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Sample multiple choice questions that test higher order thinking and application,
Content areas: economics, physics, psychology, ethics, and philosophy
Collected by Kimberly Green, Washington State University
Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning
Developing Complex Application Questions
Devising multiple choice questions that measure higher level cognitive skills will enable you to test such skills
in large classes without spending enormous amounts of time grading.
In an evaluation question, a situation is described in a short paragraph and then a problem is posed as the
stem of the question. All the rules for writing multiple choice items described above also apply to writing
evaluation questions, but students must use judgment and critical thinking to answer them correctly.
In the example below (adapted from Welsh, 1978), students must understand the concepts of price inflation,
aggregate private demand, and tight monetary policy. They must also be able to analyze the information
presented and, based on projected effects, choose the most appropriate policy. This question requires critical
thinking and the complex application of economic principles learned in the course.
“ B e c ause of rapidly r i sing nati o n al d e fense exp e n ditures, it is
anticip a t ed that C o u n try A wil l experie n c e a price i nflatio n unless
measure s are taken t o restrict the grow t h of aggre g a te priv a t e
demand. S pecifical l y , the gove r nment i s consider ing eithe r (1)
increas i n g persona l i ncome tax ra tes o r (2) i n t r oducing a v ery tight
monetar y policy. ” If t he govern m e nt of C o u ntry A wi s h es to m i n imize
the adv e r se effect o f its anti -inflatio n a ry polici es on eco n o mic
growth, w hich one o f the f ollo wing poli c i es should it use ?
a. The t i ght money p o licy b e c a use it re s t ricts con sumption
expendi t u res more t h a n investm ent.
b. The t i ght money p o licy, sin ce the ta x increase w o uld res t r ict
consump t i on expend i t u res.
c. The p e rsonal in c o m e tax inc rease sin c e it restr i c ts cons u m ption
expendi t u res more t h a n investm e nt.
d. Eith e r the tigh t m oney poli cy or the p ersonal i n c ome tax r ate
increas e since bot h d epress in vestment e q ually.
Instructors have developed similar questions for analysis and interpretation of poetry, literature, historical
documents, and various kinds of scientific data.
From http://cfe.unc.edu/pdfs/FYC8.pdf University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
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From CLASSROOM TEST OF SCIENTIFIC REASONING Multiple Choice Version Revised
Edition: August 2000 by Anton E. Lawson, Arizona State University. Based on: Lawson, A.E. 1978. Development and validation of
the classroom test of formal reasoning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 15(1): 11-24.
1. Suppose you are given two clay balls of equal size and shape. The two clay balls also
weigh the same. One ball is flattened into a pancake-shaped piece.
Which of these statements is correct?
a. The pancake-shaped piece weighs more than the ball
b. The two pieces still weigh the same
c. The ball weighs more than the pancake-shaped piece
2. because
a. the flattened piece covers a larger area.
b. the ball pushes down more on one spot.
c. when something is flattened it loses weight.
d. clay has not been added or taken away.
e. when something is flattened it gains weight.
3. To the right are drawings of two
cylinders filled to the same level with
water. The cylinders are identical in size
and shape.
Also shown at the right are two marbles,
one glass and one steel. The marbles are
the same size but the steel one is much
heavier than the glass one. When the
glass marble is put into Cylinder 1 it sinks
to the bottom and the water level rises to
the 6th mark.
If we put the steel marble into Cylinder
2, the water will rise
a. to the same level as it did in Cylinder 1
b. to a higher level than it did in Cylinder 1
c. to a lower level than it did in Cylinder 1
4. because
a. the steel marble will sink faster.
b. the marbles are made of different
materials.
c. the steel marble is heavier than the
glass marble.
d. the glass marble creates less pressure.
e. the marbles are the same size.
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19. Farmer Brown was observing the mice that live in his field. He discovered that all
of them were either fat or thin. Also, all of them had either black tails or white
tails. This made him wonder if there might be a link between the size of the mice
and the color of their tails. So he captured all of the mice in one part of his field
and observed them. Below are the mice that he captured.
Do you think there is a link between the size of the mice and the color of their tails?
a. appears to be a link
b. appears not to be a link
c. cannot make a reasonable guess
20. because
a. there are some of each kind of mouse.
b. there may be a genetic link between mouse size and tail color.
c. there were not enough mice captured.
d. most of the fat mice have black tails while most of the thin mice have white
tails.
e. as the mice grew fatter, their tails became darker.
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MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST – ETHICS/PHILSOPHY University of Kansas, Fall2004
Philosophy 160: Introduction to Ethics Ben Eggleslon—egglestongkuedu Tuesday, September 28,2004
III. Utilitarianism
7. Why, according to utilitarianism, should laws not impose unnecessary restrictions on individuals' freedom?
(A) because individuals have a natural right to freedom
(B) because restrictions on freedom tend to diminish happiness
(C) because it is expensive to hire police officers to enforce freedom-restricting laws
(D) because the laws are based on a social contract, and the idea of the social contract entails
maximizing individuals' freedom
8. Suppose that a dangerous defendant who will otherwise be acquitted can be convicted through the giving
of false testimony. In the following dialogues, which statement is inconsistent with utilitarianism?
(A) Eric; "Giving false testimony is unjust and, therefore, immoral."
(B) Fred: "Not all conduct traditionally regarded as unjust is immoral."
(C) Eric: "Well, giving false testimony is illegal in nearly every society."
(D) Fred: "Well, that does not necessarily mean it's immoral."
9. Which of the following statements is the strongest evidence that the person saying it is a utilitarian?
(A) Ginny; "Violations of rights are very serious, from the moral point of view."
(B) Helen: "I agree. It is always immoral to violate someone's rights."
(C) Ginny: "Well, I wouldn't say 'always'. It's o.k, to violate rights whenever the good you can produce
by doing so outweighs the harm you do by violating the person's rights."
(D) Kate: "I disagree with both of you. In my opinion, it's immoral to violate someone's rights unless
doing so is the only way to prevent that person from violating others' rights."
10. Consider the question, "What is meant by the charge that utilitarianism is too demanding?" Now suppose
the following answer is given:
"Utilitarianism requires moral people to respond to important moral concerns such as helping the
less fortunate, while allowing immoral people to pursue their careers, family lives, and personal
projects." What is wrong with this answer?
(A) Nothing - that answer is correct.
(B) It falsely describes what utilitarianism requires of moral people.
(C) It falsely describes what utilitarianism allows of immoral people.
(D) It relies on a false dichotomy between moral people and immoral people.
IV. Kant's Moral Theory
11. Suppose a person named Nick tells you to give $100 to the United Way, and you say that you are
perfectly happy with the charitable contributions that you currently mate (which do not include anything for
the United Way). What response from Nick would indicate to you that he meant his remark categorically?
(A) "It doesn't matter whether you are already happy; you still have to give $100 to the United Way."
(B) "O.k., if you are perfectly happy with the charitable contributions you currently make, then I
withdraw what I said."
(C) "I'm not making this request of just you; I'm telling every adult human being that they have to
give $100 to the United Way, too."
(D) "You may think you are perfectly happy with the charitable contributions you currently make, but
giving $100 to the United Way will make you even happier."
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Two part question using one scenario (used for discussion in a large lecture class) [from Dr. Sam Swindell,
Psychology, WSU]:
APPLICATION 1: The Scenario
• While watching TV, you see
a public service
announcement that claims
the following:
“Last year, 250,000
individuals died in car
accidents when they were
not wearing their
seatbelts. This shows
how dangerous it is to
drive without your
seatbelt fastened. Be
Safe. Buckle Up.”
Assuming the statistic is
true, is the conclusion
valid? That is to say,
does wearing your
seatbelt increase the
likelihood that you will
survive a car accident?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Cannot determine
based on insufficient
information
APPLICATION 1: The Scenario
• While watching TV, you see
a public service
announcement that claims
the following:
“Last year, 250,000
individuals died in car
accidents when they were
not wearing their
seatbelts. This shows
how dangerous it is to
drive without your
seatbelt fastened. Be
Safe. Buckle Up.”
If you said “Yes” in
response to the previous
question, you committed
which of the following
violations in rationality?
A. Ignoring baseline rates
B. Framing effect
C. Small sample bias
D. Conjunction fallacy
