Reasoning and Knowledge

Objective: Understand conjecture and choose it accurately in context.

conjecture (noun): An explanation or conclusion that seems possible but has not been established by sufficient evidence. Context sentences 1. Mara's conjecture that the anonymous poem was written by a student remained untested. 2. The astronomer offered a conjecture about the unusual signal while acknowledging that several explanations were possible. 3. A convincing experiment could turn his conjecture about the material into a well-supported conclusion.

Objective: Understand supposition and choose it accurately in context.

supposition (noun): An idea accepted as true for the purpose of reasoning, even though it has not been proved. Context sentences 1. The budget exercise begins with the supposition that every department will receive the same funding. 2. Under the supposition that the witness remembered the date correctly, the investigators reconstructed the journey. 3. When that supposition proved false, the team had to reconsider every calculation based on it.

Objective: Understand presumption and choose it accurately in context.

presumption (noun): A belief treated as true unless evidence shows otherwise. Context sentences 1. The archive operates with a presumption that an unsigned document belongs to the collection in which it was found unless contrary evidence appears. 2. Her presumption of the narrator's honesty weakened when two accounts of the same event conflicted. 3. The committee's presumption in favor of keeping existing courses could be overcome by evidence of declining demand.

Objective: Understand axiom and choose it accurately in context.

axiom (noun): A basic statement accepted without proof as a starting point within a system of reasoning. Context sentences 1. The geometry text introduces an axiom before using it to prove several theorems. 2. Within her formal model, the axiom that every object has a unique label serves as a starting rule. 3. The philosopher asked whether an apparent axiom should be accepted without further argument.

Objective: Understand tenet and choose it accurately in context.

tenet (noun): A central belief or principle held by a person, group, or school of thought. Context sentences 1. A central tenet of the cooperative is that workers should share in major decisions. 2. The critic challenged the movement's tenet that artistic value depends on originality. 3. Although its methods changed, the school retained its tenet that education should encourage independent thought.

Objective: Understand proposition and choose it accurately in context.

proposition (noun): A statement or claim that can be considered, argued for, or evaluated as true or false. Context sentences 1. The essay defends the proposition that public libraries strengthen civic life. 2. Before debating the proposition, the students clarified what its key terms meant. 3. One counterexample was enough to defeat the proposition that every character acted from selfish motives.

Objective: Understand deduction and choose it accurately in context.

deduction (noun): A conclusion that follows necessarily from given facts or premises. Context sentences 1. From the rules that all finalists must submit portfolios and Lena was a finalist, his deduction was that Lena had to submit a portfolio. 2. The deduction is reliable only if its premises are true and its reasoning is valid. 3. Her deduction that the number was even followed directly from the statement that it was divisible by two.

Objective: Understand extrapolation and choose it accurately in context.

extrapolation (noun): An estimate about an unobserved situation made by extending a pattern found in known information. Context sentences 1. The planner's extrapolation extended the town's recent growth rate into the next decade. 2. An extrapolation from a short trial may fail if conditions change over a longer period. 3. The graph distinguishes measured values from the extrapolation beyond the final observation.

Objective: Understand synthesis and choose it accurately in context.

synthesis (noun): The combination of ideas or information from different sources into a connected whole. Context sentences 1. Her synthesis of interview accounts and financial records explained why the project had stalled. 2. The final chapter offers a synthesis of the book's competing perspectives on justice. 3. A successful synthesis shows how sources relate instead of merely listing what each one says.

Objective: Understand paradox and choose it accurately in context.

paradox (noun): A statement or situation that seems contradictory but may reveal a truth or a problem in the reasoning. Context sentences 1. The essay explores the paradox that admitting uncertainty can make an argument more persuasive. 2. The character's pursuit of complete independence creates a paradox when it leaves her dependent on constant help. 3. The apparent paradox disappeared once the students noticed that the word 'free' had two different meanings.