More Questions from Syllogism

Syllogism – Universal subset with unrelated particular: Statements: 1) All trees are leaves. 2) Some fruits are leaves. Conclusions: I) Some fruits are trees. II) Some leaves are trees. Identify which conclusions are compelled by the premises.

Verbal Reasoning Syllogism Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
  • A
    Only Conclusion I follows
  • B
    Only Conclusion II follows
  • C
    Both Conclusions I and II follow
  • D
    Neither Conclusion I nor II follows
  • E
    None of these

Answer

Correct Answer: Only Conclusion II follows

Explanation

Introduction / Context:This item probes existential import and subset reasoning. Premise (1) nests Trees within Leaves; Premise (2) makes Fruits overlap Leaves.

Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Trees ⊆ Leaves.
  • ∃ Fruits∩Leaves.

Concept / Approach:Conclusion I requires Fruits∩Trees ≠ 0, which is not guaranteed. Conclusion II claims the existence of at least one Tree (hence a Leaf that is a Tree). In standard exam convention, universal classes are assumed non-empty unless stated otherwise, allowing II.

Step-by-Step Solution:C1: “Some fruits are trees” – not forced; the fruit-leaf overlap can be outside Trees entirely.C2: “Some leaves are trees” – with non-emptiness assumed for the class Trees, at least one Tree exists and is a Leaf, so II follows.

Verification / Alternative check:Countermodel for I: Place Fruits in the leaves region disjoint from Trees. Premises hold; I fails. For II, any non-empty Trees set suffices.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:“Both” and “Only I” are too strong; “Neither” ignores the standard non-emptiness convention used in reasoning questions.

Common Pitfalls:Confusion over existential import. Many learners incorrectly try to infer I from the separate facts about Leaves.

Final Answer:Only Conclusion II follows.

Discussion & Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion