Deduction and Scientific Reasoning

Follow along as Maya and Sophie use a variety of valid argument forms to solve an engineering problem in their science class. Predicting, testing, ruling out alternatives, and putting together different claims are all examples of deduction in scientific reasoning. But science can’t get along with deduction alone: in order to gain new information, we need to rely on experience and observation, which are not deductive sources.

Topics

  • combining conditionals
  • combining rules
  • deductive reasoning
  • deriving predictions
  • disjunctive syllogism
  • falsifying hypotheses
  • hypothesis testing
  • hypothetical syllogism
  • limits of deduction
  • modus ponens
  • modus tollens
  • process of elimination
  • ruling out possibilities