Learn by Novus · Open practice pack v1

Critical thinking: evidence, arguments and judgement: open practice pack

100 untimed questions across 10 authored sections.

This is untimed educational practice for one cognitive skill. It is not a clinical, diagnostic, employment, or professionally recognized assessment, and it does not produce an IQ score or credential.

Learner worksheet

One hundred short items in ten themed sections, starting with the difference between a claim and its evidence and building towards full argument appraisal. Judge each item only on what the prompt supplies. The aim is to reason carefully, not to race the clock or to reach for outside facts.

Choose one answer for each item. For a delayed-recall item, read its study text, cover it, and then answer without looking back.

Claims, evidence and opinion

Begin by separating what has actually been observed from what has been asserted, preferred, or inferred. Ask of each statement: could this be checked, and by what?

1. critical-thinking-s01-q01

A café owner says: "Our new blend is the best coffee in town." Which part of this statement would be hardest to settle with evidence?

  1. The judgement that the blend is the best
  2. That the café sells coffee
  3. That the blend is new
  4. That the café is located in the town

Answer:

2. critical-thinking-s01-q02

Which of these statements is a factual claim that could, in principle, be checked?

  1. Autumn is the loveliest season.
  2. The library recorded 4,120 visits last month.
  3. Everyone should read more poetry.
  4. Blue is a nicer colour than green.

Answer:

3. critical-thinking-s01-q03

A report states: "Sales rose after the shop repainted its front, so customers clearly prefer the new colour." Which part of this is the observation rather than the interpretation?

  1. That customers prefer the new colour
  2. That the colour caused sales to rise
  3. That sales rose after the repainting
  4. That the old colour was putting customers off

Answer:

4. critical-thinking-s01-q04

A student writes: "The bus was late three times last week, and it was late again today." Which statement does this evidence support most safely?

  1. The bus service is the worst in the region.
  2. The bus will be late tomorrow.
  3. The bus is never on time.
  4. The bus has been late on several recent occasions.

Answer:

5. critical-thinking-s01-q05

Which of these would count as direct evidence that a library's reading club has grown this year?

  1. Membership records showing more sign-ups than last year
  2. A member's sense that the room seems busier
  3. A poster advertising the club
  4. The librarian's hope that more people will join

Answer:

6. critical-thinking-s01-q06

A newspaper headline reads: "Town's air is cleaner than ever." The article's only support is one resident saying the air "feels fresher". What is the main weakness?

  1. The resident may dislike the town
  2. The headline is too short to be informative
  3. A single personal impression is not a measurement of air quality
  4. The article does not name the newspaper

Answer:

7. critical-thinking-s01-q07

Which statement mixes a factual claim with a value judgement?

  1. The council spent £2m on the new footbridge.
  2. The council wasted £2m on an unnecessary footbridge.
  3. The footbridge opened in March.
  4. The footbridge crosses the river.

Answer:

8. critical-thinking-s01-q08

A shop assistant claims the new till system is faster than the old one. Which piece of information would most directly test that claim?

  1. Staff opinions about how modern the system looks
  2. The price the shop paid for the system
  3. The number of tills in the shop
  4. Recorded average time per transaction before and after the change

Answer:

9. critical-thinking-s01-q09

"Nobody has proved that the water from the old well is unsafe, so it must be safe to drink." What is wrong with this reasoning?

  1. It relies too heavily on the opinion of experts
  2. It uses an outdated definition of safety
  3. An absence of proof of harm is not itself evidence of safety
  4. It assumes the well is old

Answer:

10. critical-thinking-s01-q10

A gardener says: "I used the new feed and my roses bloomed beautifully, so the feed works." What extra information would most help in judging the claim?

  1. How comparable roses that went without the feed bloomed that season
  2. The price of the feed
  3. How many years the gardener has grown roses
  4. The colour of the roses

Answer:

Finding the conclusion and the reasons

Every argument has one point it is trying to establish and one or more reasons offered in its support. Locate the conclusion first, then ask which sentences are working to prop it up.

11. critical-thinking-s02-q01

"The path floods every winter, and repairs cost more each year. The council should reroute it." Which part is the conclusion: the point being argued for?

  1. The path floods every winter
  2. The council should reroute the path
  3. Repairs cost more each year
  4. Winters have become wetter

Answer:

12. critical-thinking-s02-q02

"Because the ferry only runs twice a day, and the crossing takes two hours, a day trip leaves little time ashore." What role does "the crossing takes two hours" play?

  1. It is the conclusion of the argument
  2. It is an irrelevant aside
  3. It contradicts the conclusion
  4. It is one of the reasons supporting the conclusion

Answer:

13. critical-thinking-s02-q03

Identify the conclusion: "Membership has fallen for three years running. Our fees are higher than at every nearby club. We must lower the fees."

  1. We must lower the fees
  2. Membership has fallen for three years running
  3. Our fees are higher than at every nearby club
  4. Nearby clubs are better run

Answer:

14. critical-thinking-s02-q04

"Trains are quicker than coaches on this route. They are also more expensive. On balance I will take the coach, because I have plenty of time and little money." Which statement is the conclusion?

  1. Trains are quicker than coaches on this route
  2. Trains are more expensive than coaches
  3. The speaker will take the coach
  4. The speaker has little money

Answer:

15. critical-thinking-s02-q05

"The hall's roof leaks whenever it rains hard. Two concerts have been cancelled this season. Repairing the roof should be the committee's first priority." How many distinct reasons are offered for the recommendation?

  1. None
  2. Two
  3. Three
  4. Four

Answer:

16. critical-thinking-s02-q06

"Every entrant must be a resident of the county, and Ravi lives two counties away, so Ravi cannot enter." Which statement, if it turned out to be false, would break the argument?

  1. Ravi lives two counties away
  2. Entrants must pay a fee
  3. The contest is popular
  4. Ravi wants to enter

Answer:

17. critical-thinking-s02-q07

A speaker says: "Some say the market should move to Saturdays. I disagree. Traders report that Wednesday footfall is their best of the week." What is the speaker's conclusion?

  1. Traders would prefer to trade on Saturdays
  2. Wednesday footfall is disappointing
  3. The market should close altogether
  4. The market should not move to Saturdays

Answer:

18. critical-thinking-s02-q08

"Reading before bed helps me sleep, so the school should set reading homework in the evening." Where is the weakest link between the reason and the conclusion?

  1. The claim that reading can be enjoyable
  2. The claim that the school already sets homework
  3. The leap from one person's experience to a policy for every pupil
  4. The claim that good sleep is worth having

Answer:

19. critical-thinking-s02-q09

"Because the bridge is closed, deliveries take longer; and because deliveries take longer, stock runs low." What kind of structure is this?

  1. A chain, in which each conclusion becomes the reason for the next step
  2. Two unrelated observations placed side by side
  3. A single claim repeated in different words
  4. A conclusion offered with no reasons at all

Answer:

20. critical-thinking-s02-q10

"The scheme is popular, well funded, and already running in three neighbouring towns. Therefore it will work here." Which of these is offered as a reason rather than as the conclusion?

  1. The scheme will work here
  2. The scheme is already running in three neighbouring towns
  3. The scheme should be adopted nationally
  4. The scheme is the only available option

Answer:

Unstated assumptions

Arguments often rely on a step nobody says out loud. Look for the missing link that must hold if the stated reason is really to deliver the stated conclusion.

21. critical-thinking-s03-q01

"We should hold the fair on the green, because more people will come." Which assumption does this argument depend on?

  1. The green is owned by the council
  2. Fairs are a long-standing local tradition
  3. A larger turnout would be a good thing for the fair
  4. The weather on the day will be dry

Answer:

22. critical-thinking-s03-q02

"Sunita passed the advanced course, so she can supervise the workshop." Which unstated assumption is required?

  1. Passing the advanced course qualifies someone to supervise the workshop
  2. Sunita enjoys supervising other people
  3. The workshop runs every week
  4. Other candidates failed the course

Answer:

23. critical-thinking-s03-q03

"Buy the larger tin of paint. It costs less per litre." What is being assumed?

  1. The smaller tin is faulty in some way
  2. Paint is sold only in tins
  3. The larger tin holds a different colour
  4. The buyer will actually use enough paint for the extra not to be wasted

Answer:

24. critical-thinking-s03-q04

"Our advert must be working: sales rose in the week it first appeared." Which assumption is doing the most work here?

  1. The advert was expensive to produce
  2. Nothing else that week could account for the rise in sales
  3. Sales figures are compiled weekly
  4. The advert was seen by at least one person

Answer:

25. critical-thinking-s03-q05

"The new filter removes 99% of particles, so the water will be safe to drink." Which assumption is required?

  1. The filter is inexpensive to buy
  2. The water currently tastes unpleasant
  3. Filters of this kind are widely used
  4. The hazards in this water are the particles the filter removes

Answer:

26. critical-thinking-s03-q06

"Everyone in the choir can read music, so we can rehearse from the new score straight away." What must be assumed?

  1. The choir has rehearsed together before
  2. The new score is written in a notation the members can actually read
  3. The new piece is technically difficult
  4. The choir performs in public

Answer:

27. critical-thinking-s03-q07

"The clinic should extend its opening hours, because patients say they struggle to attend." Which assumption links the reason to the recommendation?

  1. The hours patients struggle with are the ones that would be added
  2. Patients answer surveys honestly
  3. The clinic has spare consulting rooms
  4. Other clinics already open for longer

Answer:

28. critical-thinking-s03-q08

"This bread must be the best in the shop: it sold out first." Which assumption is required for the reasoning to hold?

  1. Bread is baked fresh each day
  2. The shop keeps accurate sales records
  3. Selling out first reflects quality rather than price or the quantity baked
  4. Customers buy bread frequently

Answer:

29. critical-thinking-s03-q09

"We can cut the training budget: last year every trainee passed their assessment." What is assumed?

  1. The trainees enjoyed the training
  2. The training spending was not the reason they all passed
  3. Assessments are marked fairly
  4. The budget is currently large

Answer:

30. critical-thinking-s03-q10

"A survey found that most residents want a quieter high street, so the council should ban all vehicles from it." Which assumption is the least defensible?

  1. That residents were asked their view
  2. That some residents dislike noise
  3. That vehicles currently use the high street
  4. That a total ban is what achieving a quieter street requires

Answer:

Judging sources and credibility

Who is telling you something, how do they know it, and what do they stand to gain? Credibility is about relevant expertise, access, and incentive, not about confidence or volume.

31. critical-thinking-s04-q01

Four people comment on whether a footbridge is structurally sound. Whose statement carries most weight on that specific question?

  1. A resident who crosses the bridge every day
  2. A councillor who approved the bridge's budget
  3. A commuter who finds the bridge attractive
  4. An engineer who has inspected the bridge and published her measurements

Answer:

32. critical-thinking-s04-q02

A company's own leaflet reports that its product outperforms every rival. Why should this be treated with caution?

  1. Leaflets are always inaccurate
  2. The company is too small to run product tests
  3. The company has a direct interest in the result and chose how to test and report it
  4. The rival firms were not consulted beforehand

Answer:

33. critical-thinking-s04-q03

Which detail would most increase your confidence in a published survey result?

  1. The result matches what you already believed
  2. The report states how respondents were selected and how many replied
  3. The report presents its findings in colourful charts
  4. The survey was published very recently

Answer:

34. critical-thinking-s04-q04

A witness describes a car she glimpsed at dusk from 200 metres away, six months ago. What is the main reason for caution?

  1. The viewing conditions and the delay make accurate recall difficult, whatever her honesty
  2. Witnesses in general cannot be trusted
  3. She may not own a car herself
  4. Dusk is not a precise time of day

Answer:

35. critical-thinking-s04-q05

An article about a medicine cites "leading experts" but names none and links to no studies. What is the weakness?

  1. Experts rarely agree with one another
  2. Medicines are a complicated subject
  3. The claim cannot be checked because the sources are not identified
  4. The article is longer than it needs to be

Answer:

36. critical-thinking-s04-q06

Two written accounts of a meeting conflict on an important point. Which would best help you decide between them?

  1. Whichever account is longer and more detailed
  2. Whichever writer sounds more confident
  3. Whichever account is written more elegantly
  4. Minutes taken at the time, or a recording made during the meeting

Answer:

37. critical-thinking-s04-q07

A blogger with no legal training reviews a contract; a solicitor reviews the same contract. On the question of the contract's legal effect, what follows?

  1. The solicitor's relevant expertise makes her reading the better starting point
  2. Both readings are equally authoritative
  3. The blogger's reading is worthless in every respect
  4. Expertise makes no difference to reliability

Answer:

38. critical-thinking-s04-q08

A study of a sleep aid was funded by the company that makes it. What is the appropriate response?

  1. Dismiss the study entirely
  2. Note the potential conflict and look closely at the method and at independent replications
  3. Accept it, because studies are scientific
  4. Accept it only if the company is a well-known one

Answer:

39. critical-thinking-s04-q09

Which of these is a primary source about last year's rainfall in a particular town?

  1. A magazine feature reflecting on how wet the year felt
  2. A neighbour's recollection of the winter
  3. A blog post summarising a news report on the weather
  4. The local weather station's own recorded daily measurements

Answer:

40. critical-thinking-s04-q10

An online reviewer praises a hotel and links to a booking site that pays her a commission on every booking. How should the review be weighed?

  1. It is certainly false
  2. It should be ignored because it appeared online
  3. It may still contain useful detail, but the incentive to be positive must be taken into account
  4. Commission arrangements have no bearing on a review

Answer:

Strengthening and weakening arguments

For each argument, ask which single new fact would most change how much you believe the conclusion. The best answer usually targets the argument's key link rather than a side detail.

41. critical-thinking-s05-q01

Argument: "The new cycle lane has made the road safer. Collisions fell after it opened." Which finding would most weaken this?

  1. Traffic on the road fell by two thirds over the same period, for unrelated reasons
  2. Cyclists report that they feel safer than before
  3. The lane cost more to build than planned
  4. A neighbouring town also built a cycle lane

Answer:

42. critical-thinking-s05-q02

Argument: "Pupils who eat breakfast at school do better in tests, so free school breakfasts raise attainment." Which finding would most strengthen it?

  1. Breakfast is popular with pupils
  2. Most schools already serve breakfast in some form
  3. The tests are marked by external examiners
  4. Schools that introduced free breakfasts saw attainment rise relative to closely matched schools that did not

Answer:

43. critical-thinking-s05-q03

Argument: "This tonic cures colds. I took it and recovered within a week." Which fact most weakens the claim?

  1. The tonic has an unpleasant taste
  2. The tonic is sold in many shops
  3. Untreated colds typically clear up in about a week anyway
  4. The speaker rarely catches colds

Answer:

44. critical-thinking-s05-q04

Argument: "Our helpline must be excellent: 95% of people who filled in the feedback form rated it highly." Which finding would most weaken this?

  1. The feedback form was available online
  2. Only 3% of callers completed the form, and dissatisfied callers rarely bother to do so
  3. The helpline is open at weekends
  4. The rating scale ran from one to five

Answer:

45. critical-thinking-s05-q05

Argument: "Wearing high-visibility clothing reduces night-time accidents among runners." Which finding would most strengthen it?

  1. A trial that randomly assigned runners high-visibility or ordinary kit found fewer incidents in the high-visibility group
  2. High-visibility clothing is inexpensive
  3. Many runners already choose to wear it
  4. Drivers say bright colours catch the eye

Answer:

46. critical-thinking-s05-q06

Argument: "The library should close on Mondays, because Monday has the fewest visitors." Which finding would most weaken this?

  1. Mondays are quiet in most public buildings
  2. Monday visitors are largely people whose circumstances prevent them attending on any other day
  3. The library currently opens six days a week
  4. Staff would prefer a different day off

Answer:

47. critical-thinking-s05-q07

Argument: "Since the parking ban, high-street takings have dropped, so the ban is hurting shops." Which finding would most weaken it?

  1. Shopkeepers dislike the ban
  2. The ban was introduced at short notice
  3. Some shoppers arrive by bus
  4. Takings fell by a similar amount in nearby towns that introduced no ban at all

Answer:

48. critical-thinking-s05-q08

Argument: "Our training works. Trainees scored higher at the end of the course than at the start." Which finding would most strengthen the claim that the training caused the gain?

  1. Trainees enjoyed the sessions
  2. The final test was harder than the first
  3. A comparable group who did not train showed no gain over the same period
  4. The trainer is highly experienced

Answer:

49. critical-thinking-s05-q09

Argument: "Nobody complained about the new timetable, so passengers are happy with it." Which finding would most weaken it?

  1. Timetables are revised every year
  2. The complaints form was removed from the website when the timetable changed
  3. The timetable is printed clearly at every stop
  4. Some passengers travel on the route daily

Answer:

50. critical-thinking-s05-q10

Argument: "Villages with more trees have lower summer temperatures, so planting trees cools a village." Which further finding would most strengthen the causal claim?

  1. Villages that planted trees recorded falling summer temperatures afterwards, while similar villages that planted none showed no change
  2. Tree-lined streets are widely considered attractive
  3. Trees provide habitat for birds and insects
  4. Tree planting is popular with residents

Answer:

Alternative explanations and cause

Before accepting that one thing caused another, canvass the rivals: a shared third factor, the influence running the other way, a change in how things are counted, or chance.

51. critical-thinking-s06-q01

Ice-cream sales and swimming-pool attendance rise and fall together across the year. What is the most likely explanation?

  1. Eating ice cream makes people want to swim
  2. Warm weather independently raises both
  3. Swimming makes people crave ice cream
  4. The pattern is a coincidence with no explanation at all

Answer:

52. critical-thinking-s06-q02

A school reports that pupils who take private music lessons achieve higher marks. Which alternative explanation should be considered first?

  1. Families able to afford lessons may also provide other advantages that raise marks
  2. Music lessons are enjoyable
  3. Marks are recorded once a term
  4. Music teachers tend to be strict

Answer:

53. critical-thinking-s06-q03

A hospital finds that patients treated in its newest ward recover faster than those elsewhere. What is a plausible alternative to "the ward heals people faster"?

  1. New buildings feel cheerful
  2. Nurses prefer working in new wards
  3. Recovery is difficult to measure precisely
  4. Less serious cases may be the ones assigned to that ward

Answer:

54. critical-thinking-s06-q04

After a town installed street lighting on a footpath, recorded crime on that path rose. Which alternative explanation most deserves testing?

  1. Lighting causes crime
  2. Crime figures are meaningless
  3. Better lighting may have increased the reporting of incidents that were already occurring
  4. Offenders prefer brightly lit places

Answer:

55. critical-thinking-s06-q05

A shop owner notices that takings are highest on the days she wears her lucky scarf. What is the most reasonable next step?

  1. Wear the scarf every day
  2. Conclude that the scarf raises takings
  3. Conclude that customers notice the scarf
  4. Check whether those days share something else, such as market days or pay days

Answer:

56. critical-thinking-s06-q06

A study finds that people who take long holidays live longer than those who do not. Before accepting that holidays extend life, what should be considered?

  1. Whether holidays are enjoyable
  2. Whether the study appeared in print
  3. Whether healthier and wealthier people are both more able to take long holidays and more likely to live longer
  4. Whether holidays are becoming shorter over time

Answer:

57. critical-thinking-s06-q07

A gardener's tomatoes did much better this year after she switched compost. Which factor most needs ruling out before the compost is credited?

  1. The weather differed from last year's
  2. The tomatoes were a familiar variety
  3. Compost is sold in bags
  4. She has gardened for many years

Answer:

58. critical-thinking-s06-q08

Which of these best describes reverse causation?

  1. Two things rise together because of a third factor
  2. The supposed effect is in fact the cause
  3. A result appears purely by chance
  4. A sample fails to represent the wider group

Answer:

59. critical-thinking-s06-q09

Runners who stretch before exercise report fewer injuries. A sceptic suspects reverse causation. What would that look like in this case?

  1. Stretching prevents injuries
  2. A third factor causes both stretching and low injury rates
  3. Runners who are already free of injury find stretching comfortable and so do more of it
  4. Injuries are recorded inaccurately

Answer:

60. critical-thinking-s06-q10

A region's recorded cases of a condition doubled in the year a new screening programme began. What is the most cautious interpretation?

  1. The condition has become twice as common
  2. Screening causes the condition
  3. The earlier figures must have been falsified
  4. More cases are being detected, so the true change in occurrence is not yet clear

Answer:

Samples, statistics and generalisation

Numbers persuade quickly, so slow down over them. Ask who was counted, how many, against what comparison, and whether the figure describes the group the conclusion is about.

61. critical-thinking-s07-q01

A sailing magazine surveys its own readers and reports that 80% of people enjoy sailing. What is the main problem?

  1. 80% is too round a figure to be credible
  2. The survey was carried out too recently
  3. Readers of a sailing magazine are not representative of people in general
  4. Enjoyment cannot be measured by a survey

Answer:

62. critical-thinking-s07-q02

A report states that a town's average household income is £46,000, while the most common household income is £24,000. What does this suggest?

  1. One of the two figures must be wrong
  2. A small number of very high incomes are pulling the average up
  3. Most households earn about £46,000
  4. Incomes are spread evenly across the town

Answer:

63. critical-thinking-s07-q03

A trial of a new tutoring method involved eight pupils, all of whom improved. What is the appropriate conclusion?

  1. The result is worth following up, but too few pupils were involved to generalise confidently
  2. The method works for all pupils
  3. The method does not work
  4. Sample size makes no difference to what can be concluded

Answer:

64. critical-thinking-s07-q04

"Crime doubled in our village last year." Which piece of information matters most before reacting?

  1. The name of the village
  2. Who published the figure
  3. Whether other villages were mentioned in the same report
  4. The underlying counts: two incidents becoming four is not the same as 200 becoming 400

Answer:

65. critical-thinking-s07-q05

A poll conducted by telephone between 10am and 4pm on weekdays asks who will win the local election. Which limitation matters most?

  1. Telephone polling is an old-fashioned method
  2. People reachable by phone during working hours differ from the electorate as a whole
  3. Elections are inherently unpredictable
  4. The poll should have asked about policies instead

Answer:

66. critical-thinking-s07-q06

A drink is advertised as containing "30% less sugar". What must you know to judge the claim?

  1. The flavour of the drink
  2. The size of the bottle and nothing else
  3. Whether the drink is sold in supermarkets
  4. Less sugar than what: the comparison point

Answer:

67. critical-thinking-s07-q07

An advertisement says that nine out of ten dentists surveyed recommended a toothpaste. Which question would sharpen your reading of this?

  1. How long dentists spend in training
  2. Which flavour of the toothpaste was tested
  3. How many dentists were approached, and how they were selected
  4. Whether toothpaste is necessary at all

Answer:

68. critical-thinking-s07-q08

A charity reports that donations rose 200% after a campaign. Which fact would most change how impressive this sounds?

  1. Donations rose from £50 to £150
  2. The campaign ran for a month
  3. The charity has many long-standing supporters
  4. Donations are counted monthly

Answer:

69. critical-thinking-s07-q09

A study reports that a treatment halves the risk of a rare complication. Why is the absolute risk also needed?

  1. Halving cannot be measured reliably
  2. Percentages are inherently unreliable
  3. Rare events cannot be studied at all
  4. Halving a risk of 2 in 10,000 is a far smaller real change than halving a risk of 2 in 10

Answer:

70. critical-thinking-s07-q10

A researcher tests twenty different food additives for a link with headaches and finds one significant result. What should be borne in mind?

  1. The other nineteen tests were a waste of effort
  2. Testing many possibilities makes at least one chance finding likely, so the result needs independent confirmation
  3. The finding proves that additive causes headaches
  4. Headaches are not a suitable subject for study

Answer:

Common reasoning flaws

These items name the recurring ways arguments go wrong. Focus on identifying what the reasoning does, not on memorising labels. The description is what matters.

71. critical-thinking-s08-q01

"Either we cut the bus service or the council goes bankrupt." What is the flaw in this reasoning?

  1. It appeals to the audience's emotions
  2. It attacks the person rather than the argument
  3. It relies on an anonymous source
  4. It presents only two options when others may exist

Answer:

72. critical-thinking-s08-q02

"You cannot trust her argument about the housing plan. She has never owned a house." What is the flaw?

  1. It targets the person rather than what she actually argued
  2. It generalises from a very small sample
  3. It confuses correlation with cause
  4. It appeals to long-standing tradition

Answer:

73. critical-thinking-s08-q03

"We have always held the village fête in June, so June is the right month for it." Which flaw is this?

  1. A false choice between two options
  2. An appeal to tradition: long practice is treated as a justification on its own
  3. Circular reasoning
  4. A hasty generalisation from few cases

Answer:

74. critical-thinking-s08-q04

"My opponent wants to review the parking rules, which means she wants to abolish parking altogether." What has happened here?

  1. A credible source has been dismissed without reason
  2. A statistic has been misread
  3. The opponent's position has been exaggerated into a more extreme one that is easier to attack
  4. Two separate events have been confused

Answer:

75. critical-thinking-s08-q05

"The manual is reliable, because it says on its first page that it is reliable." What is the flaw?

  1. The claim is used as its own support
  2. The manual is out of date
  3. The author of the manual is unknown
  4. The evidence offered is anecdotal

Answer:

76. critical-thinking-s08-q06

"If we let pupils choose one lesson a term, before long they will choose to do nothing at all." What is the weakness?

  1. It relies on an unnamed expert
  2. It reverses cause and effect
  3. It asserts a chain of consequences without showing that each step follows
  4. It appeals to the audience's pity

Answer:

77. critical-thinking-s08-q07

"Three of my neighbours dislike the new bins, so the whole town dislikes them." Which flaw is this?

  1. Circular reasoning
  2. Generalising from a small and unrepresentative sample
  3. A false choice between two options
  4. Attacking the person rather than the argument

Answer:

78. critical-thinking-s08-q08

"Everyone in the office is using the new app, so it must be the best one available." What is the flaw?

  1. It ignores the price of the app
  2. It uses an outdated comparison
  3. It reverses cause and effect
  4. Popularity is treated as proof of quality

Answer:

79. critical-thinking-s08-q09

"Think of the families who will suffer if this proposal fails. That is why the figures against it must be wrong." What has gone wrong?

  1. Feeling about the outcome is being used in place of evidence about the figures
  2. A sample has been chosen badly
  3. A key word has quietly changed meaning
  4. An authority has been cited without being named

Answer:

80. critical-thinking-s08-q10

A debate opens with "free access for all" meaning no entry fee, but the same speaker later uses the phrase to mean unrestricted opening hours. What is the flaw?

  1. The speaker generalises hastily from few cases
  2. The speaker appeals to an authority
  3. A key term shifts meaning mid-argument, so the conclusion no longer follows from the premises
  4. The speaker offers only two possible options

Answer:

Weighing conflicting evidence

Real decisions rarely arrive with tidy evidence. These items ask how to handle disagreement, gaps, and uncertainty without either freezing or pretending to certainty you do not have.

81. critical-thinking-s09-q01

Two rain gauges standing in the same field record 12 mm and 31 mm for the same night. What is the most reasonable first step?

  1. Check both gauges for faults or obstruction before treating either figure as correct
  2. Average the two figures and move on
  3. Accept the higher figure as the safer estimate
  4. Discard both and record no reading

Answer:

82. critical-thinking-s09-q02

A supplier's report says a component fails once in 10,000 uses, but your own workshop has recorded three failures in 500 uses. What is the best response?

  1. Assume the supplier is being dishonest
  2. Assume the workshop is handling the component carelessly
  3. Treat the gap as a question to investigate. Conditions of use, batch, and how each figure was gathered
  4. Average the two failure rates

Answer:

83. critical-thinking-s09-q03

Two apparently well-conducted studies reach opposite conclusions about a diet. What is the most reasonable position?

  1. Adopt whichever conclusion fits your existing habits
  2. Withhold a firm conclusion and examine how the studies differ in population, dose, and duration
  3. Conclude that research on diet is worthless
  4. Accept the more recent study automatically

Answer:

84. critical-thinking-s09-q04

You must decide today, and some relevant information will not arrive in time. Which approach shows the best judgement?

  1. Wait indefinitely until certainty is available
  2. Choose at random, to avoid being biased
  3. Proceed as though the missing information does not matter
  4. Choose the option that performs acceptably across the range of things the missing information might turn out to be

Answer:

85. critical-thinking-s09-q05

A colleague presents only the evidence that supports her preferred option. What should you ask for?

  1. A shorter summary
  2. A different presenter
  3. The evidence that tells against the option, and how she weighed it
  4. An immediate vote

Answer:

86. critical-thinking-s09-q06

A committee has strong evidence about a proposal's cost and only weak evidence about its safety. How should the weak evidence be treated?

  1. Ignored, since it is weak
  2. Reported as weak, with the uncertainty carried into the decision rather than hidden
  3. Given the same weight as the cost evidence
  4. Replaced by the committee's own opinion

Answer:

87. critical-thinking-s09-q07

Which development would most justify revising a conclusion you reached last year?

  1. Colleagues expressing disagreement with it
  2. The conclusion becoming unpopular
  3. The simple passage of time
  4. New evidence that the earlier reasoning did not and could not have taken into account

Answer:

88. critical-thinking-s09-q08

You notice that every source you have read on a question agrees with your existing view. What is the most useful corrective?

  1. Seek out the strongest case against your view and see whether it survives scrutiny
  2. Read further sources that agree, to be certain
  3. Stop reading and decide
  4. Assume your view must be wrong

Answer:

89. critical-thinking-s09-q09

Two witnesses agree on an unusual detail but disagree about the order in which events occurred. What does this pattern suggest?

  1. Both accounts should be treated as worthless
  2. The shared unusual detail carries more weight than the disputed order, since memory for sequence is especially fragile
  3. One of the witnesses must be lying
  4. The order is more reliable than the shared detail

Answer:

90. critical-thinking-s09-q10

A proposal is supported by one large, well-designed study and opposed by three vivid personal stories. How should these be weighed?

  1. The study carries more weight on the general question, though the stories may point to effects worth examining
  2. The stories outweigh the study because they are concrete
  3. Both kinds of evidence count equally
  4. Neither should influence the decision

Answer:

Appraising a whole argument

The hardest section brings the earlier skills together. For each argument, judge whether the reasons are true, whether they genuinely support the conclusion, and what has been left out.

91. critical-thinking-s10-q01

"Our online course must be effective: 92% of those who completed it passed the final exam." Which question most undermines the claim as stated?

  1. How many weeks the course lasts
  2. What proportion of those who started the course completed it
  3. Whether the exam is marked online
  4. Who designed the course

Answer:

92. critical-thinking-s10-q02

"The town's recycling scheme is failing: the tonnage collected has fallen for two years running." Which additional fact would most change this assessment?

  1. The collection lorries are newly purchased
  2. Neighbouring towns collect a greater tonnage
  3. Residents were surveyed about the scheme last year
  4. Households now buy far less packaging, so there is less recyclable material in existence

Answer:

93. critical-thinking-s10-q03

"A survey of our members found 70% support for longer opening hours, so the public wants them." What is the strongest objection?

  1. 70% is not a large enough majority to act on
  2. Surveys are generally unreliable
  3. Members are not the public, so the conclusion reaches beyond the evidence
  4. Opening hours are a matter for staff rather than the public

Answer:

94. critical-thinking-s10-q04

"Since the tax on sugary drinks began, sales of those drinks have fallen 12%, so the tax is improving the nation's diet." Which step in this reasoning is least secure?

  1. The move from lower sales of one product to a broad improvement in diet
  2. The claim that a tax was introduced
  3. The claim that sales figures are recorded
  4. The claim that sugary drinks are sold

Answer:

95. critical-thinking-s10-q05

"Every complaint we received last month was resolved within a day, so our service is excellent." Which combination of facts would most damage this conclusion?

  1. The complaints covered a wide range of issues
  2. The manager praised the team's performance
  3. Resolution times are logged automatically
  4. Most dissatisfied customers left without complaining, and "resolved" means only that the case was closed

Answer:

96. critical-thinking-s10-q06

"Village A's school gets better exam results than Village B's, so Village A's school teaches better." Which evidence would most help settle this?

  1. Pupils' attainment on entry at both schools, so progress rather than final results can be compared
  2. The age of the two school buildings
  3. The population of each village
  4. The results each school achieved ten years ago

Answer:

97. critical-thinking-s10-q07

An argument runs: "The scheme saves money; saving money is good; therefore the scheme should be adopted." What is the most important gap?

  1. It never states a conclusion
  2. It relies on an anonymous source
  3. It ignores whether the scheme carries costs other than money that might outweigh the saving
  4. It confuses correlation with cause

Answer:

98. critical-thinking-s10-q08

A report concludes that a medicine is safe, on the basis of a six-week trial in healthy adults aged 20 to 30. What is the most precise objection?

  1. Six weeks is an unusually long trial
  2. The conclusion is broader than the evidence, which says nothing about other ages, longer use, or people who are unwell
  3. Medicines cannot be tested safely at all
  4. Healthy adults should never take part in trials

Answer:

99. critical-thinking-s10-q09

"The consultation received 400 responses, 300 of them opposing the plan. The plan clearly lacks public support." What is the key weakness?

  1. 400 responses is too few to count at all
  2. Opponents of plans are usually mistaken
  3. People who feel strongly are far likelier to respond, so the responses need not mirror the wider public
  4. The consultation should have run for longer

Answer:

100. critical-thinking-s10-q10

Which of these best summarises a careful appraisal of an argument?

  1. Decide whether you agree with the conclusion, then judge the reasons accordingly
  2. Count the reasons offered and accept the argument if there are several
  3. Accept the argument if the person making it is well qualified
  4. Check whether the reasons are true, whether they support the conclusion, and what the argument leaves out

Answer:

Authored hints

This cognitive practice source does not publish authored hints. Every item is listed as missing a hint, and no hint text is generated or inferred.

100 worksheet items do not have an authored hint.

This source contains no authored hints. No hint text was generated.

Answer key

ItemChoiceAnswer
critical-thinking-s01-q01AThe judgement that the blend is the best
critical-thinking-s01-q02BThe library recorded 4,120 visits last month.
critical-thinking-s01-q03CThat sales rose after the repainting
critical-thinking-s01-q04DThe bus has been late on several recent occasions.
critical-thinking-s01-q05AMembership records showing more sign-ups than last year
critical-thinking-s01-q06CA single personal impression is not a measurement of air quality
critical-thinking-s01-q07BThe council wasted £2m on an unnecessary footbridge.
critical-thinking-s01-q08DRecorded average time per transaction before and after the change
critical-thinking-s01-q09CAn absence of proof of harm is not itself evidence of safety
critical-thinking-s01-q10AHow comparable roses that went without the feed bloomed that season
critical-thinking-s02-q01BThe council should reroute the path
critical-thinking-s02-q02DIt is one of the reasons supporting the conclusion
critical-thinking-s02-q03AWe must lower the fees
critical-thinking-s02-q04CThe speaker will take the coach
critical-thinking-s02-q05BTwo
critical-thinking-s02-q06ARavi lives two counties away
critical-thinking-s02-q07DThe market should not move to Saturdays
critical-thinking-s02-q08CThe leap from one person's experience to a policy for every pupil
critical-thinking-s02-q09AA chain, in which each conclusion becomes the reason for the next step
critical-thinking-s02-q10BThe scheme is already running in three neighbouring towns
critical-thinking-s03-q01CA larger turnout would be a good thing for the fair
critical-thinking-s03-q02APassing the advanced course qualifies someone to supervise the workshop
critical-thinking-s03-q03DThe buyer will actually use enough paint for the extra not to be wasted
critical-thinking-s03-q04BNothing else that week could account for the rise in sales
critical-thinking-s03-q05DThe hazards in this water are the particles the filter removes
critical-thinking-s03-q06BThe new score is written in a notation the members can actually read
critical-thinking-s03-q07AThe hours patients struggle with are the ones that would be added
critical-thinking-s03-q08CSelling out first reflects quality rather than price or the quantity baked
critical-thinking-s03-q09BThe training spending was not the reason they all passed
critical-thinking-s03-q10DThat a total ban is what achieving a quieter street requires
critical-thinking-s04-q01DAn engineer who has inspected the bridge and published her measurements
critical-thinking-s04-q02CThe company has a direct interest in the result and chose how to test and report it
critical-thinking-s04-q03BThe report states how respondents were selected and how many replied
critical-thinking-s04-q04AThe viewing conditions and the delay make accurate recall difficult, whatever her honesty
critical-thinking-s04-q05CThe claim cannot be checked because the sources are not identified
critical-thinking-s04-q06DMinutes taken at the time, or a recording made during the meeting
critical-thinking-s04-q07AThe solicitor's relevant expertise makes her reading the better starting point
critical-thinking-s04-q08BNote the potential conflict and look closely at the method and at independent replications
critical-thinking-s04-q09DThe local weather station's own recorded daily measurements
critical-thinking-s04-q10CIt may still contain useful detail, but the incentive to be positive must be taken into account
critical-thinking-s05-q01ATraffic on the road fell by two thirds over the same period, for unrelated reasons
critical-thinking-s05-q02DSchools that introduced free breakfasts saw attainment rise relative to closely matched schools that did not
critical-thinking-s05-q03CUntreated colds typically clear up in about a week anyway
critical-thinking-s05-q04BOnly 3% of callers completed the form, and dissatisfied callers rarely bother to do so
critical-thinking-s05-q05AA trial that randomly assigned runners high-visibility or ordinary kit found fewer incidents in the high-visibility group
critical-thinking-s05-q06BMonday visitors are largely people whose circumstances prevent them attending on any other day
critical-thinking-s05-q07DTakings fell by a similar amount in nearby towns that introduced no ban at all
critical-thinking-s05-q08CA comparable group who did not train showed no gain over the same period
critical-thinking-s05-q09BThe complaints form was removed from the website when the timetable changed
critical-thinking-s05-q10AVillages that planted trees recorded falling summer temperatures afterwards, while similar villages that planted none showed no change
critical-thinking-s06-q01BWarm weather independently raises both
critical-thinking-s06-q02AFamilies able to afford lessons may also provide other advantages that raise marks
critical-thinking-s06-q03DLess serious cases may be the ones assigned to that ward
critical-thinking-s06-q04CBetter lighting may have increased the reporting of incidents that were already occurring
critical-thinking-s06-q05DCheck whether those days share something else, such as market days or pay days
critical-thinking-s06-q06CWhether healthier and wealthier people are both more able to take long holidays and more likely to live longer
critical-thinking-s06-q07AThe weather differed from last year's
critical-thinking-s06-q08BThe supposed effect is in fact the cause
critical-thinking-s06-q09CRunners who are already free of injury find stretching comfortable and so do more of it
critical-thinking-s06-q10DMore cases are being detected, so the true change in occurrence is not yet clear
critical-thinking-s07-q01CReaders of a sailing magazine are not representative of people in general
critical-thinking-s07-q02BA small number of very high incomes are pulling the average up
critical-thinking-s07-q03AThe result is worth following up, but too few pupils were involved to generalise confidently
critical-thinking-s07-q04DThe underlying counts: two incidents becoming four is not the same as 200 becoming 400
critical-thinking-s07-q05BPeople reachable by phone during working hours differ from the electorate as a whole
critical-thinking-s07-q06DLess sugar than what: the comparison point
critical-thinking-s07-q07CHow many dentists were approached, and how they were selected
critical-thinking-s07-q08ADonations rose from £50 to £150
critical-thinking-s07-q09DHalving a risk of 2 in 10,000 is a far smaller real change than halving a risk of 2 in 10
critical-thinking-s07-q10BTesting many possibilities makes at least one chance finding likely, so the result needs independent confirmation
critical-thinking-s08-q01DIt presents only two options when others may exist
critical-thinking-s08-q02AIt targets the person rather than what she actually argued
critical-thinking-s08-q03BAn appeal to tradition: long practice is treated as a justification on its own
critical-thinking-s08-q04CThe opponent's position has been exaggerated into a more extreme one that is easier to attack
critical-thinking-s08-q05AThe claim is used as its own support
critical-thinking-s08-q06CIt asserts a chain of consequences without showing that each step follows
critical-thinking-s08-q07BGeneralising from a small and unrepresentative sample
critical-thinking-s08-q08DPopularity is treated as proof of quality
critical-thinking-s08-q09AFeeling about the outcome is being used in place of evidence about the figures
critical-thinking-s08-q10CA key term shifts meaning mid-argument, so the conclusion no longer follows from the premises
critical-thinking-s09-q01ACheck both gauges for faults or obstruction before treating either figure as correct
critical-thinking-s09-q02CTreat the gap as a question to investigate. Conditions of use, batch, and how each figure was gathered
critical-thinking-s09-q03BWithhold a firm conclusion and examine how the studies differ in population, dose, and duration
critical-thinking-s09-q04DChoose the option that performs acceptably across the range of things the missing information might turn out to be
critical-thinking-s09-q05CThe evidence that tells against the option, and how she weighed it
critical-thinking-s09-q06BReported as weak, with the uncertainty carried into the decision rather than hidden
critical-thinking-s09-q07DNew evidence that the earlier reasoning did not and could not have taken into account
critical-thinking-s09-q08ASeek out the strongest case against your view and see whether it survives scrutiny
critical-thinking-s09-q09BThe shared unusual detail carries more weight than the disputed order, since memory for sequence is especially fragile
critical-thinking-s09-q10AThe study carries more weight on the general question, though the stories may point to effects worth examining
critical-thinking-s10-q01BWhat proportion of those who started the course completed it
critical-thinking-s10-q02DHouseholds now buy far less packaging, so there is less recyclable material in existence
critical-thinking-s10-q03CMembers are not the public, so the conclusion reaches beyond the evidence
critical-thinking-s10-q04AThe move from lower sales of one product to a broad improvement in diet
critical-thinking-s10-q05DMost dissatisfied customers left without complaining, and "resolved" means only that the case was closed
critical-thinking-s10-q06APupils' attainment on entry at both schools, so progress rather than final results can be compared
critical-thinking-s10-q07CIt ignores whether the scheme carries costs other than money that might outweigh the saving
critical-thinking-s10-q08BThe conclusion is broader than the evidence, which says nothing about other ages, longer use, or people who are unwell
critical-thinking-s10-q09CPeople who feel strongly are far likelier to respond, so the responses need not mirror the wider public
critical-thinking-s10-q10DCheck whether the reasons are true, whether they support the conclusion, and what the argument leaves out

Worked explanations

critical-thinking-s01-q01

Split a statement into its testable parts and its evaluative parts. Whether coffee is sold, whether a blend is new, and where a café stands can all be checked; ranking taste as the best depends on a standard nobody has agreed.

critical-thinking-s01-q02

A factual claim points at something that could be counted, measured, or recorded, so a check could confirm or refute it. Preferences and recommendations describe how the speaker feels or what they want, and no measurement settles them.

critical-thinking-s01-q03

The observation is the bare recorded fact: a rise that followed a repainting. Everything about preference and cause is a layer the writer has added on top, and each added layer needs its own support.

critical-thinking-s01-q04

Match the size of the conclusion to the size of the evidence. Four recorded late arrivals support a modest statement about recent occasions, but not a regional comparison, a prediction, or a claim about every journey.

critical-thinking-s01-q05

Direct evidence measures the very thing in question: here, how many people have joined. Impressions, advertising, and hopes are all consistent with growth, decline, or no change at all.

critical-thinking-s01-q06

Ask whether the evidence offered is of the right kind for the claim made. A sweeping claim about air quality over time needs recorded readings; how the air feels to one person cannot establish it, however sincere they are.

critical-thinking-s01-q07

Watch for loaded words that smuggle a verdict into what looks like a report. Calling the spending wasted and the bridge unnecessary asserts a judgement alongside the checkable figure, and the judgement needs arguing for separately.

critical-thinking-s01-q08

Turn a claim into a measurement before judging it. Speed is time per transaction, so the useful evidence is that timing recorded on both sides of the change; cost, appearance, and till count measure something else.

critical-thinking-s01-q09

Not knowing of a problem and knowing there is no problem are different states. If nobody has tested the well, the silence in the record reflects the missing test rather than the water's quality.

critical-thinking-s01-q10

A single good outcome cannot tell you what would have happened otherwise. The missing piece is a comparison: roses of the same kind, in the same season, without the feed.

critical-thinking-s02-q01

The conclusion is the claim the other sentences are there to support. Flooding and rising repair costs are the evidence; the recommendation about rerouting is what they are meant to establish.

critical-thinking-s02-q02

Test each sentence by asking whether it supports the main point or is supported by it. The crossing time is one of two facts feeding the claim about time ashore, so it functions as a reason.

critical-thinking-s02-q03

Try inserting "therefore" in front of each candidate and see which reads naturally. Falling membership and higher fees are the observations; the call to lower fees is what they are marshalled to justify.

critical-thinking-s02-q04

A conclusion can arrive in the middle of a passage rather than at the end. Here the speed, price, time, and money statements all feed a single decision, and that decision is the point being argued for.

critical-thinking-s02-q05

Count the separate supporting claims, not the sentences overall. The leak and the cancellations are two independent pieces of support, while the third sentence is the recommendation they support.

critical-thinking-s02-q06

An argument stands on the truth of its reasons, so test each one by imagining it false. If Ravi turns out to live in the county, the residence rule no longer excludes him and the conclusion collapses.

critical-thinking-s02-q07

When a speaker opens by reporting a rival view, that view is not their conclusion. "I disagree" signals that the speaker's own position is the denial of it, and the footfall figure is the reason offered.

critical-thinking-s02-q08

A reason can be perfectly true and still fail to carry the conclusion. The gap here is one of scope: what works for a single speaker is not yet a case for a rule that binds a whole school.

critical-thinking-s02-q09

Mapping the links shows the shape: closure supports slower deliveries, and slower deliveries in turn support low stock. Chains are only as strong as their weakest link, so each step needs checking on its own.

critical-thinking-s02-q10

The word "therefore" marks what follows as the conclusion, so everything before it is doing supporting work. Claims that appear nowhere in the passage cannot be either its reasons or its conclusion.

critical-thinking-s03-q01

Ask what has to be true for the reason to count in favour of the conclusion. Higher attendance is only an argument for the green if more attendance is desirable, which the speaker takes for granted rather than states.

critical-thinking-s03-q02

The reason and the conclusion mention different things, a course result and a supervisory role, so something must bridge them. The bridge is the unstated claim that the course result is what confers the role.

critical-thinking-s03-q03

A better unit price only means better value if the whole quantity gets used. Left-over paint converts the apparent saving into a real loss, so the argument quietly assumes the surplus will be needed.

critical-thinking-s03-q04

Whenever one event is credited for another, the hidden premise is that no rival cause was at work. Naming that assumption immediately suggests the check. Look for pay days, weather, holidays, or a competitor's closure.

critical-thinking-s03-q05

Notice when a conclusion uses a broader term than the evidence: here, safety versus particles. Dissolved chemicals and bacteria are not particles, so the argument assumes the filtered fraction is the whole risk.

critical-thinking-s03-q06

Check that a general ability really covers the specific case. A choir fluent in standard staff notation may be stopped by tonic sol-fa or an unfamiliar system, so the argument assumes the two match.

critical-thinking-s03-q07

A remedy only follows from a problem if it addresses that particular problem. If the difficulty is early mornings and the extension is late evenings, the reason no longer supports the proposal.

critical-thinking-s03-q08

Ask what the evidence measures before accepting what it is said to show. Selling out is a fact about supply, price, and demand together, so treating it as a quality ranking is an extra step.

critical-thinking-s03-q09

Success after an intervention is sometimes success because of it. Using a perfect pass rate as a reason to cut the training assumes the spending was not what produced that rate.

critical-thinking-s03-q10

Weigh assumptions by how much they add beyond the evidence. Wanting less noise is a long way from wanting every vehicle removed, so the jump to the most extreme remedy is the step carrying the least support.

critical-thinking-s04-q01

Credibility is question-specific: ask who has both the relevant training and first-hand access to the evidence. Daily use, budget approval, and aesthetic opinion say nothing about load-bearing capacity.

critical-thinking-s04-q02

Caution comes from incentive combined with control: the same party benefits from the answer and decides the method. That does not make the claim false, but it does mean the method deserves close inspection.

critical-thinking-s04-q03

Transparency about method is what lets a reader judge a survey rather than simply trust it. Selection and response rate decide who the numbers actually describe; agreement with your own view is no evidence at all.

critical-thinking-s04-q04

Separate honesty from accuracy: a sincere witness can still be mistaken. Poor light, distance, and a long interval all degrade what memory can deliver, so the account needs corroboration rather than suspicion.

critical-thinking-s04-q05

An appeal to unnamed authority gives a reader nothing to verify. Naming the experts or citing the studies would turn an assertion into something that could be followed up and tested.

critical-thinking-s04-q06

Prefer a record made at the time over a recollection formed afterwards, because contemporaneous evidence is not shaped by later events. Length, confidence, and style are features of the telling, not of the accuracy.

critical-thinking-s04-q07

Expertise raises the prior likelihood that a reading is correct within its own field, without settling the matter outright. Treating it as a stronger starting point avoids both blind deference and pretending all opinions weigh the same.

critical-thinking-s04-q08

Funding is a reason to scrutinise, not a verdict on the findings. The useful moves are to examine the design for choices that favour the sponsor and to see whether independent groups reach the same result.

critical-thinking-s04-q09

A primary source is the original record, made at the time by whoever observed the thing directly. Features, recollections, and summaries all sit at one or more removes, and each remove is a chance for detail to shift.

critical-thinking-s04-q10

An incentive to praise shifts how much weight the overall verdict deserves without erasing the concrete details. Specific, checkable observations survive better than the recommendation itself.

critical-thinking-s05-q01

To weaken a causal claim, supply a rival explanation for the same observation. Far fewer vehicles would reduce collisions on their own, so the fall no longer points specifically to the lane.

critical-thinking-s05-q02

Strengthen a causal claim by showing the effect tracks the cause where other factors are held similar. A comparison with matched schools rules out much of what else might separate breakfast-eaters from their peers.

critical-thinking-s05-q03

When a condition resolves on its own, recovery after treatment is exactly what you would see with no treatment at all. The evidence therefore fails to distinguish a working remedy from an inert one.

critical-thinking-s05-q04

A high score among self-selected respondents describes only those who chose to respond. If unhappy callers systematically stay silent, the sample is skewed towards praise before a single rating is given.

critical-thinking-s05-q05

Random assignment is the strongest ordinary tool for causal claims because it stops cautious runners from clustering in one group. Popularity, price, and plausibility leave the underlying comparison untested.

critical-thinking-s05-q06

Counting heads treats every visit as interchangeable. If the smallest group is also the one with no alternative, the closure removes the service entirely for them, which is a cost the raw total conceals.

critical-thinking-s05-q07

A comparison area shows what would have happened anyway. If untouched towns fell just as far, the drop reflects a wider trend rather than the local policy.

critical-thinking-s05-q08

Before-and-after scores blend the training with practice effects, maturation, and everything else happening meanwhile. An untrained comparison group separates the training's contribution from the rest.

critical-thinking-s05-q09

Silence is only evidence of contentment when complaining was easy. Removing the channel explains the absence of complaints without any change in how passengers feel.

critical-thinking-s05-q10

A snapshot correlation cannot show which way the influence runs or whether geography explains both. Watching temperatures change after planting, against villages that did not plant, adds the sequence the original claim lacked.

critical-thinking-s06-q01

When two things move together, look for a shared driver before assuming one moves the other. Temperature raises both, which produces the correlation without either causing the other.

critical-thinking-s06-q02

Ask what determines who ends up in each group. Where access depends on family resources, those same resources plausibly affect attainment directly, so the lessons and the marks may share a cause.

critical-thinking-s06-q03

Whenever people are sorted into groups by someone's decision, the sorting rule can produce the result on its own. Sending straightforward cases to one ward guarantees faster recoveries there regardless of the care given.

critical-thinking-s06-q04

Distinguish a change in the world from a change in measurement. If lighting makes incidents visible and reportable, recorded crime can rise while actual crime falls or stays flat.

critical-thinking-s06-q05

A pattern noticed after the fact is the beginning of an investigation, not its end. Looking for what else those days have in common tests the shared-cause explanation before any conclusion is drawn.

critical-thinking-s06-q06

Health and wealth influence both the ability to take holidays and life expectancy, so they can generate the association by themselves. Naming such a shared factor is the standard first challenge to an observational finding.

critical-thinking-s06-q07

In a one-season comparison, everything else that changed is a rival explanation. Weather is the largest such influence on a crop, so it must be accounted for before the compost takes the credit.

critical-thinking-s06-q08

Reverse causation means the arrow points the other way: what was treated as the outcome is doing the causing. It is a distinct rival to a shared third factor, to chance, and to a sampling problem.

critical-thinking-s06-q09

Reverse causation is spelled out by making the outcome the driver. Being uninjured makes stretching easy, which would produce the same association without stretching protecting anyone.

critical-thinking-s06-q10

Screening changes how many existing cases come to light, so counts can jump without any change in how common the condition is. The cautious reading separates detection from occurrence and waits for evidence that distinguishes them.

critical-thinking-s07-q01

Check that the group surveyed matches the group the conclusion describes. A sample assembled by interest in the topic will over-represent that interest, so the finding says little about people at large.

critical-thinking-s07-q02

A mean far above the most common value signals a long tail at the top. Both figures can be correct at once, which is why a single average can badly misdescribe a typical household.

critical-thinking-s07-q03

Small samples swing easily on chance and on who happened to take part. The honest reading treats the result as a promising lead that a larger, better-controlled study should test.

critical-thinking-s07-q04

Proportional changes hide the scale they are built on, and small bases produce dramatic percentages from tiny shifts. Asking for the raw numbers restores the sense of size that the ratio removed.

critical-thinking-s07-q05

The timing decides who can answer, and that decides who the sample contains. Systematically missing people who are at work makes the poll's picture of the electorate lopsided before any answer is recorded.

critical-thinking-s07-q06

A comparative claim is empty until its baseline is named. Thirty per cent less than a rival, than the old recipe, or than a very sweet reference product are three different statements.

critical-thinking-s07-q07

A ratio conceals both the sample size and the selection method. Ten dentists chosen by the advertiser and a thousand chosen at random support very different conclusions from the same nine-in-ten headline.

critical-thinking-s07-q08

Percentage growth from a tiny base sounds far larger than the change it describes. Recovering the absolute amounts turns a striking headline into a modest sum.

critical-thinking-s07-q09

Relative reductions describe the proportion removed, not the amount. Pairing the relative figure with the underlying rate shows how many people are actually affected, which is what a decision turns on.

critical-thinking-s07-q10

Each test carries its own chance of a false positive, and running many raises the odds that one appears somewhere. A finding picked out of a large search should be treated as a hypothesis to retest, not a result.

critical-thinking-s08-q01

A forced choice between two extremes hides the middle ground: partial cuts, savings elsewhere, or new income. Whenever an argument narrows the field to two, check whether the other options were argued away or simply omitted.

critical-thinking-s08-q02

An argument's strength lies in its reasons, not in the biography of whoever offers it. Dismissing the speaker leaves every one of those reasons untouched and unanswered.

critical-thinking-s08-q03

That something has always been done a certain way explains the habit but does not justify it. A reason to keep June would have to appeal to weather, availability, or attendance, not merely to precedent.

critical-thinking-s08-q04

Defeating a distorted version of a position leaves the real one standing. The corrective is to restate the opponent's claim in terms she would accept before responding to it.

critical-thinking-s08-q05

Circular reasoning assumes what it sets out to prove, so anyone who doubted the conclusion has been given no reason to change their mind. Independent support (accuracy checks, corroboration, a track record) would break the circle.

critical-thinking-s08-q06

A slide from a modest first step to an alarming end point needs an argument at every link. Without one, the vivid final scene is doing the persuading that evidence should be doing.

critical-thinking-s08-q07

Three neighbours are both few in number and likely to resemble one another and the speaker. A conclusion about a whole town needs a sample drawn from across it.

critical-thinking-s08-q08

Widespread use can reflect habit, a default setting, or an employer's decision as easily as merit. Quality claims need evidence about performance, not about how many people happen to have adopted something.

critical-thinking-s08-q09

How much we want a conclusion has no bearing on whether the numbers supporting or opposing it are accurate. The consequences may matter greatly to the decision, but they cannot settle a question of fact.

critical-thinking-s08-q10

An argument only works if its terms hold still. When a phrase changes sense partway through, support gathered for the first meaning is silently transferred to a claim about the second.

critical-thinking-s09-q01

A contradiction between instruments that should agree is information: something in the set-up is wrong. Averaging or choosing between them buries that signal instead of investigating it.

critical-thinking-s09-q02

Conflicting figures often measure different situations rather than one being false. Comparing the conditions and definitions behind each number usually explains the gap and tells you which applies to you.

critical-thinking-s09-q03

Disagreement between careful studies is usually a clue about conditions rather than a stalemate. Reading the differences in design often reveals that each result holds in its own setting.

critical-thinking-s09-q04

Under uncertainty, robustness beats optimism: prefer the choice that stays tolerable whichever way the unknown resolves. This keeps the gap in the open rather than pretending it away or refusing to act.

critical-thinking-s09-q05

A one-sided case cannot show whether the option survives its strongest objections. Asking for the contrary evidence and its treatment is how a presentation becomes an appraisal.

critical-thinking-s09-q06

Weak evidence is not the same as no evidence, and dropping it quietly makes a decision look better founded than it is. Recording strength alongside content lets the uncertainty inform what is decided.

critical-thinking-s09-q07

Revise when the evidential basis changes, not when the social weather does. Distinguishing new information from new opinion keeps a mind open without making it merely changeable.

critical-thinking-s09-q08

Agreement accumulated from a narrow reading list measures the list, not the question. Deliberately seeking the best opposing case is the practical test of whether a view is well founded.

critical-thinking-s09-q09

Assess accounts element by element rather than accepting or rejecting them whole. Independent agreement on a distinctive detail is strong corroboration, while sequence is among the first things memory blurs.

critical-thinking-s09-q10

Vivid cases are memorable but few and unsystematically chosen, so they cannot settle what happens on average. They are still useful as leads, flagging harms or mechanisms a study may not have measured.

critical-thinking-s10-q01

Statistics drawn only from those who finished exclude everyone the course failed. If most starters dropped out, a high pass rate among the remainder is a fact about survivors rather than about effectiveness.

critical-thinking-s10-q02

A measure only tracks success if the thing being measured means what the argument assumes. Falling tonnage against falling material could indicate progress, so the indicator needs interpreting before it condemns the scheme.

critical-thinking-s10-q03

Compare the group sampled with the group named in the conclusion. Members chose to join and use the service, so their views cannot stand in for a public that includes people who do neither.

critical-thinking-s10-q04

Identify where the argument's language widens. Diet covers everything eaten and drunk, so falling sales of one category leaves open whether people substituted something else or changed nothing overall.

critical-thinking-s10-q05

Two weaknesses compound here: the measure covers only those who complained, and the success criterion records closure rather than a fixed problem. Together they cut the link between the statistic and the quality claimed.

critical-thinking-s10-q06

Final results reflect where pupils started as well as what the school added. Measuring the change from entry to exam isolates the school's contribution from its intake.

critical-thinking-s10-q07

An argument can be internally tidy and still be incomplete. Weighing one benefit without canvassing the other consequences is the commonest way a valid-looking case reaches the wrong recommendation.

critical-thinking-s10-q08

Read a study's population and duration as the boundary of what it can support. An unqualified claim of safety extends the finding to groups and timescales the trial never observed.

critical-thinking-s10-q09

Consultations are answered by volunteers, and opposition is a stronger motivator to reply than contentment. The ratio therefore describes those moved to write in, not the population the conclusion is about.

critical-thinking-s10-q10

Appraisal has three separable steps: the truth of the premises, the strength of the link to the conclusion, and the completeness of the case. Starting from the conclusion, counting reasons, or deferring to a speaker each skips at least one of them.