Two unconnected statements — Syllogisms Aptitude Question
Two unconnected statements: Statements: Some cars are buses. Some buses are trains. Conclusions: I. Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Syllogisms
- Section: Logical Reasoning
- Difficulty: Hard
- Time target: 120 seconds
Question
Statements:
- Some cars are buses.
- Some buses are trains.
Conclusions: I. Some cars are trains. II. No car is a train.
Which conclusion follows?
Options
- Only I
- Only II
- Either I or II
- Neither
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: C. Either I or II
Worked solution
- Two 'some' premises never yield a definite conclusion, so neither I nor II is proved on its own.
- However, cars and trains must either overlap or not, and I and II are exactly those two cases.
- So either I or II holds — the complementary pair.
Answer: Either I or II.
The idea
When two conclusions are contradictory and between them exhaust every possibility, the answer is 'either/or'. Recognising that pair is what this question tests.
Shortcut. Some + some yields nothing, so test the pair: 'some cars are trains' and 'no car is a train' share both terms and contradict, so exactly one is true.
Common trap. "Neither" — correctly finding that neither is proved alone and missing that the two conclusions together exhaust every case.