LET’S TRY ONE
A key permits access through a lock. A password permits access to an account. The analogy compares the access-enabling roles.
Which item corresponds to the key?
The password
The key and password perform the stated access-enabling role.
Learning steps & teaching tips
Map a relevant relationship between two situations and identify where an analogy stops supporting a conclusion.
- Identify the relation that makes the first comparison work.
- Map the corresponding roles in the second situation.
- Check whether a proposed conclusion depends on a relevant shared mechanism or only a superficial similarity.
Try it together
Build an analogy for a familiar system. Label the matching roles and write one property that should not be transferred from the model.
Match the relationship, not just a shared word or appearance; an analogy can explain a structure without proving every property transfers.