Inductive arguments take specific premises to make general conclusions. a strong inductive argument is most probably the case, and a weak inductive argument is most likely not the case. a causal inductive argument is very similar. it works like this: when x happens then y happens. x probably causes y. consider these two causal inductive arguments:

1. every day of my life, the sun has risen in the morning. tomorrow morning is another day; therefore the sun will probably rise.
2. every time i flick this switch, the living room light goes on. therefore this switch probably controls the living room light.

discussion questions:

1. do these arguments seem obvious? why or why not?
2. understanding the structure of inductive arguments, how do you rate the strength or weakness of perceived causal relationships within arguments?

Alarge university wanted to study the relationship between completing an internship during college and students' future earning potential. prom the same graduating class, they selected a random sample of 80 students who completed an internship and 100 students who did not complete an internship and examined their salaries five years after graduation. they found that there was a statistically higher mean salary for the internship group than for the noninternship group. which of the following interpretations is the most appropriate? a. there could be a confounding variable, such as student major, that explains the difference in mean salary between the internship and no internship groups. b. we cannot infer anything from these data since the distribution of salaries is likely right skewed. c. you cannot draw any valid conclusions because the sample sizes are different. d. more students should complete internships because having an internship produces a higher salary.

Alinguist had a gross income of 53,350 last year. if 17.9% of his income got witheld for federal income tax, how much of the linguist's pay got witheld for federal income tax last year?

James is an employee in the widget inspection department of xyz systems, a government contractor. james was part of a 3-person inspection team that found a particular batch of widgets did not meet the exacting requirements of the u. s. government. in order to meet the tight deadline and avoid penalties under the contract, james' boss demanded that the batch of widgets be sent in fulfillment of the government contract. when james found out, he went to the vice president of the company and reported the situation. james was demoted by his boss, and no longer works on government projects. james has a: