Understanding Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Vocabulary flashcards covering inductive reasoning concepts from the Mango Experiment and inductive reasoning in mathematics.

Inductive Reasoning

A reasoning process that draws general conclusions from specific observations; logically true but not guaranteed to hold in all cases.

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning from general principles to specific conclusions; if the premises are true, the conclusion necessarily follows.

Observation

The act of noticing and describing features or events about objects or phenomena.

Generalization

A conclusion about all members of a group based on observed examples.

Specific to General (Direction of Inductive Reasoning)

The direction of inductive reasoning that moves from particular observations to broad general conclusions.

Inductive Fallacy

A faulty generalization drawn from a limited or unrepresentative sample, even if the observed statements are true.

Mango Experiment

A real-world demonstration illustrating inductive reasoning by checking a sample of mangoes and inferring about all mangoes in the basket.

Conjecture

A highly probable statement that has not yet been proven.

Pattern

A regularity observed in specific cases used to form general conclusions or conjectures.

Principle of Mathematical Induction

A method to prove statements for all cases by establishing a base case and an induction step.

Inductive Reasoning in Mathematics

The mathematical process of observing patterns, generalizing them, and formulating conjectures about all cases.

Certainty (in Inductive Reasoning)

In inductive reasoning, conclusions are logically true given the observed data but not guaranteed to hold for unobserved cases.