Statement and Conclusion Questions

• Syllogism — “All beggars are poor.” Which conclusion is most reasonably drawn if “poor” and “rich” are mutually exclusive economic states in this context?
• Argument Form — “All good books help.” Given: “This book can help because all good books help.” What conclusion is logically safest?
• Inference from a Reported Statement “Hitesh told Mohit that a ghost lived by the peepal tree on the outskirts of the village.” What is the most reasonable inference about Hitesh?
• Logical Deduction – Identify the statement that is logically equivalent to the given rule Rule: To pass the examination, one must work hard.
• Critical Reasoning – Best inference from a labour-market forecast and industry comment Passage: U.S. Labour Ministry data indicate that by the year 2000 there will be a shortage of about 100,000 programmers. An industry spokesperson adds, “America needs Indian programmers. This is not only a question of investment but also of the talent with which Indian programmers are equipped.”
• Syllogism – What follows logically? Premises: 1) All books written by Prabhakar are textbooks. 2) Some of his books are published by ABC Publishing Company.
• Syllogism – Resolve the apparent contradiction Premises: 1) All students in my class are bright. 2) Manish is not bright. What follows?
• Everyday Logic – Deduction from a social practice Premises: • During Puja days, people visit those houses where Puja is performed, even without invitation. • Manmohan visited the house of his colleague Keshav during Puja days. What can be reasonably concluded?
• Syllogism (clarified) – What follows? Premises: 1) All guilty politicians were arrested. 2) Kishan and Chander are politicians and were among those arrested. What can be concluded?
• Quantified Statements – What follows from “most”? Statement: In the university examination, most of the candidates write in the Hindi medium.
• Logical Evaluation of Conclusions – Popularity abroad vs. at home Statements: “The best evidence of India’s glorious past is the growing popularity of Ayurvedic medicines in the West.” Conclusions: I. Ayurvedic medicines are not popular in India. II. Allopathic medicines are more popular in India.
• Proverb Interpretation – What necessarily follows? Proverb: “Death keeps no calendar.” Conclusions: I. Every person must die one day. II. Death can come at any time.
• Argument Evaluation – Alternative energy from wind Statements: Wind is an inexhaustible source of energy and an aerogenerator can convert it into electricity. Though not much has been done in this field, a survey shows vast potential for developing wind as an alternative source of energy. Conclusions: I. Energy by wind is a comparatively newly emerging field. II. The energy crisis can be dealt with by exploring more in the field of aero-generation.
• Logical reasoning — syllogism and conclusions Statements: • The average number of persons per household is 5 in urban areas, whereas it is 7 in rural areas. • The national average is 6. Conclusions to evaluate: I. Population per unit area in rural regions is higher than in urban regions. II. More persons live in the same household in rural areas compared to urban areas.
• Critical reasoning — interpret a proverb style claim Statement: • The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it. Conclusions to evaluate: I. Your life will be dull if you do not face a problem. II. To escape from problems, you should always have some solutions with you.
• Analytical reasoning — evaluate conclusions from a general claim Statement: • Parents are prepared to pay any price for an elite education for their children. Conclusions to evaluate: I. All parents these days are very well off. II. Parents have a strong passion for perfect development of their children through good schooling.
• Reasoning about policy change and what it implies Statement: • From the next academic year, students will have the option to drop Mathematics and Science for the school leaving certificate examination. Conclusions to evaluate: I. Students who are weak in Science and Mathematics will be admitted. II. Earlier, students did not have the choice to continue education without taking these subjects.
• Evaluate conclusions about ethics from a strong claim Statement: • It is almost impossible to survive and prosper in this world without sacrificing ethics and morality. Conclusions to evaluate: I. Society appreciates some concepts but may not uphold them. II. Concepts of ethics and morality are not practicable in life.
• Energy reasoning — what follows from a strong claim Statement: • Use of non conventional sources of energy will eliminate the energy crisis in the world. Conclusions to evaluate: I. Modern technology is gradually replacing conventional sources of energy. II. Excessive exploitation of environment has led to depletion of conventional sources of energy.
• Public administration reasoning — infer from a Commissioner’s pledge Statement: • Municipal Commissioner of city Z: “My first and foremost task is to beautify this city. If city X and city Y can do it, why can we not do it?” Conclusions to evaluate: I. People of city Z are unaware of the current ugliness of their city. II. The present Commissioner has worked in city X and city Y and has good experience of beautifying cities.