Implication check – What can be concluded from “All beggars are poor”? Assume standard category meanings for “beggar”, “poor”, and “rich”.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: If A is a beggar, then A is not rich.

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
We test typical aptitude-exam reading of socioeconomic labels: “All beggars are poor” is taken with the everyday background that “rich” and “poor” are mutually exclusive. Within that convention, the question asks for a safe implication.



Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Premise: Beggar ⊆ Poor.
  • Background convention in such questions: Poor ∩ Rich = ∅ (disjoint economic categories).


Concept / Approach:
From Beggar ⊆ Poor and Poor ∩ Rich = ∅, it follows that Beggar ∩ Rich = ∅. Hence any specific beggar cannot be rich. Be careful not to invert the subset (which would claim all poor are beggars).



Step-by-Step Solution:
Take any individual x. If x is a Beggar, then x is Poor (by premise).If x is Poor, then x is not Rich (by background disjointness).Therefore, if x is a Beggar, x is not Rich.



Verification / Alternative check:
Venn diagram: Beggar region sits entirely inside Poor; Rich is disjoint from Poor. Hence Beggar and Rich do not overlap.



Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • “All poor are beggars” reverses the subset.
  • “If A is rich then not a beggar” requires Rich ⇒ not Poor; while commonly assumed, the logically safest choice focused on the given premise is the beggar-focused conditional (option D).
  • “If A is not rich then not a beggar” is invalid; non-rich includes poor and middle-income, and could include beggars.


Common Pitfalls:
Converse and inverse errors when handling subset statements.



Final Answer:
If A is a beggar, then A is not rich.

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