On the basis of the given statements, find out which conclusion will follow:
Statements:
Some trees are birds. Some birds are rice. No rice is wheat.
Conclusions:
(I) Some trees are wheat.
(II) Some trees are wheat is a possibility.
(III) Some birds are not wheat.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Only conclusions (II) and (III) follow
A conclusion follows only if it is true in every diagram that fits the statements. A conclusion that something “is a possibility” follows if at least one diagram that fits the statements shows it.
“Some trees are birds”: the circles of trees and birds overlap
“Some birds are rice”: the circles of birds and rice overlap
“No rice is wheat”: the circles of rice and wheat do not touch; nothing is said about trees and wheat
Conclusion (I) (Some trees are wheat) does not follow: the wheat circle can also be drawn away from the trees circle, and that diagram still fits all three statements.
Conclusion (II) (Some trees are wheat is a possibility) follows: no statement keeps trees and wheat apart, so the wheat circle may overlap the trees circle, as the dashed circle shows.
Conclusion (III) (Some birds are not wheat) follows: some birds are rice, and no rice is wheat, so those birds are not wheat (the green part).