- Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:42 am
#27273
Complete Question Explanation
Flaw in the Reasoning—Numbers and Percentages. The correct answer choice is (D)
The politician’s argument is that the claims that price increases have averaged less than 3 percent are wrong, and in support of that position the politician cites several examples of price increases, each of which is greater than 3 percent. As mentioned in one of the chapter sidebars, “an average is a composite number, and within the average there can be a significant degree of variation and no single entity need embody the exact characteristic of the average (for example, the average weight of a 1 pound rock and a 99 pound rock is 50 pounds).” In making the argument, the politician has focused on several individual examples while ignoring the fact that an average is a compilation of many different numbers. Answer choice (D) perfectly captures the essence of this sampling error.
Answer choice (A): The argument does not contain a source or ad hominem attack. Simply stating that a position is wrong is different from criticizing the character of that person.
Answer choice (B): To properly claim that the economists are wrong does not require showing that they are not pricing experts, and hence this answer is incorrect.
Answer choice (C): The politician attempts to refute the position by providing evidence about large price increases for certain products. This process, which involves facts, is different from inferring that a claim is false because it has not been shown to be true.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. Citing several examples to refute an average is a doomed strategy.
Answer choice (E): There is no appeal to emotion present; percentages are used to make the argument.
Flaw in the Reasoning—Numbers and Percentages. The correct answer choice is (D)
The politician’s argument is that the claims that price increases have averaged less than 3 percent are wrong, and in support of that position the politician cites several examples of price increases, each of which is greater than 3 percent. As mentioned in one of the chapter sidebars, “an average is a composite number, and within the average there can be a significant degree of variation and no single entity need embody the exact characteristic of the average (for example, the average weight of a 1 pound rock and a 99 pound rock is 50 pounds).” In making the argument, the politician has focused on several individual examples while ignoring the fact that an average is a compilation of many different numbers. Answer choice (D) perfectly captures the essence of this sampling error.
Answer choice (A): The argument does not contain a source or ad hominem attack. Simply stating that a position is wrong is different from criticizing the character of that person.
Answer choice (B): To properly claim that the economists are wrong does not require showing that they are not pricing experts, and hence this answer is incorrect.
Answer choice (C): The politician attempts to refute the position by providing evidence about large price increases for certain products. This process, which involves facts, is different from inferring that a claim is false because it has not been shown to be true.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. Citing several examples to refute an average is a doomed strategy.
Answer choice (E): There is no appeal to emotion present; percentages are used to make the argument.