Fact or Opinion Practice Exercises

Review the lesson for Fact or Opinion Study Guide.

Fact or Opinion Practice Exercises

Practice Exercise

Label each statement F (fact) or O (opinion).

1. Sacagawea is the most important woman in American history.
2. Gravity pulls anything at or near Earth's surface toward the center of the planet.
3. The U. S. Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787.
4. Trying to graduate from college in three years instead of four isn't a good idea for anyone.
5. Groundhog Day is always celebrated on February 2.

Answers

1. O
2. F
3. F
4. O
5. F

Practice Exercise

Terrell has been assigned a term paper that will test how well he and his class have learned research skills. He must write objectively on the subject of U.S. Military spending and has been given a list of possible sources for information. Which source or sources will provide the most objective information?

1. Congressional Budget Office
2. The U.S. Department of the Interior
3. Alliance of Defense Contractors
4. Center for World Peace

Answer

The Congressional Budget Office, choice a, would be the best place for Terrell to find balanced information. It's a non-partisan group that provides budget analysis to Congress, which must approve military spending. The U.S. Department of the Interior is America's primary conservation agency, and the Alliance of Defense Contractors and Center for World Peace organizations have very specific agendas, so they wouldn't be good sources for objective information on military spending.

Practice Exercise

Which of the following web addresses are probably personal web pages?

1. www.members.aol.com/jspinner582/
2. www.stateuniversity.edu
3. www.getthefacts.com/republican/~randyc/
4. http://fightforrights.org

Answer

Choices a and c are most likely personal web pages. The tilde (~)in choice c gives it away as a personal page.

Practice Exercise

Label each statement T (true) or F (false).

1. Because anyone can publish on the Internet, it's hard to know if what you read is true.
2. You only need to check the credentials of individuals or groups who write print materials.
3. All TV and newspaper reporters are unbiased.
4. Links on a website are supposed to be like the footnotes in print materials.
5. As long as a website quotes a famous person, you know what you read is true.

Answer

1. T
2. F
3. F
4. T
5. F