Identify the fallacy committed in the following statement: 'Water is a non-poisonous compound. Therefore, its components oxygen and hydrogen are non-poisonous.'
AFallacy of division ✓ Correct
BEquivocation
CSlippery slope
DHasty generalization
Correct answer: (A) Fallacy of division
Explanation
The argument passes a property of the whole down to its parts, the fallacy of division.
Water as a whole compound is non-poisonous.
From this it wrongly concludes each component is non-poisonous.
A trait of the whole need not belong to its separate elements.
Inferring the parts' character solely from the whole is division.
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