AON Deductive Reasoning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: All managers attend the Monday meeting. Sarah is a manager. Which conclusion must be true?
- Sarah sometimes attends the Monday meeting
- Sarah attends the Monday meeting (Correct answer)
- Sarah chairs the Monday meeting
- Sarah is the only manager at the meeting
Correct answer: Sarah attends the Monday meeting
Since all managers attend and Sarah is a manager, she must attend the Monday meeting.
Question 2: If a product fails quality control, it is sent for rework. Product X was NOT sent for rework. What can be concluded?
- Product X passed quality control (Correct answer)
- Product X was discarded
- Product X skipped quality control
- Product X failed quality control
Correct answer: Product X passed quality control
By contrapositive, if a product was not sent for rework, it did not fail quality control — meaning it passed.
Question 3: No reptiles are warm-blooded. All snakes are reptiles. Which statement must be true?
- Some snakes are warm-blooded
- All warm-blooded animals are reptiles
- No snakes are warm-blooded (Correct answer)
- Snakes can sometimes be warm-blooded
Correct answer: No snakes are warm-blooded
Since all snakes are reptiles and no reptiles are warm-blooded, no snakes can be warm-blooded.
Question 4: Every employee who completes training receives a certificate. Tom did not receive a certificate. What follows?
- Tom failed the training
- Tom did not complete the training (Correct answer)
- Tom's certificate was lost
- Tom is not an employee
Correct answer: Tom did not complete the training
By contrapositive, not receiving a certificate means Tom did not complete the training.
Question 5: Either the shipment arrives today or the project is delayed. The shipment did not arrive today. What must be true?
- The project will finish early
- The project is delayed (Correct answer)
- The shipment arrives tomorrow
- The project may or may not be delayed
Correct answer: The project is delayed
With an either/or statement, if one option fails the other must be true.
Question 6: All certified accountants passed the CPA exam. Maria passed the CPA exam. What can be concluded?
- Maria is a certified accountant
- Maria may or may not be a certified accountant (Correct answer)
- Maria is the best accountant
- Maria did not need the CPA exam
Correct answer: Maria may or may not be a certified accountant
Passing the CPA exam is necessary but not stated as sufficient for certification, so Maria may or may not be certified.
Question 7: If it is raining, the ground is wet. The ground is wet. Which conclusion is valid?
- It is definitely raining
- It is not raining
- It may or may not be raining (Correct answer)
- Rain is the only cause of wet ground
Correct answer: It may or may not be raining
Wet ground does not confirm rain because other causes could exist — this is the fallacy of affirming the consequent.
AON Deductive Reasoning 2
All managers attend the Monday meeting.
Sarah is a manager.
Which conclusion must be true?