Syllogisms Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: If either conclusion I or II follows

Neither conclusion is established: the peace that are wars are certainly not alliances, but the rest of peace is left open, so we can say neither that no peace is an alliance nor that some are. The two between them, however, cover both possibilities, so either I or II must hold.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Only III follows

Some idiots are people and all people are soft, so some idiots are soft - that is, some soft are idiots, conclusion III. Conclusion I asserts idiots who are not snakes, which need not exist, and conclusion II links people to snakes through a particular. Only III follows.

Answer: B

Correct answer: If only conclusion II follows

The lilies that are lotuses are, by the first statement, not roses - so some lotuses are not roses, conclusion II. Conclusion I excludes all lotuses from roses, which does not follow. Only II follows.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Only (2) conclusion follows

All cups are books and all books are shirts, so all cups are shirts - and therefore some shirts are cups, conclusion 2. Conclusion 1 says the opposite of what follows. Only 2 follows.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Both (1) and (2) follow

All actors are girls and all girls are beautiful, so all actors are beautiful - conclusion 1. And all actors being girls gives its converse, some girls are actors - conclusion 2. Both follow.

Answer: B

Correct answer: B

In B the reasoning runs through: all figs are oranges and all oranges are white, so all figs are white. A commits the same fault as before - cats and sick persons are both mad, which does not make them each other - and C draws a positive conclusion from two negative premises, which is never valid.

Answer: D

Correct answer: None of the four

Both statements are particular, and the books that are pens need not be the books that are pencils, so nothing links pens to pencils. Conclusions 3 and 4 make universals out of particulars. None of the four follows.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Neither (1) nor (2) follows

Conclusion 1 brings in green, a colour the statements never mention. Conclusion 2 needs the mangoes that are yellow to be the same as the mangoes that are tixo, and two “somes” give no such assurance. Neither follows.

Answer: D

Correct answer: None

In A the middle term “illegal” is undistributed: some drugs are illegal and marble is illegal, which does not make marble a drug. In B the third segment follows from the first premise alone, so it is not deduced from both. In C, “some keys do not open” need not touch the locks at all. None of the three qualifies.

Answer: B

Correct answer: If only conclusion II follows

The Odia who are Hindi are, by the first statement, not English - so some Hindi are not English, conclusion II. Conclusion I goes further and excludes all Hindi from English, which the statements do not warrant. Only II follows.