Faulty Reasoning and Fallacies — Unit test Answers

Read the excerpt from "Hokusai's The Great Wave” by Neil MacGregor.Here’s a snatch of the letter from the president of the United States that Perry delivered to the Japanese emperor:Many of the large ships-of-war destined to visit Japan have not yet arrived in these seas, and the undersigned, as an evidence of his friendly intentions, has brought but four of the smaller ones, designing, should it become necessary, to return to Edo in the ensuing spring with a much larger force. But it is expected that the government of your imperial majesty will render such return unnecessary, by acceding at once to the very reasonable and pacific overtures contained in the president’s letter . . .This was textbook gunboat diplomacy, and it worked. Japanese resistance melted, and very quickly the Japanese embraced the new economic model, becoming energetic players in the international markets they had been forced to join. They began to think differently about the sea that surrounded them, and their awareness of the possible opportunities in the world beyond grew fast.

Read the excerpt about Paco and Arthur’s debate.Paco and Arthur are debating about conserving energy. Paco argues that it is important for people to save as much energy as possible to try to help the environment. Arthur argues that people should use their energy however they want because they pay for it.

A summary of an informational text must show the relationship between the author’s viewpoint and the

Read the excerpt from "Ship's Chronometer from HMS Beagle” and consider the accompanying image.If you wanted to sail, it was impossible to keep a precise record of time. And at sea, if you can’t tell the time, you don’t know how far east or west you are. It is relatively easy to calculate latitude – your distance north or south of the equator – by measuring the height of the Sun above the horizon at noon; but this won’t let you calculate longitude – your position east or west.

Read the excerpt from "Benin Plaque: The Oba with Europeans.”All European visitors were struck by the Oba’s position as both the spiritual and the secular head of the kingdom, and the Benin brass plaques are principally concerned with praising him.

Jerome wants to write a paper about the cardiovascular system.

Read the paragraph.Students enrolled in Physics 101 were asked to assemble wooden cars to demonstrate the principles of friction. The cars began as uniform kits, each containing a four-inch block of wood, four wheels, and two metal rods. Students carved, assembled, painted, and embellished their creations. In the end, there was an impressive line-up of mini racers with sleek, sanded bodies. They represented every color of the rainbow, with racing stripes and lightning bolts adorning many.

Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects.The slit drum began its life in Central Africa, in the region where Sudan and the Congo share a frontier, and it would have been part of the court orchestra of a powerful chief... The flanks of the drum have been carved to different thicknesses, so that a skilled drummer with a traditional drumstick can produce at least two tones and as many as four distinct pitches.

Read the excerpt from "Early Victorian Tea Set.” Among the upper classes, tea had been popular since before 1700. It received celebrity endorsement from Charles II’s queen, Catherine of Braganza, and from Queen Anne. It came from China, it was expensive, refreshingly bitter and drunk in tiny cups without milk or sugar. People kept their tea in locked tea caddies, as if it were a drug; for those who could afford it, it often was. In the 1750s Samuel Johnson confessed himself a happy addict:A hardened and shameless tea drinker, who has for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant, whose kettle scarcely has time to cool, who with Tea amuses the evening, with Tea solaces the midnights, and with Tea welcomes the morning.

Consider the paragraph and image.When I turned fifteen, my uncle bought me a model rocket. I was skeptical at first, thinking it was a toy for a kid. But my uncle explained that it contained everything needed for a real launch, from an engine to a parachute.

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Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects.This suffragette coin stands for all those who fought for the right to vote. Recent objects have been about nineteenth-century mass production and mass consumption – this one is about the rise of mass political engagement.