Unit 6: Optional theme — Philosophy of science
Topic 6.1: Nature and methodologies of science Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Philosophy Topic 6.1. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.4
Deductive reasoning is different from induction because it:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.3
What is 'normal science' for Kuhn?
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.3
In Kuhn's picture, a 'paradigm' is:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.3
For Kuhn, what triggers a scientific revolution (a paradigm shift)?
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.2
Why does Popper think confirmations are 'cheap'?
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.4
Inductive reasoning is reasoning that goes:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.2
Why is Einstein's theory scientific for Popper?
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.2
For Popper, a theory counts as scientific only if it:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.1
True or false? 'Makes predictions' is a good test for telling science from pseudo-science.
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.2
One genuine problem for Popper's falsification is that:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.4
Fill the gap: the reasoning that leaps from observed cases to a general law about ALL cases is called ______.
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.3
Fill the gap: for Kuhn, everyday puzzle-solving inside a shared paradigm — not questioning the big picture — is called ______ science.
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.1
The best clue for telling science from pseudo-science is that:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.4
How is Popper's falsification a response to Hume's problem of induction?
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.2
Fill the gap: for Popper the mark of a scientific theory is ______ — it forbids something and dares the world to prove it wrong.
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.1
The demarcation problem is the problem of:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.1
Why doesn't 'it uses evidence' work as the line between science and pseudo-science?
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.2
'Conjecture and refutation' means science advances by:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.1
Scientific anti-realism claims that:
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2025• Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 6.1.3
An 'anomaly' in Kuhn's sense is:
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