Free Critical Thinking MCQs with Answers
435 Critical Thinking MCQs from Analytical and Logical Reasoning, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
Critical thinking examines how conclusions follow from evidence, including claims, assumptions, arguments, inferences and relevant facts. Questions ask you to identify hidden assumptions, distinguish strong from weak evidence, assess cause and effect, recognise common reasoning errors, and decide which statement strengthens or weakens an argument.
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- A. Dr Ahsan is not a doctor in that hospital
- B. Dr Ahsan was ill
- C. The seminar was not important
- D. Dr Ahsan is a doctor elsewhere
Explanation: If every doctor in the hospital attended, then anyone who did not attend cannot be a doctor in that hospital, which is a valid…
Correct answer: Dr Ahsan is not a doctor in that hospital- A. uses too small a sample
- B. confuses correlation with causation, ignoring that motivated students may both take extra classes and study more
- C. relies on an outdated study
- D. contradicts itself
Explanation: Two things occurring together does not establish that one produces the other, since a third factor such as motivation could produce both.
Correct answer: confuses correlation with causation, ignoring that motivated students may both take extra classes and study more- A. assumes a causal link between unrelated events, ignoring the times it rained without washing
- B. uses an unreliable weather forecast
- C. contains a contradiction
- D. generalises from an authority
Explanation: The speaker notices only the cases that fit the pattern and overlooks the many occasions when it rained without a wash or a wash was…
Correct answer: assumes a causal link between unrelated events, ignoring the times it rained without washing- A. The drug is expensive to manufacture
- B. A group given a placebo improved by the same amount
- C. The drug has been approved in other countries
- D. Some patients disliked the taste
Explanation: If untreated patients improved equally, the improvement cannot be attributed to the drug, which is precisely why controlled trials use a…
Correct answer: A group given a placebo improved by the same amount- A. The lanes were expensive to build
- B. Congestion fell in the city while remaining unchanged in comparable cities without bus lanes
- C. Many residents say they like the lanes
- D. Bus ridership figures were not recorded
Explanation: A comparison with similar cities that did not change rules out general causes such as fuel prices or the economy, which makes the link to…
Correct answer: Congestion fell in the city while remaining unchanged in comparable cities without bus lanes- A. The existing health facilities cannot adequately serve the larger population
- B. The district has no hospitals at present
- C. Population growth will continue
- D. Hospitals are the cheapest form of healthcare
Explanation: The argument only works if current capacity is now insufficient, since a doubled population served by ample existing facilities would need…
Correct answer: The existing health facilities cannot adequately serve the larger population7. Statement: "Either we cut the budget or the project fails." This reasoning may be flawed because it
- A. presents a false dilemma, ignoring other possible options such as raising funds
- B. uses emotional language
- C. appeals to authority
- D. repeats itself
Explanation: A false dilemma presents two alternatives as though they were the only ones available, when in reality further options exist, such as…
Correct answer: presents a false dilemma, ignoring other possible options such as raising funds- A. statistical evidence
- B. an appeal to authority rather than to evidence
- C. a controlled experiment
- D. a personal attack
Explanation: Expertise makes a claim worth listening to but does not by itself make it true, and the argument offers no data at all.
Correct answer: an appeal to authority rather than to evidence- A. an ad hominem attack
- B. a false dilemma
- C. a hasty generalisation
- D. circular reasoning
Explanation: The argument attacks the person's behaviour rather than examining the merits of what he says, and inconsistency in a speaker does not make…
Correct answer: an ad hominem attack- A. assumes that being natural guarantees safety, which many natural poisons disprove
- B. uses an unreliable source
- C. is circular
- D. attacks the manufacturer
Explanation: Snake venom, arsenic and deadly nightshade are all entirely natural, so the premise does not support the conclusion.
Correct answer: assumes that being natural guarantees safety, which many natural poisons disprove11. Statement: "Two students in this class failed, so the teaching must be poor." The flaw is that it
- A. generalises from a very small and unrepresentative sample
- B. appeals to emotion
- C. presents a false dilemma
- D. reverses cause and effect
Explanation: Two cases say nothing about a whole class, and the failures might reflect absence, illness or individual circumstances rather than…
Correct answer: generalises from a very small and unrepresentative sample- A. circular, assuming what it sets out to prove
- B. based on strong evidence
- C. a false dilemma
- D. an appeal to emotion
Explanation: The conclusion is smuggled into the premise, so the argument goes round in a circle and offers no independent support.
Correct answer: circular, assuming what it sets out to prove- A. Ayesha scored above 90
- B. Ayesha may or may not have scored above 90
- C. Ayesha scored below 90
- D. Ayesha did not sit the exam
Explanation: The statement guarantees a scholarship to high scorers but does not say they are the only recipients, so a scholarship could have been…
Correct answer: Ayesha may or may not have scored above 90- A. Some snakes are warm blooded
- B. No snake is warm blooded
- C. All warm blooded animals are snakes
- D. Some reptiles are snakes only
Explanation: Snakes fall entirely within reptiles, and reptiles are entirely excluded from the warm blooded category, so snakes are excluded too.
Correct answer: No snake is warm blooded- A. suggesting the causal direction may be reversed or confounded
- B. attacking the researchers personally
- C. appealing to authority
- D. using circular reasoning
Explanation: The critic proposes that being overweight leads to skipping breakfast rather than the other way round, which challenges the direction of…
Correct answer: suggesting the causal direction may be reversed or confounded- A. a slippery slope
- B. an appeal to authority
- C. a hasty generalisation
- D. a false dilemma
Explanation: A slippery slope claims that one modest step will inevitably lead to an extreme outcome without showing why each stage must follow.
Correct answer: a slippery slope- A. Some medicines are not affordable for everyone
- B. All medicines are unaffordable
- C. No medicine is affordable
- D. All expensive things are medicines
Explanation: The first statement covers only part of the class of medicines, so any valid conclusion must also be limited to some.
Correct answer: Some medicines are not affordable for everyone- A. Karachi is the best city in Pakistan
- B. Karachi is the most populous city in Pakistan
- C. Karachi should receive more funding
- D. Karachi's weather is unpleasant
Explanation: A fact can be checked against evidence such as census data, whereas best, should and unpleasant all express judgements that different…
Correct answer: Karachi is the most populous city in Pakistan- A. ice cream causes accidents
- B. accidents cause ice cream sales
- C. both rise in hot weather, which is a common cause
- D. the report is fabricated
Explanation: Hot weather increases both outdoor activity, and therefore accidents, and ice cream sales, so the two are linked through a third variable…
Correct answer: both rise in hot weather, which is a common cause- A. the premises are interesting
- B. the premises are true and they logically lead to the conclusion
- C. the conclusion is popular
- D. the argument is long
Explanation: A sound argument requires both true premises and a valid logical structure, and failing either one destroys the support.
Correct answer: the premises are true and they logically lead to the conclusionCritical Thinking MCQs: common questions
Are these Critical Thinking MCQs free?
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How many Critical Thinking MCQs are on this page?
There are 435 Critical Thinking MCQs in the Analytical and Logical Reasoning bank, shown 20 to a page with the correct answer and an explanation on each.
Does every Critical Thinking MCQ have an explanation?
Yes. Each Critical Thinking question shows the correct option and a written explanation of why it is correct, so a wrong answer teaches you something rather than just being marked wrong.
Can I take a timed Critical Thinking test?
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