Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: Only conclusion II follows.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question deals with logical relationships among teachers, followers, and famous people. The problem uses some type statements, which indicate partial overlap between sets. You are required to determine which conclusions must hold in every situation that satisfies the given statements, not just in one possible picture. This is a standard test of your understanding of Venn diagram based reasoning for syllogism questions.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Statement 1: Some teachers are followers. At least one person is both a teacher and a follower.
- Statement 2: Some followers are famous. At least one person is both a follower and famous.
- The statements do not directly link teachers to famous people.
- Conclusions I and II must be checked strictly against these statements.
Concept / Approach:
When we see some A are B, we know there exists at least one element in the intersection of A and B. However, we are not told anything about other members of either set. Different some type statements involving the same middle set do not automatically guarantee a common element among all three sets. Thus we must carefully check whether a shared object is forced or whether it is only a possibility. A conclusion is valid only if it holds in every valid diagram that respects the statements.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: From Statement 1, mark at least one person who is both a teacher and a follower. This creates an overlap between the sets teachers and followers.
Step 2: From Statement 2, mark at least one person who is both a follower and famous. This creates an overlap between followers and famous people.
Step 3: Check Conclusion II first. Conclusion II says that some followers are teachers. This is simply a rewording of Statement 1. If some teachers are followers, then the very same individuals show that some followers are teachers. Therefore, Conclusion II definitely follows.
Step 4: Now test Conclusion I, which states that some teachers are famous. For this to be forced, the same follower who is a teacher in Statement 1 would also need to be the follower who is famous in Statement 2. However, the statements do not require that the two overlaps refer to the same person. It is perfectly possible that the teacher follower is not famous, and that a different follower is famous.
Step 5: Construct a counterexample: let one follower be a teacher but not famous, and let another follower be famous but not a teacher. Both statements are satisfied, but there is no person who is both teacher and famous. Hence Conclusion I does not necessarily follow.
Verification / Alternative check:
The counterexample method is enough to reject Conclusion I. Any valid syllogism must survive every possible diagram that respects the given statements. Since we can build at least one valid case where no teacher is famous, we know that Conclusion I is not logically guaranteed. In contrast, Conclusion II simply restates the overlap between teachers and followers and is therefore always true whenever Statement 1 is true.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- Options that include Conclusion I treat the overlaps as if they must involve the same individuals, which is not forced by the statements.
- Any option that omits Conclusion II ignores the direct implication of Statement 1.
- The option claiming that neither conclusion follows is incorrect because Conclusion II is a direct consequence of the first statement.
- The option that says the answer cannot be determined is also wrong, since we have a definite logical result for Conclusion II.
Common Pitfalls:
A common error is to join some type statements through a middle term and assume transitivity. Students often think that if some teachers are followers and some followers are famous, then some teachers must be famous. This is not valid unless the question explicitly forces the same individual to appear in both overlaps. Always check whether a link is guaranteed or only possible.
Final Answer:
Therefore, the only conclusion that definitely follows is Only conclusion II follows.
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