Question

a wrestler’s ranking is based on his performance in the elite tournaments that are held six times a year. each wrestler has fifteen bouts per tournament, one per day over fifteen consecutive days. if he finishes the tournament with a winning record (eight victories or better), his ranking will rise. if he has a losing record, his ranking falls. if it falls far enough, he is booted from the elite rank entirely. the eighth victory in any tournament is therefore critical, the difference between promotion and demotion; it is roughly four times as valuable in the rankings as the typical victory.
which type of reasoning is being used here?
☑️ deductive
what piece of information suggests that some wrestlers will have an incentive to cheat in certain matches?
○ wrestlers’ rankings are based on their performances in elite tournaments.
○ a wrestler with a 7–7 record has more to gain from winning than someone with a record of 8–6 has to lose.
☑️ done

Explanation:

• For the first question: Deductive reasoning starts from general principles (like the ranking - based - on - tournament - performance rule) and applies them to specific cases. Here, the general rule about rankings (winning record makes ranking rise, losing record makes it fall) is used to reason about the wrestlers' situations, which is characteristic of deductive reasoning.
• For the second question: The statement "A wrestler with a 7 - 7 record has more to gain from winning than someone with a record of 8 - 6 has to lose" shows that there is an imbalance in the incentives. A wrestler on the cusp of getting an 8 - win (promotion - worthy) record (7 - 7) has a big incentive (promotion) to win, while a wrestler with 8 - 6 has less to lose (demotion is not as likely as promotion is for 7 - 7). This imbalance in incentives (more to gain for one type of wrestler in a particular match situation) suggests that some wrestlers (like 7 - 7 ones) may be more inclined to cheat in matches that can give them the 8th win.

Answer:

• First question: deductive
• Second question: A wrestler with a 7 - 7 record has more to gain from winning than someone with a record of 8 - 6 has to lose.