Problem: Kitchen faucet's hot water is running but not getting hot.

Question

Indicate whether the test is symmetric or asymmetric.

Hypothesis: Hot water hasn't reached from the tank to the faucet yet.

Test: Run water for 10 more seconds, check if water becomes hot.
Question 9 options:

Symmetric

Asymmetric

Answer 1

The test you described is Asymmetric.

In an asymmetric test, the outcome is not expected to have the same results in both directions. In this case, running the water for 10 more seconds will either result in the water becoming hot (indicating that the hot water has reached the faucet) or it will remain cold, which means the problem persists. If the water does not get hot after 10 seconds, that provides one type of outcome (the problem is still there), but if it does get hot, that provides a different type of outcome (the issue was simply that the hot water hadn't reached the faucet).

So, the outcomes are not symmetric; they don't offer equivalent scenarios in both directions. Therefore, the test is asymmetric.