A Statement followed by Conclusion-I and Conclusion-II is given below. You have to take the Statement to be true even if it seems to be at variance from the commonly known facts. Read all Conclusions and then decide which of the given Conclusion(s) logically follows/follow from the Statement, disregarding the commonly known facts. Statement : Some cats are almirahs. Some almirahs are chairs. All chairs are tables. Conclusion-I : Certainly some almirahs are tables. Conclusion-II : Some cats may not be chairs. Which one of the following is correct ?
- (a) Only Conclusion-I
- (b) Only Conclusion-II
- (c) Both Conclusion-I and Conclusion-II ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) Neither Conclusion-I nor Conclusion-II
Why the answer is (c)
• The statement 'All chairs are tables' implies that the set of chairs is a subset of the set of tables.
• The statement 'Some almirahs are chairs' means there is an intersection between almirahs and chairs.
• Since the intersecting almirahs are also chairs, and all chairs are tables, those specific almirahs must be tables, making Conclusion-I ('Certainly some almirahs are tables') logically valid.
• The statement 'Some cats are almirahs' and 'Some almirahs are chairs' does not establish a direct link between cats and chairs.
• Therefore, it is possible that the cats which are almirahs are not the same almirahs that are chairs, meaning some cats may not be chairs, making Conclusion-II ('Some cats may not be chairs') logically valid.
• Since both conclusions follow from the premises, option (c) is the correct answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Only Conclusion-I
- This option is incorrect because Conclusion-II also logically follows from the statement.
- (b) Only Conclusion-II
- This option is incorrect because Conclusion-I also logically follows from the statement.
- (d) Neither Conclusion-I nor Conclusion-II
- This option is incorrect because both Conclusion-I and Conclusion-II logically follow from the statement.
Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, held on 10 October 2021. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.