Philosophy · Unit 6
Ethics
What is good, and the main theories of how to act
Ethics is not a matter of listing rules but of asking what makes anything right or wrong in the first place, and there are three main families of answer.
The unit covers what good means, consequentialism, duty and deontology, virtue ethics, and the dilemmas designed to pull the theories apart.
This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 23
- Questions
- 120
- Difficulty
- 1-5
What this unit covers
- What is Good?
- Consequentialism
- Duty and Deontology
- Virtue Ethics
- Moral Dilemmas
Where this fits
Follows Right and Wrong. Needs Reasoning and Logic.
Where people slip
The theories usually agree about ordinary cases. They are constructed to be tested against the hard ones, which is why textbook examples are so often extreme.
How the unit is structured
Ethics runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.
Consequentialism
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
1. Consequentialism judges whether an action is right by looking at its...
- results and outcomescorrect
- day of the week
- spelling
- color
Consequentialism holds that the outcomes of an action decide whether it is right.
- True or falseLevel 1
2. Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism.
Answer: True
Utilitarianism judges actions by their outcomes, so it is a kind of consequentialism.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
3. Utilitarianism aims for the greatest good for the greatest ____ of people.
- numbercorrect
- secret
- color
- hour
Utilitarianism seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
4. Match each ethical theory with the thing it focuses on most.
Answer: Consequentialism = Outcomes; Deontology = Duties and rules; Virtue ethics = Character
Consequentialism looks at outcomes, deontology at duties, and virtue ethics at character.
- Type the answerLevel 2
5. Which English thinker, born in 1748, helped found utilitarianism and wrote about the greatest happiness?
Answer: Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was a founder of utilitarianism and its greatest happiness principle.
- Choose all that applyLevel 4
6. Which of these are versions or refinements of utilitarianism? (Select all that apply.)
- Act utilitarianismcorrect
- Rule utilitarianismcorrect
- Preference utilitarianismcorrect
- The categorical imperative
Act, rule, and preference utilitarianism are all forms of utilitarianism; the categorical imperative is Kant's.
Duty and Deontology
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
7. Deontology says an action is right when it follows a...
- moral duty or rulecorrect
- fashion trend
- weather report
- popular song
Deontology, or duty ethics, holds that following the right duty or rule makes an action right.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
8. The word deontology comes from a Greek word meaning ____.
- dutycorrect
- ocean
- music
- sleep
Deontology comes from the Greek word deon, which means duty.
- Odd one outLevel 2
9. Which idea does NOT belong with duty-based ethics?
- Choosing whatever brings the most pleasurecorrect
- Doing your duty
- Following moral rules
- Keeping your promises
Seeking the most pleasure is a consequentialist idea, not a duty-based one.
- True or falseLevel 2
10. In deontology, some actions can be wrong even if they lead to good results.
Answer: True
Deontologists say certain acts break a duty and stay wrong no matter the outcome.
- Type the answerLevel 2
11. Which German philosopher is most famous for duty-based ethics and the categorical imperative?
Answer: Kant
Immanuel Kant built a duty-based ethics around the categorical imperative.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
12. Which statements about Kant's ethics are correct? (Select all that apply.)
- It is duty-basedcorrect
- It uses the categorical imperativecorrect
- It tells us to treat people as endscorrect
- It says only consequences matter
Kant's ethics is duty-based, uses the categorical imperative, and tells us to treat people as ends, not just as means.
Moral Dilemmas
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
13. Which of these are main theories about how to act in ethics? (Select all that apply.)
- Consequentialismcorrect
- Deontologycorrect
- Virtue ethicscorrect
- Astronomy
Consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics are three main ethical theories; astronomy is a science.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
14. In the famous dilemma, a runaway ____ is heading toward people on a track.
- trolleycorrect
- garden
- letter
- cloud
The trolley problem imagines a runaway trolley speeding toward people.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
15. A moral dilemma is a situation where...
- every choice seems to break some moral rulecorrect
- the weather is very cold
- you have run out of paper
- a computer is broken
In a moral dilemma, you must choose even though the options all seem partly wrong.
- Put in orderLevel 3
16. Put these ethical thinkers in order from earliest to most recent.
Answer: Aristotle -> Jeremy Bentham -> John Stuart Mill
Aristotle lived in ancient Greece, Bentham in the 1700s, and Mill in the 1800s.
- Guess the numberLevel 4
17. In roughly what year did Philippa Foot first present the trolley problem?
Answer: 1967
Philippa Foot introduced the trolley case in 1967.
- Match the pairsLevel 5
18. Match each philosopher with the idea or thought experiment they are known for.
Answer: Philippa Foot = The trolley problem; Judith Jarvis Thomson = The footbridge case; Robert Nozick = The utility monster; Bernard Williams = The integrity objection
Foot introduced the trolley, Thomson the footbridge, Nozick the utility monster, and Williams the integrity objection.
Virtue Ethics
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
19. Virtue ethics focuses mostly on a person's...
- character and good habitscorrect
- shoe size
- phone number
- home address
Virtue ethics asks what kind of character a good person has.
- True or falseLevel 1
20. Virtue ethics is closely connected to the philosopher Aristotle.
Answer: True
Aristotle's writings are a foundation of virtue ethics.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
21. Which of these are examples of virtues? (Select all that apply.)
- Couragecorrect
- Honestycorrect
- Patiencecorrect
- Laziness
Courage, honesty, and patience are virtues, while laziness is a vice.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
22. Aristotle taught that virtue is a golden ____ between two extremes.
- meancorrect
- gate
- coin
- road
For Aristotle, virtue is the golden mean between too much and too little.
- Odd one outLevel 2
23. Which of these is NOT usually counted as a virtue?
- Greedcorrect
- Courage
- Honesty
- Kindness
Greed is a vice, while courage, honesty, and kindness are virtues.
- Type the answerLevel 2
24. Which ancient Greek philosopher wrote the Nicomachean Ethics, a founding book of virtue ethics?
Answer: Aristotle
Aristotle wrote the Nicomachean Ethics, a founding text of virtue ethics.
What is Good?
- Fill the blankLevel 1
25. Another common name for ethics is ____ philosophy.
- moralcorrect
- plant
- number
- weather
Ethics is also known as moral philosophy.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
26. What does the branch of philosophy called ethics mainly study?
- Right and wrong, and how we should act
- How far away the stars are
- The rules of spelling
- How machines are built
Ethics, also called moral philosophy, studies right and wrong and how we ought to act.
- True or falseLevel 1
27. Ethics is sometimes also called moral philosophy.
Answer: True
Ethics and moral philosophy are two names for the same branch of study.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
28. Which of these are questions about ethics? (Select all that apply.)
- Is it wrong to break a promise?correct
- Should we be kind to strangers?correct
- What color is the sky?
- How much does a rock weigh?
Ethics asks about right, wrong, and how we treat others, not about colors or weights.
- Odd one outLevel 2
29. Which of these is NOT a question that ethics asks?
- How many kilometers is it to the Moon?correct
- What is the right thing to do here?
- How should we treat other people?
- Is this action fair?
The distance to the Moon is a science question, not an ethics question.
- Match the pairsLevel 5
30. Match each meta-ethical view with the claim it makes about morality.
Answer: Moral realism = There are objective moral facts; Emotivism = Moral talk expresses feelings; Error theory = Moral claims are all false; Relativism = Right depends on the culture
These views disagree about whether moral claims state facts, express feelings, are all false, or depend on culture.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Choose all that apply
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Ethics
120 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Ethics
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Is Deontology? Rules, Duties, and Moral ActionLearn how duty-based ethics judges actions by rules and obligations, and how it differs from judging morality only by consequences.August 17, 2026 · 6 min read
- Virtue Ethics and the Question of CharacterVirtue ethics asks what kind of person you should become, not only which rule to follow. Habits, judgement and character shape how a good action is understood.July 29, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Makes a Promise Morally Binding?Promises create expectations about future action, but philosophers disagree about why they generate obligations. Trust, consent, consequences and social practices all offer different ways to explain their moral force.August 8, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Is Utilitarianism? The Greatest Good Idea ExplainedLearn how this ethical theory judges actions by consequences, wellbeing, impartiality, and the challenge of comparing outcomes.August 14, 2026 · 5 min read
More units in Philosophy
- What is Philosophy?Wondering, asking why, and thinking for yourself
- Big QuestionsThe deep questions people have always asked
- Thinking WellReasons, evidence, and telling good ideas from bad
- Right and WrongFairness, kindness, rules and consequences
- Reasoning and Logic (Basics)Arguments, premises and conclusions, and common mistakes
- KnowledgeWhat knowledge is, truth, belief and doubt
- RealityBeing, free will, time and personal identity
- Logic and ArgumentsValidity, soundness, deduction, induction and fallacies