An argument has the form: All mammals are warm-blooded. Whales are mammals. Therefore, whales are warm-blooded. Which classification is correct?

### Why this is right The conclusion follows from the two premises: if all mammals are warm-blooded and whales are mammals, whales must be warm-blooded. The premises are also factually true, so the argument meets both requirements for soundness. ### The concept A **valid** deductive argument has a form that makes it impossible for true premises to accompany a false conclusion. A **sound** argument is valid and has only true premises. Validity is about the relationship between premises and conclusion, while soundness also checks the premises against facts. The example satisfies both tests. ### The other options - **B. Valid but unsound**: describes a valid argument with at least one false premise, which is not the case here. - **C. Invalid but sound**: impossible, because soundness requires validity. - **D. Invalid and necessarily false**: invalidity concerns support, not whether a conclusion happens to be true. ### Terms - **Premise**: A statement offered as support for a conclusion. - **Conclusion**: The claim an argument's premises are intended to support. - **Validity**: A logical relationship in which true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion. - **Soundness**: Validity plus the factual truth of every premise. ### Remember To identify a sound deductive argument, check logical form first and premise truth second.