Male boto dolphins often carry objects

Answer choices

1. A

   Bad Premise/Conclusion Match6% picked this

   If there is a lot of traffic today, then Phyllis will probably be late to the meeting. But I expect light traffic today. So

   The first premise is a conditional If X, then W. The other premise should be a fact that triggers the contrapositive: W is not the case. The 2nd sentence + Conclusion should have said "But Phyliis won't be late to the meeting. Thus, there probably isn't a lot of traffic today."

   6%
2. B

   Bad Premise Match6% picked this

   I expect the arborist to determine that this tree is diseased. If the arborist finds that the tree is diseased, then the tree will

   In (A), they gave us a conditional, and then the fact was the opposite of the trigger. In (B), they give us a conditional, and then the fact confirms the trigger. What we want is a conditional, and then the fact is the opposite of the outcome. Given the conditional, arborist finds tree is diseased ? tree will be cut down we would want a factual premise saying "but the tree will not be cut down".

   6%
3. C

   Bad Premise Match19% picked this

   If the weather forecast called for heavy snow, then I would have expected Roy to cancel his trip to his mountain cabin. Indeed, Roy

   In (A), they gave us a conditional, and then the fact was the opposite of the trigger. In (B), they gave us a conditional, and then the fact confirmed the trigger. In (C), they give us a conditional, and then the fact confirms the outcome. What we want is a conditional, and then the fact is the opposite of the outcome. Given the conditional, forecast called for big snow ? Roy cancels trip we would want a factual premise saying "Roy will not cancel his trip".

   19%
4. D

   Correct68% picked this

   If construction of that building were on schedule, then I would expect the foundation to have been completed already. But work on the foundation

   Why this is right

   Given the conditional, construction on schedule ? foundation done we would want a factual premise saying "but the foundation isn't done". That's what we get. Then the conclusion should be the opposite of the trigger, "so the construction isn't on schedule" and that's what saying "construction is behind schedule" means. They preserved the probable strength of the conclusion: "probably behind schedule" = "more likely mating display" They didn't preserve the idea of ruling out an alternative, so some people may have started off not liking this answer because it doesn't replicate all the features of the original. But it turns out they're just replicating the contrapositive argument structure: Premise 1: X ? Y Premise 2: ~Y. Conclusion: ~X.

   Skill tested: Parallel · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   68%
5. E

   Bad Premise Match2% picked this

   If Tamika makes a big sale today, I would expect her to celebrate tonight. So, since Tamika will probably make a big sale

   In (A), they gave us a conditional, and then the fact was the opposite of the trigger. In (B), they gave us a conditional, and then the fact confirmed the trigger. In (C), they gave us a conditional, and then the fact confirmed the outcome. In (E), they give us a conditional, and then the fact confirms the trigger. What we want is a conditional, and then the fact is the opposite of the outcome. Given the conditional, big sale ? celebrate we would want a factual premise saying "She will not celebrate". Instead we get "She probably will make big sale".

   2%