Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the “Submit my answers” button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:

Science is not the only reliable way to acquire knowledge.
a) True
b) False

Question 2:

Most scientific hypotheses are generated through induction by collecting data and drawing a generalization from them in order to formulate the hypothesis.
a) True
b) False

Question 3:

One of the crucial advantages of the Copernican model of planetary motion over the Ptolemeian model is the complexity of the Copernican model.
a) True
b) False

Question 4:

An important distinction when assessing extraordinary theories is the fact that something that is logically possible might not be physically possible.
a) True
b) False

Question 5:

Technology is the use of knowledge to do things in the world.
a) True
b) False

Question 6:

Scientific inquiry begins with the creation of a test.
a) True
b) False

Question 7:

The theories of evolution and creationism are both testable.
a) True
b) False

Question 8:

Inference to the best explanation can be used to assess weird theories as well as more commonplace explanations in science and everyday life.
a) True
b) False

Question 9:

Science is ________.
a) a worldview that affirms how the world is
b) the use of knowledge to do things in the world
c) the only reliable way to acquire knowledge
d) a way of searching for truth

Question 10:

The logical structure of a hypothesis (H) that is disconfirmed because its predicted consequence (C) was not found can be represented in the form ________.
a) “If H, then C. C. Thus, H”
b) “If H, then ~C. ~C. Thus, ~H”
c) “If H then C. ~C. Thus, ~H”
d) Both A and C are accurate representations

Question 11:

A double blind testing protocol refers to ________.
a) a kind of testing constraint where neither those subjects receiving the real test sample nor those receiving the placebo are aware of which group they are in
b) a kind of testing constraint where neither the experimenters nor any of the test subjects are aware of which group is receiving the placebo
c) a kind of testing constraint where neither the experimenters nor the group that receives the placebo is aware of who receives the placebo
d) none of the above

Question 12:

Scientific instrumentalism is ________.
a) the school of thought that says that science is an instrument that brings our understanding of the natural world closer and closer to the truth
b) the school of thought that says that science offers the only way to acquire knowledge
c) the notion that science is a worldview that affirms how the world is
d) the school of thought that says that the goal of science is to put forward theories that are useful in helping us predict and control the world around us

Question 13:

If evolution occurs, why can’t we see it?
a) Evolution has reached an endpoint and so it is no longer an observable process.
b) The notion that “no one sees evolution occur” misses the point about how science tests hypotheses.
c) Evolution is an hypothesis based on observed consequences. We see those consequences.
d) Both b and c

Question 14:

The most common error in assessing paranormal claims is ________.
a) begging the question
b) leaving no room for one’s imagination
c) the failure to consider alternative explanations
d) All of the above

Question 15:

Something that is logically impossible ________.
a) cannot exist
b) involves a logical contradiction
c) violates a principle of logic
d) All of the above

Question 16:

The first step in the TEST formula is to ________.
a) state the theory and check for consistency
b) scrutinize alternative theories
c) assess the evidence for the theory
d) None of the above

Higher Education

The Power of Critical Thinking, Third Canadian Edition: Chapter 10