SSC CGL (Prelims) General: Syllogism questions with solutions

Q1. Statements: 1. All pens are books. 2. Some books are papers. Conclusions: I. Some pens are papers. II. Some books are pens.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: Only II follows

From 'All pens are books', it follows that some books are pens. So conclusion II follows. But 'Some books are papers' does not ensure that those books are pens, so conclusion I does not follow.

Q2. Statements: A ≥ B = C < D, E > C ≤ F. Conclusions: I. D > B II. A ≥ C

1. Only I is true.
2. Only II is true.
3. Both I and II are true.
4. Neither I nor II is true.

Answer: Both I and II are true.

From A ≥ B = C < D, we get B = C and C < D, so D > B is true. Also, since A ≥ B and B = C, it follows that A ≥ C, so both conclusions are true.

Q3. Statements: 1. All books are useful. 2. Some useful things are expensive. Conclusions: I. Some books are expensive. II. All expensive things are useful.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither I nor II follow

Answer: Neither I nor II follow

From the statements, books are a subset of useful things, and some useful things are expensive. But there is no direct link between books and expensive things, so conclusion I does not follow. Also, we cannot say all expensive things are useful from 'some useful things are expensive', so conclusion II also does not follow.

Q4. Statement: All airports have security checks. Conclusions: I. Passengers are screened at airports. II. Crimes cannot happen at airports.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: Only I follows

From the statement that all airports have security checks, it is reasonable to conclude that passengers are screened at airports. However, the statement does not imply that crimes cannot happen at airports.

Q5. Statement: 1. All doctors are educated. 2. All educated people are respected. Conclusions: I. All doctors are respected. II. Some respected people are doctors.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: Both follow

Since all doctors are educated and all educated people are respected, all doctors must be respected. Also, if all doctors are respected, then some respected people can be doctors. Hence, both conclusions follow.

Q6. Statement: 1. All teachers are educated. 2. Some educated people are writers. 3. No writer is unemployed. Conclusions: I. Some teachers are not unemployed. II. Some writers are educated.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither I nor II follows

Answer: Only II follows

Conclusion II follows because some educated people are writers, so some writers are educated. Conclusion I does not follow because there is no definite link between teachers and unemployment.

Q7. Statement: 1. All pens are pencils. 2. Some pencils are erasers. 3. No eraser is a sharpener. Conclusions: I. Some pens may be erasers. II. No pen is a sharpener.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: Only I follows

Conclusion I is possible because pens are a subset of pencils, and some pencils are erasers; there is no contradiction in some pens being erasers. Conclusion II does not definitely follow because no direct relation between pens and sharpeners is given. Hence, only I follows.

Q8. Statements: 1. Some fruits are apples. 2. All apples are good. Conclusions: I. Some fruits are good. II. All good are fruits.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither I nor II follows

Answer: Only I follows

Since some fruits are apples and all apples are good, those fruits that are apples are also good. So conclusion I follows. Conclusion II does not follow because we cannot say all good things are fruits.

Q9. Statement: 1. All books are papers. 2. No paper is plastic. Conclusions: I. No book is plastic. II. Some plastics are books.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither I nor II follows

Answer: Only I follows

Since all books are papers and no paper is plastic, books also cannot be plastic. So conclusion I follows. Conclusion II does not follow because it contradicts the given statements.

Q10. Read the following statements carefully and identify the conclusion that follows. Statements: 1. All cars are vehicles. 2. Some vehicles are bikes. 3. No bike is a truck. Conclusions: I. Some cars are not trucks. II. All bikes are vehicles.

1. Only I follows.
2. Only II follows.
3. Both I and II follow.
4. Neither I nor II follows.

Answer: Neither I nor II follows.

Conclusion I does not follow because there is no direct or indirect relation given between cars and trucks. Conclusion II does not follow because only some vehicles are bikes, not all bikes are vehicles.

Q11. Read the given statements and conclusions carefully. Decide which of the given conclusions is/are definitely true from the statements. Statements: 1. All fruits are healthy. 2. Some healthy things are vegetables. Conclusions: I. Some fruits are vegetables. II. Some vegetables are healthy.

1. Both Conclusion I and Conclusion II are TRUE.
2. Neither Conclusion I nor Conclusion II is TRUE.
3. Only Conclusion II is TRUE.
4. Only Conclusion I is TRUE.

Answer: Only Conclusion II is TRUE.

Conclusion I does not follow because there is no statement connecting fruits and vegetables. Conclusion II follows because 'some healthy things are vegetables' directly implies that some vegetables are healthy.

Q12. Statement: 1. Some A are B. 2. All B are C. 3. No C is D. Conclusions: I. Some A are C. II. Some B are not D.

1. Only I
2. Only II
3. Both
4. Neither

Answer: Both

Since some A are B and all B are C, the A that are B must also be C, so conclusion I follows. Also, because all B are inside C and no C is D, no B can be D, so some B are not D follows.

Q13. Statement: 1. All teachers are educated. 2. No uneducated person is respected. Conclusions: I. All teachers are respected. II. No educated person is uneducated.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither I nor II follows

Answer: Only II follows

From "No uneducated person is respected," we can infer that respected persons are not uneducated, which supports conclusion II. However, "All teachers are educated" does not imply that all teachers are respected, because no statement connects teachers with respect. So only II follows.

Q14. Statement: 1. All pens are pencils. 2. Some pencils are red. 3. No red is green. Conclusions: I. Some pens are not green. II. All greens are pencils.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither I nor II follows

Answer: Neither I nor II follows

From the statements, we know all pens lie inside pencils, and some pencils are red, but nothing says any pen exists. So conclusion I does not necessarily follow. Also, no red is green does not imply all greens are pencils, so conclusion II also does not follow.

Q15. Statement: 1. All cups are plates. 2. Some plates are trays. 3. No tray is a bowl. Conclusions: I. Some cups are not bowls. II. All bowls are trays.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: Only I follows

Since all cups are plates and some plates are trays, the cups may or may not overlap with trays. But because no tray is a bowl, the cups that are trays cannot be bowls, so conclusion I can follow in the intended syllogism pattern. Conclusion II does not follow because nothing says all bowls are trays.

Q16. Statement: 1. All cats are dogs. 2. All dogs are animals. Conclusions: I. All cats are animals. II. Some animals are cats.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: Both I and II follow

All cats are dogs and all dogs are animals, so all cats are animals by transitivity. Also, if all cats are animals, then at least some animals are cats in the standard syllogism interpretation used in such questions.