Some fruits are apples — Syllogisms Aptitude Question
Some fruits are apples: Statements: Some fruits are apples. No apple is sour. Conclusions: I. Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Syllogisms
- Section: Logical Reasoning
- Difficulty: Hard
- Time target: 90 seconds
Question
Statements:
- Some fruits are apples.
- No apple is sour.
Conclusions: I. Some fruits are not sour. II. No fruit is sour.
Which conclusion follows?
Options
- Only I
- Only II
- Both
- Neither
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: A. Only I
Worked solution
- Some fruits are apples and no apple is sour, so those fruits are not sour: I follows.
- Fruits that are not apples could be sour, so II is too strong.
Answer: Only I.
The idea
Carry the negative only as far as the overlap goes. Beyond it, nothing is known.
Shortcut. Standard pattern: 'Some A are B' + 'No B is C' gives 'Some A are not C' — some fruits (the apples) are not sour.
Common trap. "Both" — spreading 'no apple is sour' to all fruits; fruits that are not apples may be sour.