INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE REASONING
Inductive and deductive reasoning are two fundamental forms of reasoning for
mathematicians.
Inductive reasoning involves looking for patterns and making generalizations. An
example of inductive reasoning is, for example, when you notice that all the dogs you see around
you are black and white so you make the conclusion that all dogs in the world are black and
white. Can you say for certain that this conclusion is correct? No, because it is based on just a
few observations.
The type of reasoning that forms a conclusion based on the examination of specific
examples is called inductive reasoning. The conclusion formed by using inductive reasoning is
often called a conjecture, since it may or may not be correct.
Illustrative Examples:
1. Consider the following procedure:
a. Pick a number.
b. Multiply the number by 8,
c. Add 6 to the product,
d. Divide the sum by 2, and
e. Subtract 3.
2. Consider the following procedure:
a. List 1 as the first odd number
b. Add the next odd number to 1,
c. Add the next odd number to the sum,
d. Repeat adding the next odd number to the previous sum.
Another type of reasoning is called deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is
distinguished from inductive reasoning in that it is the process of reaching a conclusion by
applying general principles and procedures. Deductive reasoning involves making a logical
argument, drawing conclusions, and applying generalizations to specific situations. For example,
once students have developed an understanding of "triangle," they apply that generalization to
new figures to decide whether or not each is a triangle. The conclusions reached by this type of
reasoning are valid and can be relied on.
Illustrative Examples:
1. If a number is divisible by 2, then it must be even. 12 is divisible by 2. Therefore, 12 is an
even number.
2. All Mathematics teachers know how to play Sudoku. Resty is a Math teacher. Therefore,
Resty knows how to play Sudoku.
Exercise. Classify the reasoning employed in the following arguments as INDUCTIVE or
DEDUCTIVE.
1. All even numbers are divisible by 2. Twenty-eight is even. Therefore, 28 is divisible by 2.
2. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ____. The next term is going to be 18.
3. Since all squares are rectangles, and all rectangles have four sides, all squares have four
sides.
4. For any right triangle, the Pythagorean Theorem holds. ABC is a right triangle, therefore
for ABC the Pythagorean Theorem holds.
5. The population of Baguio City has risen steadily for the past 40 years. It is logical to predict
that the population of Baguio City will also rise next year.
6. Two figures are said to be congruent if they have the same shape and size or if one has the
same shape and size as the mirror image of the other. My figure is the mirror image of my mirror
image, therefore my figure and my mirror image are congruent.
7. If x = 4 and if y = 1, then 2x + y = 9
8. Based on a survey of 3300 randomly selected registered voters, 56.2% indicate that they
will vote for the incumbent officials in the upcoming election. Therefore, approximately 56% of
the votes in the upcoming election will be for the incumbent.
9. Jack is taller than Jill. Jill is taller than Joey. Therefore, Jack is taller than Joey.
10. It usually takes 2–3 days for a delivery to ship from the warehouse to your door via most
major shipping services. You ordered on Tuesday morning, so it‘s safe to assume your package
will arrive Thursday or Friday.
LOGIC PUZZLES
Logic Puzzles can be solved by deductive reasoning. A chart that enables us to display the given
information in a visual manner helps in the solution.
Illustrative Examples:
1. Each of four neighbors, Mark, Zen, Linda, and Roy, has a different occupation (teacher,
banker, chef, or broker).
From the following clues, determine the occupation of each neighbor:
i. Zen gets home from work after the banker but before the broker.
ii. Linda, who is the last to get home from work, is not the teacher.
iii. The broker and Linda leave for work at the same time.
iv. The banker lives next door to Roy.
2. Glenn, Gab and Geian are popular TV personalities. They are now famous as a game show
host, a news anchor, and an actor (not necessarily be respectively). They talk about their time in
college, studying for careers that they never pursued after getting into television. Their courses
are nursing, engineering, and teacher education (again, not necessarily be respectively).
For each personality, determine their TV job, and the course in which they studied in college?
Clues:
1. Glenn who wasn't trained as a teacher, is an actor in the teleserye "Ang Ilocano".
2. Gab is a news anchor in TB Patrol.
3. Geian never had any ambition to be a nurse.
4. It isn't the one time student teacher who is now hosting the program “Your Voice looks
familiar”.
KEN KEN PUZZLE
