Statements: Some tigers are goats. All goats are cows. Conclusions: I. All…
2025
Statements:
Some tigers are goats.
All goats are cows.
Conclusions:
I. All cows are goats.
II. Some tigers are cows.
- A.
Only conclusion I is correct.
- B.
Only conclusion II is correct.
- C.
Either I or II is correct.
- D.
Neither I nor II is correct.
Attempted by 63 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In statement-based syllogism questions, a definite conclusion must hold in every diagram consistent with the given statements. When a particular statement ("some A are B") shares its predicate term with a universal statement ("all B are C"), the particular's shared region is always carried into C, so "some A are C" is a certain conclusion. But a universal statement ("all B are C") only converts by limitation to "some C are B" — it never guarantees "all C are B", because C can contain elements outside B in a valid diagram.
Apply this to the given premises: some tigers overlap with goats, and all goats sit inside cows.
Since every goat is a cow, the tiger-goat overlap region is itself inside cows — so some tigers are definitely cows in every valid diagram. Conclusion II holds.
"All goats are cows" only licenses "some cows are goats" by conversion; cows may contain members that are not goats, so "all cows are goats" is not forced. Conclusion I fails.
Cross-check: draw a diagram where the cows circle also contains other animals besides goats (still satisfying both premises) — conclusion I breaks in that diagram, while the tiger-goat overlap remains inside cows regardless, so conclusion II survives every diagram. Hence only conclusion II is correct.