Syllogistic Reasoning Flashcards
7 cards from real GCAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Syllogistic Reasoning flashcards as text
All fast runners are fit. Tom is not fit. What follows about Tom?
Answer: Tom is not a fast runner.
By contrapositive, if someone is not fit then they are not a fast runner.
Some roses are red. All red flowers are beautiful. Which must be true?
Answer: Some roses are beautiful.
The red roses must be beautiful, making at least some roses beautiful.
All A are B. Some B are C. No C are D. Which is a valid conclusion about A and D?
Answer: No conclusion about A and D.
Since 'some B are C' is particular, we cannot determine whether any A fall in that subset, making a conclusion about A and D impossible.
No lazy person succeeds. All successors are respected. Which is valid?
Answer: No conclusion about lazy and respected.
The premises don't connect lazy people to the respected group — lazy people are outside the successor set, but we don't know if the respected group extends beyond successors.
All judges are lawyers. All lawyers passed the bar. Sandra passed the bar. What follows?
Answer: Sandra might be a judge.
Passing the bar is necessary but not sufficient to be a lawyer or judge, so Sandra might or might not be a judge.
Some engineers are creative. Some creative people are musicians. Which is valid?
Answer: No conclusion about engineers and musicians.
Two particular premises sharing a middle term yield no valid conclusion.
All planets orbit a star. Earth orbits the Sun. The Sun is a star. Which conclusion is supported?
Answer: Earth might be a planet.
Earth meets the stated condition for being a planet, but the syllogism only confirms the condition is met, not the classification itself with certainty.