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.