A chain broken by 'some' — Syllogisms Aptitude Question
A chain broken by 'some': Statements: Some doctors are teachers. Some teachers are singers. Conclusions: I. Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Syllogisms
- Section: Logical Reasoning
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 75 seconds
Question
Statements:
- Some doctors are teachers.
- Some teachers are singers.
Conclusions: I. Some doctors are singers. II. Some singers are teachers.
Which conclusion follows?
Options
- Only I
- Only II
- Both
- Neither
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: B. Only II
Worked solution
- Two 'some' premises prove nothing about doctors and singers, so I does not follow.
- 'Some teachers are singers' reverses to 'some singers are teachers': II follows.
Answer: Only II.
The idea
Two 'some' statements never combine. Check whether a conclusion is simply one premise restated — that is always valid for 'some'.
Shortcut. Draw teachers as a circle touching doctors on one side and singers on the other — nothing forces doctors and singers to meet, so I fails. II merely swaps the terms of statement 2.
Common trap. "Both" — chaining doctors → teachers → singers as though the teachers who are doctors must be the same teachers who sing.