Question

Which of the following arguments are inductive, and which are deductive? Just answer “inductive” or “deductive”.

1. The gardener said that she never saw the burglar’s face. She says she was in the house making tea, and that the burglar was in the shed. But the only footprints by the shed were hers. No other explanations could be found. So the reason she didn’t see the burglar is that she is the burglar.

Inductive or deductive? _______________

2. If we think of reasons to go to class, we can list that we want good grades, and that we have paid a lot of money for tuition, books, child care, etc. If we think of reasons not to go to class, we can think of how Frisbee golf would be a nice way to spend an afternoon and how there is a big sale in New Market. Yeah, all things considered, better go to class.

Inductive or deductive? _______________

3. The very definition of water is that it is a chemical substance with the structure H2O. This glass is filled with water. So this glass is filled with H2O.

Inductive or deductive? _______________

Answer 1

Ans 1: inductive

inductive reasoning is bottom-up reasoning; it starts with a probable conclusion and induces premises

Ans 2: inductive

Ans 3: deductive