Extrapolation & Inference

Making Extrapolation & Inferences

 (Sourcebook for Teaching Science 16.6) An extrapolation is an inference based on the assumption that trends continue beyond the set of data collected.  Scientists often extrapolate from laboratory data to the real world.  For example, cancer researchers cannot perform experiments on human subjects, but can do so on laboratory rats.  Such researchers may conclude that chemicals are carcinogenic to humans based solely upon data collected from rats and other laboratory animals.  To make such conclusions, it is necessary to extrapolate from rats to the human population.