1C Practice: Arguments and Explanations - Do the passages contain an argument or an explanation?

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

Many independent candidates won recent elections, even beating out strong incumbents. It must be because voters are disappointed with the two-party system.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

To make Windows Phone 7 a success, Microsoft has to win over not just phone manufacturers and phone companies, but software developers. The iPhone and Android are popular in part because of the tens of thousands of tiny applications, or “apps,” made by outside software developers.   Newspaper article, “Microsoft Bets Big on New Phone Software”

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

Years ago I used to think sometimes of making a lecturing trip through the antipodes and the borders of the Orient, but always gave up the idea, partly because of the great length of the journey and partly because my wife could not well manage to go with me.   Mark Twain, How to Tell a Story & Other Essays

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

I painted your room because I thought you didn't like the original color.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

The reason why Battlin’ Jack has won eight fights in a row is not due to superior conditioning—he’s still just as old and over the hill as he was before this streak began. Nor is it due to inferior opponents. The real cause is that the fights have been rigged. The mob controls the fights in this part of town.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

All the other kids get to stay up past nine when on weekends. And I already finished my homework for next week. You should let me stay up late tonight.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

The universe must be old enough for hydrogen and helium to have formed heavier elements in stars, since otherwise there wouldn’t be any life. And, since we’re talking to each other, obviously, there is life.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

One of these culture dishes has a patch of mold, and all around it the bacterial colonies are becoming transparent and dissolving. So there must be something in the mold which is antibacterial

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

For my part, of all the things that are not under my control, what I value most is to enter into a bond of friendship with sincere lovers of truth. For I believe that such a loving relationship affords us a serenity surpassing any other boon in the whole wide world. The love that such men bear to one another, grounded as it is in the love that each has for knowledge of truth, is as unshakable as the acceptance of truth once it has been perceived. It is, moreover, the highest source of happiness to be found in things not under our command, for truth more than anything else has the power to effect a close union between various sentiments and dispositions.   Spinoza, a letter to Blyenbergh, January 1665

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

The book is printed in a generous 14-point font so that instructors can comfortably read it at a glance while teaching from a lectern.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

Most people think Apple scanning all your information as you enter it into computers at their stores is acceptable because Apple is simply looking for patterns. That is, it's okay because we're only having our information subjected to a statistical analysis, a "looking for patterns". They're not interested in "us" as individuals, they're looking for something recognizably non-typical. But if someone takes our photograph while we’re using Apple's computers, we feel our privacy has been invaded, since another human being—as opposed to a giant corporation—is looking at us.   Adapted from Joshua Noble, "People Doing Things," The Factory blog post

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

If unemployment is rising, then the tax base will shrink. If the tax base shrinks, then the deficit will grow. Statistics show that unemployment is rising faster than ever. Given this, it is clear that the deficit will grow.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

Speech matters. It shapes people's perceptions, knowledge and attitudes. Why else would businesses spend billions of dollars each year on commercial advertising? Corporations and billionaires are not stupid. They would not waste millions of dollars to fund an endless flood of political ads if those ads didn't pay off. They do. Money may not guarantee victory, but it definitely helps.   Geoffrey Stone, "Fixing Citizens United"

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

I wake up every day and drag myself out into the world, enduring this dreadful job and hateful people, so that I can make a future for my children that is gentler and more peaceful than my own childhood was.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

I invited him to come in and clean up. He was soaking wet from the rain, and his clothes were muddy, and he looked like he could use a hot meal.

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

There are several hundred different kinds of odorant receptors, each one with a binding site shaped to accommodate a specific common odorant. We can, however, discriminate between a wider range of odours than this, because each odour is typically the result of a complex blend of different odorant molecules.   Philip Ball, "Stories of the Invisible"

. Is the following passage an argument or an explanation?

I’m confused and feverish, my head is throbbing like a jackhammer inside my skull, and my guts are churning. And I’ve got five interviews to give to the media in the next nine hours. I need to take some medication.

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