Question

A. Decide whether each passage should be thought of as containing no argument, one argument, or more than one argument. For each argument, determine whether it is simple or complex (whether it contains only one or more than one inference), pick out any premise or conclusion indicators, and identify each premise and conclusion.

example: 1. The snow is making driving conditions very dangerous. But I must still go out and vote, even though my candidate has no chance of winning.

Answer: Not an argument. No claim here is intended to provide support for any other.

Question: 16. Blaise Pascal realized that there were certain significant consequences of Torricelli’s hypothesis that the Earth is surrounded by a dense sea of air. Among these were that barometers at different altitudes would contain mercury columns of differing heights. So, being a sickly fellow, he persuaded his brother-in-law to do a spot of climbing in order to test out the hypothesis. Thus was Torricelli’s hypothesis comprehensively confirmed.

Answer 1

16. Question 16 contains an argument or statements on Torricelli’s hypothesis that the earth is surrounded by a dense sea of air. This hypothesis can be tested by measuring barometric readings of mercury columns of differing heights at different altitudes. To test the above-mentioned hypothesis, Blaise Pascal persuaded his brother-in-law to do a spot of climbing, thereby confirming Torricelli’s hypothesis. A parent claim is intended in the argument to provide support for the other. The parent claim is regarding Torricelli’s hypothesis, which supports that the earth is surrounded by a dense sea of air. This claim is supported by another claim that the barometers at different altitudes would contain mercury columns of differing heights. Testing this claim by doing a spot of climbing confirmed the parent claim.

The argument is complex containing statements and claims. The statements highlight two claims. The parent claim is regarding Torricelli’s hypothesis, which supports that the earth is surrounded by a dense sea of air. This claim is supported by a secondary claim that the barometers at different altitudes would contain mercury columns of differing heights. The conclusion generated by measuring the secondary claim is that Torricelli’s hypothesis is true or correct. Therefore, the conclusion established that the argument is logical.