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Number 3 is a prime number, so are numbers 5 and 7; therefore it is clear that all odd numbers are prime numbers. Which fallacy is committed in the above argument?

AMissing the point
BIrrelevant conclusion
CHasty generalisation ✓ Correct
DSlippery slope
Correct answer: (C) Hasty generalisation
Explanation

The argument leaps from three odd primes to a sweeping claim about all odd numbers.

It notes that three, five and seven are prime numbers.

From these few cases it concludes that every odd number is prime.

A handful of instances cannot support a universal generalisation, and nine already breaks it.

Drawing a broad conclusion from too few cases is the fallacy of hasty generalisation.

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