Question 1

I have observed that some of the bad smell in my house is caused by my cat.Which of the following observations would allow me to use the method of residues to show that there is a second cause of the bad smell?

Accepted Answer

The method of residues involves eliminating known causes to see if an effect still persists, indicating another cause. Removing the cat and observing if the bad smell remains would directly apply this method by isolating the cat's contribution to the smell and identifying if there's another cause for the remaining odor.

Question 2

Mill's method of residues is used when part of an effect (E) can already be explained by certain causal factors (such as a and b).It provides evidence for an additional causal factor, c, by:

Accepted Answer

Mill's method of residues is used when part of an effect (E) can already be explained by certain causal factors (such as a and b). This method provides evidence for an additional causal factor, c, by showing that a and b only explain part of E, indicating that there must be another causal factor at play.

Question 3

Does the method of residues show that a factor is a necessary or sufficient condition?

Accepted Answer

The method of residues is used to isolate the effect of a factor by subtracting known effects from a phenomenon, but it does not establish necessity or sufficiency.

Question 4

Mill's method of difference helps to identify causes by:

Accepted Answer

Mill's method of difference involves examining cases in which the suspected cause is not present in order to determine whether the effect still occurs. By identifying the cases where the effect is absent when the suspected cause is absent, we can infer that the suspected cause is indeed a necessary condition for the effect to occur. This method helps to narrow down the possible causes and provide evidence for a causal relationship.

Question 5

Suppose that I suspect that running my ceiling fan stirs up dust and causes my table to become dusty.How could I use the method of concomitant variations to confirm this?

Accepted Answer

The method of concomitant variations involves observing whether changes in one variable (in this case, the amount of time the fan is running) correspond to changes in another variable (the amount of dust on the table). By varying the length of time the fan runs, we can see if there is a correlation between the two variables, which would support the hypothesis that the fan is stirring up dust and causing the table to become dusty. The other options may be helpful in ruling out alternative hypotheses, but do not directly test the relationship between the fan and the dust on the table.

Question 6

Suppose that I suspect that the size of my pumpkins is primarily determined by the amount of sunlight each one receives.How could I use the method of concomitant variations to confirm this?

Accepted Answer

The method of concomitant variations involves changing one variable (in this case, the amount of sunlight received by the pumpkins) while keeping all other variables constant. By growing pumpkins in different levels of shade, we can observe whether or not there is a correlation between pumpkin size and amount of sunlight received. This is a controlled experiment and the best way to use the method of concomitant variations to confirm the suspected cause-effect relationship. The other options either do not control for other variables or test for unrelated factors.

Question 7

Does the method of concomitant variations show that a factor is a necessary or sufficient condition?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Does the method of concomitant variations show...

Question 8

Mill's method of concomitant variations helps to identify causes by observing:

Accepted Answer

Mill's method of concomitant variations involves observing whether an increase or decrease in the suspected cause results in an increase or decrease in the effect. This helps to identify a causal relationship between the two variables. Option A is close, but it is not about the suspected cause but additional factors. Option C and D are not related to Mill's method of concomitant variations. Option E is also not related as it suggests a variation in effect over time, which is not necessarily related to the suspected cause.

Question 9

Which of the techniques for identifying causes is the only one that does not require us to have any initial knowledge or guesses about what causes the effect?

Accepted Answer

The method of agreement identifies a common factor present in all instances of an effect, without needing initial knowledge or guesses about the cause.

Question 10

I want to know why there is so much water collecting in my basement.I know that the basement walls leak a little bit, allowing enough water in to stain the walls.But right now, even the carpeting is soggy.So I conclude that I also have a leaky pipe.Which method did I use to determine this?

Accepted Answer

The method of residues involves identifying a known cause for part of an effect and attributing the remaining effect to another cause. Here, the known cause is the leaking walls, and the remaining effect (soggy carpeting) is attributed to a leaky pipe.

Question 11

Mill's method of agreement helps to identify causes by looking for:

Accepted Answer

Mill's method of agreement looks for a common factor that is present in all the cases where the effect occurs.

Question 12

Marie and Pierre Curie were working with an ore that contained uranium, but found that its radioactivity was higher than could be explained by the uranium in it.What conclusion would be suggested by the method of residues?

Accepted Answer

The method of residues suggests that if the radioactivity of the ore was higher than could be explained by the uranium in it, then there must be another radioactive element present in the ore. Therefore, the best choice is A, indicating that the ore contained another radioactive element.

Question 13

I want to know why my yard is so well lit at night.So I watch it over a period of several nights and notice that it is most well lit when the moon is full, less well lit at quarter moon, and most poorly lit at new moon.Therefore, I conclude that moonlight is principally responsible for lighting my yard at night.Which method did I use to determine this?

Accepted Answer

The method used in this scenario is concomitant variations, as the researcher observed a correlation between the amount of moonlight present and the level of lighting in the yard. As the amount of moonlight changed (full moon, quarter moon, new moon), the level of lighting in the yard changed as well, indicating a causal relationship between the two variables.

Question 14

Suppose that we examine three cases in which the factors given below coincide with the occurrence of effect E.Which factor would the method of agreement suggest is responsible for E? Case 1: $a , b , c$
Case 2: $a , d , f$
Case 3: $a , g h$

Accepted Answer

The method of agreement suggests that if an effect occurs whenever a specific factor is present across all cases, then that factor is likely responsible for the effect. Here, factor $a$ is the only one present in all three cases where effect E occurs, making it the most likely cause according to this method.

Question 15

Do the methods of agreement and difference show that factors are necessary or sufficient conditions?

Accepted Answer

The method of agreement shows that a factor is sufficient by looking for instances where the effect always occurs in the presence of the factor. The method of difference shows that a factor is necessary by comparing instances where the effect occurs and instances where it does not, with the only difference being the presence or absence of the factor. Therefore, agreement shows sufficiency, and difference shows necessity. Hence, option D is correct as the agreement shows sufficiency, and difference shows necessity.

Question 16

Suppose that we examine three cases in which the factors given below coincide with the occurrence of effect E.Which factor would the method of agreement suggest is responsible for E? Case 1: $b , c , f , j , l , o$
Case 2: $a , e , f , i , k , n , p$
Case 3: $d , f , g h , m$

Accepted Answer

The method of agreement suggests that if an effect occurs whenever a specific factor is present across all cases, then that factor is likely responsible for the effect. In this scenario, factor $f$ is the only one present in all three cases, making it the most likely cause of effect E according to the method of agreement.

Quiz 12: Inductive Generalizations

I have observed that some of the bad smell in my house is caused by my cat.Which of the following observations would allow me to use the method of residues to show that there is a second cause of the bad smell?

Mill's method of residues is used when part of an effect (E) can already be explained by certain causal factors (such as a and b) .It provides evidence for an additional causal factor, c, by:

Does the method of residues show that a factor is a necessary or sufficient condition?

Mill's method of difference helps to identify causes by:

Suppose that I suspect that running my ceiling fan stirs up dust and causes my table to become dusty.How could I use the method of concomitant variations to confirm this?

Suppose that I suspect that the size of my pumpkins is primarily determined by the amount of sunlight each one receives.How could I use the method of concomitant variations to confirm this?

Does the method of concomitant variations show that a factor is a necessary or sufficient condition?

Mill's method of concomitant variations helps to identify causes by observing:

Which of the techniques for identifying causes is the only one that does not require us to have any initial knowledge or guesses about what causes the effect?

I want to know why there is so much water collecting in my basement.I know that the basement walls leak a little bit, allowing enough water in to stain the walls.But right now, even the carpeting is soggy.So I conclude that I also have a leaky pipe.Which method did I use to determine this?

Mill's method of agreement helps to identify causes by looking for:

Marie and Pierre Curie were working with an ore that contained uranium, but found that its radioactivity was higher than could be explained by the uranium in it.What conclusion would be suggested by the method of residues?

Suppose that we examine three cases in which the factors given below coincide with the occurrence of effect E.Which factor would the method of agreement suggest is responsible for E? Case 1: $a , b , c$ Case 2: $a , d , f$ Case 3: $a , g h$

Do the methods of agreement and difference show that factors are necessary or sufficient conditions?

Suppose that we examine three cases in which the factors given below coincide with the occurrence of effect E.Which factor would the method of agreement suggest is responsible for E? Case 1: $b , c , f , j , l , o$ Case 2: $a , e , f , i , k , n , p$ Case 3: $d , f , g h , m$

Quiz 12: Inductive Generalizations

I have observed that some of the bad smell in my house is caused by my cat.Which of the following observations would allow me to use the method of residues to show that there is a second cause of the bad smell?

Mill's method of residues is used when part of an effect (E) can already be explained by certain causal factors (such as a and b) .It provides evidence for an additional causal factor, c, by:

Does the method of residues show that a factor is a necessary or sufficient condition?

Mill's method of difference helps to identify causes by:

Suppose that I suspect that running my ceiling fan stirs up dust and causes my table to become dusty.How could I use the method of concomitant variations to confirm this?

Suppose that I suspect that the size of my pumpkins is primarily determined by the amount of sunlight each one receives.How could I use the method of concomitant variations to confirm this?

Does the method of concomitant variations show that a factor is a necessary or sufficient condition?

Mill's method of concomitant variations helps to identify causes by observing:

Which of the techniques for identifying causes is the only one that does not require us to have any initial knowledge or guesses about what causes the effect?

I want to know why there is so much water collecting in my basement.I know that the basement walls leak a little bit, allowing enough water in to stain the walls.But right now, even the carpeting is soggy.So I conclude that I also have a leaky pipe.Which method did I use to determine this?

Mill's method of agreement helps to identify causes by looking for:

Marie and Pierre Curie were working with an ore that contained uranium, but found that its radioactivity was higher than could be explained by the uranium in it.What conclusion would be suggested by the method of residues?

Suppose that we examine three cases in which the factors given below coincide with the occurrence of effect E.Which factor would the method of agreement suggest is responsible for E? Case 1: a,b,ca , b , ca,b,c Case 2: a,d,fa , d , fa,d,f Case 3: a,gha , g ha,gh

Do the methods of agreement and difference show that factors are necessary or sufficient conditions?

Suppose that we examine three cases in which the factors given below coincide with the occurrence of effect E.Which factor would the method of agreement suggest is responsible for E? Case 1: $a , b , c$ Case 2: $a , d , f$ Case 3: $a , g h$