Inductive Arguments Practice Exercises

Review the lesson for Inductive Arguments Study Guide.

Inductive Arguments Practice Exercises

Practice Exercise

Choose the best conclusion for this argument: The other people who live in my apartment building

1. like Thai food, so I should, too.
2. do their laundry on Tuesdays, so I should, too.
3. don't seem to like the new superintendent, so I won't either.
4. pay their rent on the first of the month, so I will, too.

Answer

The correct answer is choice d. From past experience, you may know that rent is due on the first of the month, and common sense tells you that if other renters pay on the first, that must be when rent is due.

Practice Exercise

What conclusion could you make from the following inductive argument?

We have read over one hundred pages of her poetry manuscript. So far, the poems about nature are strong and finely crafted, and those about love and relationships are loose and even sometimes sloppy. So in the next hundred pages, we can expect to find . . .

Answer

You can conclude "that her love poetry is loose and sometimes sloppy, and her nature poetry is finely crafted."

Practice Exercise

Which is NOT an example of a comparison argument?

1. Last week I washed my clothes on Monday and didn't run out of clean clothes all week. This Monday I'm going to wash my clothes so I don't run out of clean clothes this week.
2. For the last two weeks, I've returned my library books on time and didn't have to pay late fees. This week I'm going to return my books on time, too, so I don't get charged late fees.
3. Jim said he had the best, tastiest, juiciest burger at Carlo's restaurant yesterday. Today, he says he's going to eat at Frank's Fast Food.
4. The past five Januarys, the department stores had white sales of towels and linens. This January, they'll probably have sales on towels and linens, too.

Answer

The correct answer is choice c. The other answer choices all show a similarity between one event and the other.

Practice Exercise

Look for causation in the following scenario.

Yesterday, I pulled out of a diagonal parking spot and was starting to turn my wheel and move forward, when another car backed out of a spot behind me. She drove right into me, smashing my left rear door with the corner of her bumper. The other driver told the police officer that I hit her. But he agreed with me that it was her fault, and wrote down why on the police report.

What did the police officer write? Chose all that could apply.

1. Drivers must wait their turn if another car is already pulling out of a parking space behind them. It is clear that the first car was already out of her space when she was hit on her door.
2. It is impossible to hit the corner of someone's bumper with your rear door when backing out of a parking spot. It is possible to hit the rear door of someone's car with the corner of your bumper.
3. Speeding in parking lots is prohibited by law.
4. The other driver must not have been looking in her rearview mirror, or she would not have backed into the other car.

Answer

The probable causes of the car accident are a, b, and d. While speeding in parking lots is never a good idea, it was not a cause of this accident.