
Review for Mid-term Exam
 MCQ Questions
1. My Vietnam’s phở outweighs Japan’s ramen noodles in all aspects. This is
____.

A. conformism

B. cultural relativism (Thuyết văn hóa tương đối)

C. self-serving bias

D. stereotype

2. “Women are more faithful (chung thủy) than men.” This is an

_________.

E. explanation

F. induction

G. assumption
3. “It’s been too hot for the last three months. So next month will be cool.” This
text is a case of _________.
A. moral subjectivism
B. sociocentrism
C. wishful thinking
D. warranted assumption

4. “Let’s have a thorough review to prepare for the mid-term exam.” This is
a/an_________.
E. argument
F. request
G. proposal
H. command
5. “Everybody wants love and respect. Therefore, we should love and respect
others to receive the same from them.” ‘Therefore’ is a _________.
A. premise indicator
B. conjunction
C. conclusion indicator
D. disjunction
6. “Our Critical Thinking textbook includes some basic logic. Chapter 9 is
about categorical logic. This text is a(an) _________.
E. explanation
F. illustration
G. deduction
H. report
7. “According to UNESCO, literacy is a fundamental human right and the
foundation for lifelong learning. This organization affirms that because literacy
helps people develop their ability to transform lives.” This is a/an_________.
A. unwarranted assumption
B. strong argument
C. report
D. cultural subjectivism
8. Mary: Jack told me that his puppy has just given birth to 3 babies!
Melissa: Are you kidding me? How can a puppy have babies?
Melissa’s saying is ________.
E. an inductive argument
F. a deductive argument
G. a non-argument
H. two questions
9. Mother: “Peter, you played computer games yesterday. You’re playing computer
games now. You’re obviously a game addict!” This is a/an_____.
A. inductive argument
B. deductive argument
C. precise explanation
D. accurate illustration
10. “Susan has a phobia of height (sợ chiều cao). So she never looks down from top
of a high building.”
What is the best major premise for this argument?
E. Some people never look down from top of a high building.
F. Susan is one of the people who have a phobia of height.
G. All people with a phobia of height never look down from top of a high building.
H. People who never look down from top of a high building may have a phobia of
height.
Comments: major not minor do đó ‘all people….’ diễn giải đúng
11. “If Rome is in Italy, then Rome is in Europe. Rome is in Italy. So, Rome is in
Europe.” This argument is a case of ______ and it is ______.

A. affirming the antecedent/valid (If A, then B; A.; Therefore, B)*

B. denying the consequent/invalid
C. affirming the consequent/invalid
D. chain argument/valid
12. “No CEOs in our company are Vietnamese so far. This year, the two candidates
for this highest leadership are German and Italian. Therefore, our company will
always be managed by foreigners.” This argument is a/an_________.
E. valid deductive argument by elimination
F. invalid deductive categorical argument
G. strong inductive argument
H. weak inductive argument
Comments: Đây là hình thức qui nạp nhưng việc khẳng định ‘always’ sẽ làm cho
13. “There’s a true saying Like father, like son. Bob’s father is a very kind man. So,
_________. What is a valid conclusion for this argument?
A. Bob is not like his father
B. Bob is a very kind man (Valid deductive arguments; Valid and sound)
C. Bob always likes his father
D. Bob is probably kind

14. “Cigarettes are banned in many public places because they harm people’s health.
So, mobile phones must also be banned because their radiation harms users’ health.”
This argument is a/an ______ argument and it can be evaluated as ______.
E. inductive/strong or weak
F. deductive/ valid or invalid
G. inductive /sound or unsound
H. deductive / cogent or uncogent
15. “Taking a person’s life is always wrong. Capital punishment involves taking a person’s
life. Therefore, capital punishment is always wrong.” This text is a/an_________.
A. hypothetical syllogism
B. sound deductive argument
C. argument from authority
D. valid deductive argument (*conclusion follows premises)

16. “In a recent survey, six in ten children who are allowed to drink beer and alcohol at home
with their parents become alcoholics later in life. Therefore, young people’s drinking habit is
formed by their relatives.” This text is a/an________.
E. inductive argument from analogy
F. inductive generalization (Khái quát hóa qui nạp*)
G. inductive predictive argument
H. inductive argument from authority
16. “A recent survey reports that six in ten children who are allowed to drink
at home with their parents become alcoholics later in life. Based on this data,
the researcher concludes young people’s drinking habit is formed by their
relatives. This survey does wake me up: I’ll never share any drink with my
children whatsoever.”
This text is a/an________.
A.inductive argument from analogy
B.inductive generalization
C.inductive predictive argument
D.inductive argument from authority (*authority: researcher)
17. “If you like fast food, you like hamburgers. You don’t like hamburgers, so you don’t like
fast food.”
This argument is a case of _________.
A. affirming the consequent (If A, then B; B; Therefore, A)
B. denying the consequent (If A, then B; Not B; Therefore, not A)
C. denying the antecedent (If A, then B; Not A; Therefore, not B)
D. affirming the antecedent (If A, then B; A; Therefore, B)

18. “I have chosen three items at one dollar each so far. Therefore, this store is certainly a
one-dollar store.”
This text is a/an _________.
E. valid deductive argument
F. valid inductive argument
G. invalid inductive argument
H. weak inductive argument
Comments: Đây là dạng qui nạp tuy nhiên sử dụng ‘certainly’ là chủ quan
19. “If the weather is fine, we’ll go on a picnic together. The weather does not have any sign
of improvement. Therefore, we won’t go on a picnic.” This is a/an_________.
A. deductive hypothetical syllogism (If A, then B; Not A; Therefore, not B)
B. deductive argument by elimination
C. inductive causal argument
D. inductive predictive argument

20. ‘Last year Vietnam Airlines had fewer flights than Vietjet due to Vietjet’s cheaper air
tickets. With more budget airlines coming into operation, Vietnam Airlines will probably
claim a loss at the end of this year.’ This text is a _________.
E. deductive hypothetical syllogism
F. inductive analogy argument
G. inductive predictive argument
H. deductive categorical argument
21. The symbolic form of the statement “It’s not the case that you travel to school
by bus but you don’t have to wait.” is ________.
A. A & ˜B
B. ˜(A& ˜B)
C. ˜(A v ˜B)
D. (˜A v ˜B)

22. The argument “All celestial stars are famous persons. Venus is a celestial star.
So, Venus is a famous person.” is ________.
E. valid but unsound
F. invalid and weak
G. strong but uncogent
H. strong and cogent
23. “______ Therefore, History was probably not a favorite subject of this high
school’s students.”
Which of the following is the best premise to make the argument a strong
induction?
A. 90% student at a high school chose History for their school leaving exam.
B. 0% student at a high school chose History for their school leaving exam last year.
C. Nearly 100% students at a high school chose History for their school leaving
exam last year.
D. All students at a high school chose History for their school leaving exam last
year.
Comments: Nhận dạng ‘best premise’; và ‘strong induction’
24. “A: Facebook is nothing but a waste of time! More and more people, especially teenagers,
spend hours and hours posting and reading nonsense stuff on Facebook.
B: Well, I don’t know if I should agree with you. By the way, have you finished your Critical
Thinking group assignment?
A: Yeah, thank God we finished it before the deadline. Our team created a Facebook group, then
we connected to divide the workload and we did the assignment quite effectively.”
A’s conclusion lacks ________.
A. fairness
B. precision
C. consistency
D. accuracy
25. The symbolic form of the statement, “If the storm comes, we’ll go to the basement for shelter
and we won’t let the windows open. ” is ________.
E. A → B & ˜C
F. A → B v C
G. A → ˜B & ˜C
H. A → B v ˜C
 Categorical logic

Put the given categorical argument into the standard forms,

then use Venn diagram to test its validity.

Step 1. Standard form

Step 2. Symbolic argument form

Step 3. Venn diagram

Step 4. Conclusion
 A. Put the following categorical argument into the standard form, then use Venn
diagram to test its validity.

Every student learns offline this semester.

Not a single offline learner turns on his or her camera. 3. Venn diagram

So, all students do not use their cameras.

1. Standard form:
All students (S) are offline learners (L).
No offline learners (L) are camera users (U).
So, no students (S) are camera users (U).

2. Symbolic argument form:

All S are L.
No L are U. 4. Conclusion: VALID

So, no S are U.
 B. Put the following categorical argument into the standard form, then use
Venn diagram to test its validity.

Most successful people work hard.

There are students who are not are hard-working. 3. Venn diagram

So, at least a student is not successful.

1. Standard form:
Some successful people (P) are hard workers (W).
Some students (S) are not hard workers (W).
So, some students (S) are not successful people (P).

2. Symbolic argument form:

Some P are W.
Some S are not W. 4. Conclusion INVALID
So, some S are not P.
 Propositional logic

Put the given argument in the symbolic argument form and

determine their validity using the truth table.

Step 1. Standard form

Step 2. Symbolic argument form

Step 3. Truth table

Step 4. Conclusion
 Propositional logic
A. It’s not the case that IU is an international university and IU students are
not qualified. So, IU is an international university because IU students
are qualified.

B. You will not take in all the lesson contents since you always wake up
late. If you don’t wake up early, you will not fully understand the lesson.

C. If buses are in better condition or the wait time is shorter, students will
travel to school by bus. Students will not travel to school by bus,
because it’s not the case that these means of transport are improved
and the wait time is shorter.
 Propositional logic
A. It’s not the case that IU is an international university and IU
students are not qualified. So, IU is an international university
because IU students are qualified.

1. Standard form:

Let: I: IU is an international university

˜Q I & ˜Q
IC Q* ˜ (I & ˜Q) *
Q: IU students are qualified
T T F F T
2. Symbolic argument form:
T F T T F
˜(I & ˜Q)
F T F F T
Q
F F T F T
So, I
Conclusion: INVALID
 Propositional logic
B. You will not take in all the lesson contents since you always
wake up late. If you don’t wake up early, you will not fully
understand the lesson.
1. Standard form:
Let: W: You wake up early
U: You fully understand the lesson
˜W* ˜UC ˜W → ˜U*
W U
T T F F T
2. Symbolic argument form:
T F F T T
˜ W → ˜U F T T F F
˜W F F T T T
Conclusion: VALID
So, ˜U
 Propositional logic
3. If buses are in better condition or the wait time is shorter,
students will travel to school by bus. Students will not travel to
school by bus, because it’s not the case that these means of
transport are improved and the wait time is shorter.
1. Standard form:
Let: B: buses are in better condition
W: the wait time is shorter
T: students will travel to school by bus

2. Symbolic argument form:

BvW →T
˜(B & W)
So, ˜T
 Propositional logic
2. Symbolic argument form:
4. Conclusion:
BvW →T
˜(B & W) INVALID
So, ˜T 3. Truth table
B W T ˜TC B v W B v W→ T* B & W ˜(B & W)*

T T T F T T T F
T T F T T F T F
T F T F T T F T
T F F T T F F T
F T T F T T F T
F T F T T F F T
F F T F F T F T
F F F T F T F T
ASSIGNMENT
CHAPTER 10
Task 1: Don’t recycle the old exercises (R). If we recycle the old exercises (R), we
may lessen our workload (L) but our teacher will know about it (K). It’s not the case
that our teacher knows about it but we can recycle the old exercises.

Let: Symbolic argument:

R=we recycle the old exercises R->L&K
L=we lessen our workload ~(K&R)
K=teacher knows about it ~R
Truth table
R L K ~R C L&K R->L&K* K&R ~(K&R)*

T T T F T T T F
T T F F F F F T
T F T F F F F T
T F F F F F F T
F T T T T T T F
F T F T F T F T
F F T T F T F T valid
F F F T F T F T
Task 1: Don’t recycle the old exercises (R). If we recycle the old exercises (R), we may
lessen our workload (L) but our teacher will know about it (K). It’s not the case that our
teacher knows about it but we can recycle the old exercises.

Let: Symbolic argument:

- R: we recycle the old exercises R -> L&K
- L: we lessen our workload ~(K&R)
- K: teacher will know about the act ~R

Add/Delete columns to suit your argument.

Truth table

R -> ~(K&R) ~Rc

R L K L&K K&R
L&K* *
T T T T T T F F
T T F F F F T F
T F T F F T F F
T F F F F F T F valid
F T T T T F T T
F T F F T F T T
F F T F T F T T
F F F F T F T T
Task 2: If our teacher gives us challenging tasks (T), we’ll make an excuse of the
summer holiday to ignore them (I) or we can submit them unfinished (U). We can
submit the tasks unfinished but we can’t ignore them. So, we can’t submit the tasks
unfinished.
Let: Symbolic argument:
T= our teacher gives us challenging task TIvU
I= we will make an excuse of the summer holiday to ~I&U
ignore them So, ~U
U= we can not submit the tasks unfinished
Truth table Add/Delete columns to suit your argument.
T I U ~I ~I*&U ~U^(C) TI*vU

T T T F F F T

T T F F F T T

T F T T T F T

T F F T F T F

F T T F F F F

F T F F F T F
Conclusion:
F F T T T F F invalid
F F F T F T F
 Task 2: If our teacher gives us challenging tasks (T), we’ll make an excuse
of the summer holiday to ignore them (I) or we can submit them unfinished
(U). We can submit the tasks unfinished but we can’t ignore them. So, we
can’t submit the tasks unfinished.
Symbolic argument:
Let: T -> I v U
T: our teacher gives us challenging tasks
I: we’ll make an excuse of the summer holiday to ignore U & ~I
them So, ~U
U: we can submit them unfinished

Truth table Add/Delete columns to suit your argument.

T I U IvU T -> I v U ~I U & ~I * ~U (c)
*
T T T T T F F F
T T F T T F F T
T F T T T T T F
T F F F F T F T
F T T T T F F F
F T F T T F F T Conclusion: invalid
F F T T T T T F
F F F F T T F T
 Task 4: Create a propositional argument about the topic of wishes for the mid-term exam with three variables, including a disjunction, a double negation and a conditional statement, then turn it into the symbolic argument and evaluate its validity.

Your argument
There is not any student who doesn't want to get high score on
the mid-term exam (X). If Mrs. Ngoc gives us the exam (Y), we
will well prepare (Z) or we won’t get high score (X). Our teacher Truth table
is going to test us next week (Y). So, we must review all the
lessons (Z)
Add/Delete columns to suit your argument.

X: all students want to get high score

X* Y* Z ~X Zv~X Y Z v ~X* Z
Y: Mrs. Ngoc gives us the exam c
Z: we must review all the lessons
T T T F T T T

Symbolic argument T T F F F F F
T F T F T T T
X
Y Z v ~X T F F F F T F
Y F T T T T T T
So, Z
F T F T T T F
Conclusion: VALID F F T T T T T
F F F T T T F
 Task 5: Create a propositional argument about the topic of how you enjoy life after the summer semester with three variables including at least conjunction, disjunction, a negation, and a conditional statement, then turn it into the symbolic argument and
evaluate its validity using the truth table.

Your argument: If my family and my friend group choose the same day for the
holiday trip, I can only choose 1 trip to join in. But they decide a different
holiday time. Therefore, I can participate both journey
Let: Truth table
S: they choose the same day for trip F* G* S GvF S->GvF * ~S* G&S C
G: friend group participation
F: family participation T T T T T F T
Symbolic argument T T F T T T F
G T F T T T F F
F T F F F T T F
S -> G v F F T T T T F T
~S F T F T T T F
So, G&F F F T F F F F
F F F F T T F

Conclusion: invalid