Read the given statements and conclusions carefully. Assuming that the…
2025
Read the given statements and conclusions carefully. Assuming that the
information given in the statements is true, even if it appears to be at
variance with commonly known facts, decide which of the given conclusions
logically follow(s) from the statements.
Statements:
All tables are mugs.
Some mugs are bats.
Some bats are chocolates.
Conclusions:
(I) Some chocolates are tables.
(II) Some bats are tables.
- A.
Only conclusion (II) follows.
- B.
Neither conclusion (I) nor (II) follows.
- C.
Both conclusions (I) and (II) follow.
- D.
Only conclusion (I) follows.
Attempted by 4 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: A syllogism connects two end terms only through premises that share a common middle term, and two rules decide whether that connection is guaranteed to hold. Two particular ('some') premises placed one after another never yield a valid conclusion, because 'some' does not distribute either of its terms. Likewise, a universal premise of the form 'All A are B' followed by a particular premise 'Some B are C' does not by itself fix any relationship between A and C, since the B-elements that overlap with A need not be the same B-elements that overlap with C.
Application:
Statements 1 and 2 read 'All tables are mugs' (universal) followed by 'Some mugs are bats' (particular). This All-then-Some pairing does not fix any tables-bats relationship, so the chain behind conclusion (II) is not established.
Statements 2 and 3 read 'Some mugs are bats' followed by 'Some bats are chocolates' - two particular premises in a row. Two particulars never yield a valid conclusion, so no tables-chocolates relationship travels through this three-statement chain either, leaving conclusion (I) unestablished.
Conclusion (II) would need a firm chain through statements 1-2, and conclusion (I) would need a firm chain through all three statements; since neither chain is validly established, neither conclusion is forced to be true by the given statements.
Cross-check: A single concrete case satisfying all three statements confirms this. Let tables = {T1}; mugs = {T1, M1, M2} (T1 makes 'all tables are mugs' true); bats = {M2, B1} (M2 makes 'some mugs are bats' true); chocolates = {B1, C1} (B1 makes 'some bats are chocolates' true). In this case T1 is the only table, and T1 is neither a bat nor a chocolate, so both 'some bats are tables' and 'some chocolates are tables' are false even though every given statement holds - proving neither conclusion is a necessary consequence.
Since neither the bats-tables link nor the chocolates-tables link can be guaranteed, the given statements support neither conclusion (I) nor conclusion (II).