A statement is followed by two conclusions numbered I & II. You have to assume everything in the statement to be true, then consider the two conclusions together and decide which of them logically follows. Statement : Nowadays parents are prepared to pay any fee for an elite education institute for the perfect development of their children. Conclusions : I Parents have an obsessive passion for a perfect development of their children through good education institute. II These days all parents are very well off.
- (1)Only conclusion I follows
- (2)Only conclusion II follows
- (3)Both conclusions follows
- (4)Neither I nor II conclusion follows
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), Only conclusion I follows.
Take the statement as true: nowadays parents are prepared to pay any fee for an elite education institute for the perfect development of their children.
What the statement carries: a readiness to pay without limit ("any fee"), an aim ("perfect development") and a means ("an elite education institute").
Conclusion I says parents have an obsessive passion for a perfect development of their children through good education institute. A readiness to pay any fee for that aim is a commitment without limit, which is what "obsessive passion" describes, and the aim and means match. I follows.
Conclusion II says these days all parents are very well off. Being prepared to pay is not the same as being able to pay, and the statement says nothing about wealth. "All" and "very well off" go beyond it. II does not follow.
So the answer is Only conclusion I follows.
The idea to remember: a conclusion can restate how strong an attitude in the statement is; it cannot add a fact, such as wealth, that the statement does not give.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)Only conclusion II follows — Option (2) accepts the conclusion that adds a fact the statement does not contain. Willingness to pay any fee says nothing about how much money parents have, and "all parents" widens the statement.
It also rejects conclusion I, which restates the statement's own point: a commitment without limit to perfect development through education.
- (3)Both conclusions follows — Option (3) rightly accepts conclusion I but also accepts conclusion II. II does not follow.
Being prepared to pay any fee shows an attitude, not a bank balance. The statement gives no information about parents' wealth, and it does not speak of all parents.
- (4)Neither I nor II conclusion follows — Option (4) rightly rejects conclusion II but also rejects conclusion I. I follows.
A readiness to pay any fee for the perfect development of children is the unlimited commitment that "obsessive passion" names. Its aim, perfect development, and its means, an education institute, are both in the statement.
Concept
In statement-and-conclusions reasoning, the statement is taken as true, and a conclusion follows only if the statement's content establishes it.
A conclusion can restate or draw out what the statement shows, including how strong a feeling or commitment is.
A conclusion fails when it adds a fact the statement does not contain, such as wealth, a past, or a cause, or when it widens the statement with words like "all".
Willingness and ability are different claims: a statement that people are prepared to do something does not show they are able to.
RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists "Statements and Conclusion" under "Logical Reasoning (Deductive, Inductive, Abductive)" in Reasoning & Mental Ability.
That heading names three kinds of reasoning. Deductive reasoning draws what must be true if the premises are true. Inductive reasoning generalises from observed cases. Abductive reasoning proposes a likely explanation for an observation.
A likely explanation, such as "they can pay because they are rich", can still be false, and a statement about willingness does not establish it.
Key facts
- In statement-and-conclusions reasoning, the statement is taken as true, and a conclusion follows only if the statement establishes it.
- Being prepared to pay shows willingness; it does not establish the ability to pay.
- "Any fee" marks a commitment without limit, which conclusion I calls an obsessive passion.
- Conclusion II adds "all" and "very well off", neither of which the statement contains.
- Deductive reasoning draws what must be true; inductive reasoning generalises; abductive reasoning proposes a likely explanation.
Only conclusion I follows: option (1).
Study next
Common traps
- Reading willingness as wealth. Parents prepared to pay any fee are not shown to be very well off.
- Rejecting a conclusion for strong wording alone. "Obsessive passion" is strong, but so is "prepared to pay any fee" for "perfect development".
- Turning "parents" into "all parents". The statement speaks of parents nowadays; conclusion II adds "all".
A question can give a statement with two conclusions and four fixed choices, as this one does.
A question can also build one conclusion that restates the statement and another that adds a fact, a cause or the word "all".
Related PYQs
A statement is followed by two conclusions I and II. You have to assume everything in the statement to be true, then consider the two conclusions and decide which of them logically follows : Statement : After joining, Municipal Commissioner told to people of city “A’ – “My first and foremost task is to beautify this city like Indore.” Conclusions : I. The people of city “A” are not aware about the present condition of the city. II. The Commissioner has worked in Indore and has good experience of beautifying cities.
- (1) Neither conclusion I nor conclusion II follows.
- (2) Both of the conclusions follow.
- (3) Only conclusion II follows.
- (4) Only conclusion I follows.
Answer(1)
Same format of a statement with two conclusions. On a new Municipal Commissioner saying his first task is to beautify city "A" like Indore, RPSC's key accepts neither conclusion, one about the people's awareness and one about his experience in Indore; here one of the two conclusions follows.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Statement : Many people in the city now travel to work by metro rail instead of by car. Conclusions : I. The metro rail carries many of the city's people to work. II. All the people of the city have sold their cars. Which of the conclusions logically follows?
- (a)Only conclusion I follows
- (b)Only conclusion II follows
- (c)Both conclusions follow
- (d)Neither conclusion follows
Answer(1) — The statement says many people now travel to work by metro rail, so I follows. II adds "all" and a sale of cars, which the statement does not mention, so it does not. Option (2) reverses them, option (3) accepts II, and option (4) rejects I. - practice — not a real PYQ
Statement : The shop was crowded all day during its festival sale. Conclusions : I. Every customer who came to the shop bought something. II. Many people came to the shop during its festival sale. Which of the conclusions logically follows?
- (a)Only conclusion I follows
- (b)Only conclusion II follows
- (c)Both conclusions follow
- (d)Neither conclusion follows
Answer(2) — A shop crowded all day during its sale shows that many people came during the sale, so II follows. A crowd does not show that every customer bought something, so I does not. Option (1) reverses them, option (3) accepts I, and option (4) rejects II.