Identifying Logical Fallacies Quiz

Scenario: Mia exclaimed, "I don't see why we should ban sugary drinks in schools. After all, students like Hannah and Ava will just bring them from home anyway!"

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The argument presents a Red Herring fallacy by diverting attention from the issue of banning sugary drinks in schools to the idea that students will bring them from home, which is irrelevant to the original concern.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Imagine Aria and Daniel are having a debate. Aria says, "People who think we should save the rainforest just want to shut down all industries and destroy jobs." What kind of argument is Aria making?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement misrepresents the position of rainforest advocates by suggesting they want to eliminate all jobs, which is an exaggerated distortion of their actual argument. This is a classic example of a strawman fallacy.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Arjun and Aria are having a debate. Arjun says, "How can you worry about car emissions when there are people who don’t even have enough food to eat?" What kind of logical fallacy is Arjun using?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement presents a Red Herring fallacy by diverting attention from the issue of car emissions to the unrelated issue of food scarcity, thus avoiding the original argument.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

Imagine Jackson and Anika are debating: "Having students memorize poems is as pointless as having them memorize random numbers." What kind of logical fallacy are they discussing?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement compares memorizing poems to memorizing random numbers, suggesting they are equally useless. This is a false analogy because the two activities serve different purposes and benefits, making the comparison invalid.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RL.7.1

Scenario: Ava says, "I know my friend Oliver is trustworthy because he always tells me the truth."

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement uses circular reasoning because it assumes the friend's trustworthiness is proven by his truthfulness, which is the same claim being made. It doesn't provide external evidence for his trustworthiness.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Imagine Olivia exclaims, "It’s ridiculous to debate about extending the school day. Next thing you know, they’ll have us living at school 24/7 like it's a hotel!"

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The argument misrepresents the position on extending the school day by suggesting it will lead to a 24/7 school, which is an exaggerated version of the original claim. This is a classic example of a strawman fallacy.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

Imagine Ava and Rohan are having a debate. Ava says, "People who don’t support strict environmental laws clearly don’t care about the planet." What kind of argument is Ava making?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement misrepresents the views of those against strict environmental laws by implying they don't care about the planet, which is a classic example of a strawman argument. It oversimplifies and distorts their position.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

Imagine Priya saying, "Skipping breakfast is like forgetting to charge your phone overnight." What kind of reasoning is Priya using here?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The analogy compares skipping breakfast to forgetting to charge a phone, suggesting they are similar. However, they are fundamentally different actions with distinct consequences, making it a false analogy.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

Imagine Aria and Grace are in a lively debate. Aria says, "We shouldn’t be discussing how to improve homework; the real issue is whether school should even have homework." What kind of argument is Aria making?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement diverts from the original topic of improving homework to questioning the existence of homework itself, which is a classic example of a Red Herring fallacy. It distracts from the main issue without addressing it.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

Imagine Benjamin and Abigail are chatting about school issues. Benjamin asks, "Why worry about students failing tests when there are so many other problems in schools?" What kind of reasoning is Benjamin using?

• Red Herring

• Strawman

• False Analogy

• Circular Reasoning

Answer explanation

The statement diverts attention from the issue of students failing tests by introducing unrelated problems in schools, making it a Red Herring fallacy. It distracts from the original concern without addressing it.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1