Name: Queency Diane A.

Ramirez Date: April 25, 2023

Determine which of the following are empirical statements.

1. Blue is the most popular color. Empirical statement

2. Red is the color of grass. Empirical statement
3. According to the American Heart Association, “Coronary heart disease is America’s No. 1 killer.” not an
empirical statement
4. According to the American Association of Fried Food Lovers, high cholesterol makes us healthy. not
an empirical statement
5. Cats and dogs make good pets. Empirical statement
6. My roommate says that I snore. not an empirical statement
7. My roommate says that there are humans on Mars. not an empirical statement
8. There are plenty of spiders around. Empirical statement
9. Spiders are arachnids, which are animals that have eight legs. Empirical statement
10. According to Dr. Who, an independent psychologist in Macon, GA, everyone should eat 30 large
pizzas per day. not an empirical statement

If each of the following were premises in an argument, which of them could be assumed to pass the true
premises test because they are uncontroversially true empirical statements?

1. Blue is the most popular color. pass true premise test

2. Red is the color of grass. would not pass
3. According to the American Heart Association, “Coronary heart disease is America’s No. 1 killer.” pass
4. According to the American Association of Fried Food Lovers, high cholesterol makes us healthy.
would not pass
5. Cats and dogs make good pets. pass
6. My roommate says that I snore. pass
7. My roommate says that there are humans on Mars. would not pass
*8. There are plenty of spiders around. would not pass
9. Spiders are arachnids, which are animals that have eight legs.pass
10. “Abra Kadabra,” said Houdini, as he unlocked the chains on his arms. would not pass

Determine whether the following statements are testimonial statements.

1. The doctor said that she saw a broken bone on the x-ray. testimonial statement
2. According to the thermometer, it is five degrees Celsius. testimonial statement
3. The witness claimed that the driver of the car didn’t brake before hitting the pedestrian. testimonial
statement
4. The food critic reported that the potatoes were salty. not a testimonial statement
5. My roommate says that there are humans on Mars. not a testimonial statement
6. Spiders are arachnids, which are animals that have eight legs. not a testimonial statement
7. “Abra Kadabra,” said Houdini, as he unlocked the chains on his arms. not a testimonial statement
8. Spiders are very often poisonous. testimonial statement
9. Does your watch have a second hand? testimonial statement
10. Your phone must be pretty old since it doesn’t have an alarm clock function. testimonial statement

Determine which of the following are definitions.

1. Blue is the most popular color. not a definition

2. Red is the color of grass. not a definition
3. SCUBA means self-contained underwater body apparatus. definition
4. According to the American Association of Fried Food Lovers, high cholesterol makes us healthy. not a
definition
5. Cats and dogs make good pets. not a definition
6. My roommate says that I snore. not a definition
7. My roommate says that there are humans on Mars. not a definition
8. There are plenty of spiders around. not a definition
9. Spiders are arachnids, which are animals that have eight legs. definition
10. According to Dr. Who, an independent psychologist in Macon, GA, everyone should eat 30 large
pizzas per day. not a definition

If each of the following were premises in an argument, which of them could be assumed to pass the true
premises test because they are uncontroversially true definitional statements?

1. Blue is the most popular color. true premise

2. Green is the color of grass. not true premise
3. According to the American Heart Association, “Coronary heart disease is America’s No. 1 killer.” true
premise
4. According to the American Association of Fried Food Lovers, high cholesterol makes us healthy. not
true premise
5. Cats and dogs make good pets. true premise
6. My roommate says that I snore. true premise
7. My roommate says that there are humans on Mars. not true premise
8. There are plenty of spiders around. true premise
9. Spiders are arachnids, which are animals that have eight legs.true premise
10. According to Dr. Nous, an independent psychologist in Macon, GA, everyone should eat 30 large
pizzas per day. not true premise

Arrange the following statements from weakest to strongest.

1. It is nearly impossible that it will rain tomorrow.

2. It may rain tomorrow.
3. It will probably rain tomorrow.
4. It is almost certain to rain tomorrow.
5. It will rain tomorrow.

For each of the following, determine whether the scope and strength of the conclusion is warranted.

1. I have known five members of the Green party and all have been from France. Ralph Nader and
Cynthia McKinney are members of the Green party, so they too are most likely from France.

- the scope and strength of the conclusion is warranted

2. The great physician Dr. Dominose of Harvard University has done extensive research on nutritional
needs. He has found that if a man weighs more than 500 pounds, that man would require as much protein
as would be found in 30 pizzas in order to sustain himself. It is thus clear that everyone should eat 30
pizzas per day.

- the scope and strength of the conclusion is NOT warranted

3. In early 2009, there were several cases of the disease SARS reported by the Chinese government.
Clearly, by 2011, there will be a SARS epidemic of tremendous proportions.

- the scope and strength of the conclusion is warranted

4. “Usually, girls who become cheerleaders in middle school are already part of the in-group (e.g., Preps)
at school; thus, a congruity exists between peer groups and the social status of an activity.” (Bettis 2003,
130)

- the scope and strength of the conclusion is warranted

5. “Any war between the two Chinas [the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan] could easily involve the
United States. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, official U.S. law stipulates that the United States
would view any conflict over Taiwan with ‘grave concern.’ The 1995–96 Taiwan Strait crisis showed that
the United States does not take its interest in Taiwan’s security lightly.” (O’Hanlon 2000, 42)

- the scope and strength of the conclusion is warranted