Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: Both I and II follow.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This is a standard syllogism question involving everyday terms: wheat, grain, and flour. The two statements describe how these three sets are related. Your task is to decide whether each of the two conclusions must be true whenever the statements are true. This type of problem is very common in exams and is usually solved by thinking in terms of simple set diagrams.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Statement 1: All wheat is grain. The set wheat is completely inside the set grain.
- Statement 2: Some wheat is flour. At least one part of wheat is also flour.
- Conclusion I: Some grain is flour.
- Conclusion II: Some flour is wheat.
- We assume that the classes wheat and flour are non empty, since the second statement refers to some wheat as flour.
Concept / Approach:
From all wheat is grain we know that every unit of wheat that exists is a type of grain. From some wheat is flour we know that there is at least one item that simultaneously belongs to the sets wheat and flour. Because that item is wheat, it is also grain. Thus we can derive overlaps between grain and flour and between flour and wheat. A conclusion about some type overlap is valid if the existence of such an element is guaranteed by the statements.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Draw a large circle for grain. Inside it, draw a smaller circle for wheat, because all wheat is grain.
Step 2: From Statement 2, mark at least one point that lies both in the wheat circle and in the flour set. This point represents wheat that has been ground into flour.
Step 3: Since this point lies in the wheat set and wheat is fully inside the grain set, the same point automatically lies in the grain set. Therefore, there exists at least one item that is both grain and flour. This supports Conclusion I: some grain is flour.
Step 4: The same point shows that at least one item is both flour and wheat. That is exactly what Conclusion II says: some flour is wheat. Therefore Conclusion II also definitely follows.
Step 5: Both conclusions are based on the same overlapping element created by the combination of the two statements. Hence both conclusions must be true whenever the statements are true.
Verification / Alternative check:
Take a simple real world analogy. Imagine a sack that contains only wheat. By Statement 1, everything in that sack is grain. Now suppose some of that wheat is milled into flour as per Statement 2. That milled part is still wheat by source, still grain by category, and now also flour by processed form. So that portion is simultaneously grain, wheat, and flour. It clearly shows that some grain is flour and some flour is wheat. No variation in the remaining grain or flour can change this basic fact as long as the two statements hold.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- Options that accept only one conclusion ignore the obvious symmetry in the overlapping element.
- The option that rejects both conclusions contradicts the direct logical implication of the overlap between wheat, grain, and flour.
- The cannot be determined option is incorrect because the existence of wheat that is flour is enough to guarantee both conclusions.
Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes underestimate the power of a some type statement and believe that no further conclusion can be drawn. Others misread all wheat is grain as all grain is wheat, which is the reverse and not given. In this question the information is very clear and concrete, so it is a good reminder that simple statements can still yield definite and strong conclusions.
Final Answer:
Therefore, both conclusions logically follow from the given statements. The correct answer is Both I and II follow.
Discussion & Comments