Arranging Subarguments

Put the following arguments into standard form. Break up the premises and form chains of arguments wherever this can be done without distorting the argument. Then diagram the argument.

1. Either Jack is a fool or Mary is a crook, because she ended up with all of his money.

2. Our team can’t win this Saturday, both because they are not going to play, and because they are no good, so they wouldn’t win even if they did play.

3. Mercury is known to be the only metal that is liquid at room temperature, so a pound of mercury would be liquid in this room, which is at room temperature, and it would also conduct electricity, since all metals do. Therefore, some liquids do conduct electricity.

4. Since he won the lottery, he’s rich and lucky, so he’ll probably do well in the stock market, too, unless his luck runs out.

5. Joe is not a freshman, since he lives in a fraternity, and freshmen are not allowed to live in fraternities. He also can’t be a senior, since he has not declared a major, and every senior has declared a major. And he can’t be a junior, because I never met him before today, and I would have met him before now if he were a junior. So Joe must be a sophomore.

6. Since many newly emerging nations do not have the capital resources necessary for sustained growth, they will continue to need help from industrial nations to avoid mass starvation.