Mark eats every day in the same cafeteria on campus and notices that everyone seems to sit with the same group of people whenever they come to eat. mark notices that people seem to be sitting with others who share traits such as race or gender, and decides to explore if this is the case. what kind of reasoning does this involve? a. inductive reasoning b. conceptual reasoning c. applied reasoning d. deductive reasoning

Deductive reasoning is defined as the process through which one arrives to a conclusion by first making assumptions about a scenario or investigated subject (such assumptions could be observations, experiences, behavior, etc.); then followed by a procedure whereby each assumption must meet a qualification/criteria — that it is true or clear — before the original conclusion is eventually reached. Therefore, Mark applies deductive reasoning in order to arrive at his conclusion. This is because he surmises his hypothesis based on observation — deducing — which is accomplished by investigation (visually) of the subjects (social groups). While Mark's hypothesis is not final, or proven, it allows him to be able to ask questions which he can then investigate further — supposedly through another methodology. His deduction is also based on qualities or traits that can be interpreted visually, allowing him to gauge whether or not a pattern exists even without the need of further investigation. Before Mark can arrive to his hypothesis, he must make several assumptions; this is a crucial part of deductive reasoning. Each of his assumptions must be met by the subject or scenario which he investigates before moving on to the next one. Once each assumptions is proved to have been met — or, in other words, is proved to be true or clear — then Mark arrives to his final conclusion: that his hypothesis is true. His first assumption is that everyone that eats at the cafeteria presently is representative of the populace that usually eats at the cafeteria. Secondly, he observes that the faction that is currently eating at the cafeteria sits in certain social groups, he assumes that the distinctive factors that define these groups are gender and race. Lastly, he observes that the pattern is consistent throughout the group in the cafeteria; giving him reason for investigation.