GCAT - General Cognitive Ability Syllogistic Reasoning Questions and Answers

Question 1

Read the following statements:
1. All engineers are proficient with computers.
2. Some people who are proficient with computers are also artists.
Based only on these statements, which of the following conclusions is logically valid?

Accepted Answer

A conclusion cannot be logically drawn.

Answer

The premises establish that engineers are a subset of 'people proficient with computers'. They also state that the group 'artists' has some overlap with 'people proficient with computers'. However, we do not know if the artist overlap includes any engineers. The artists who are proficient with computers could be entirely separate from the engineers. Therefore, no certain conclusion can be drawn about the relationship between engineers and artists.

Question 2

Consider the following premises:
1. No projects using the 'Agile' methodology are approved without a security review.
2. The 'Odyssey' project was approved.
What can be logically concluded from this information?

Accepted Answer

The 'Odyssey' project had a security review.

Answer

The first premise can be rephrased as a conditional: If a project uses the 'Agile' methodology, then it is NOT approved without a security review. The second premise tells us the 'Odyssey' project was approved. This means it did not meet the condition of 'not approved without a security review'. Therefore, it must have had a security review. We cannot conclude anything about which methodology it used, only that it fulfilled the approval requirement.

Question 3

Review the following statements:
1. All valid reports are signed by a manager.
2. Some reports on the shared drive are not signed by a manager.
Which of the following statements is a logical deduction from the information above?

Accepted Answer

Some reports on the shared drive are not valid reports.

Answer

The first premise states a necessary condition for a report to be valid: it must be signed by a manager. The second premise states that some reports on the shared drive lack this necessary signature. Therefore, it logically follows that those specific reports on the shared drive that are not signed cannot be valid.

Question 4

You are given the following information about company teams:
1. All members of the Marketing team are proficient in social media.
2. No members of the Finance team are proficient in social media.
Based only on these premises, which conclusion is unavoidable?

Accepted Answer

No member of the Marketing team is also a member of the Finance team.

Answer

The premises establish a clear dividing line based on the skill 'proficient in social media'. Since all Marketing members have this skill and no Finance members have it, the two groups are mutually exclusive. There can be no overlap between them.

Question 5

In a hospital's protocol, the following rules apply:
1. If a patient is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), they are monitored continuously.
2. Patient X is not being monitored continuously.
What must be true about Patient X?

Accepted Answer

Patient X is not in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Answer

This is an example of a logical form called Modus Tollens. The first premise is 'If P, then Q' (If in ICU, then monitored). The second premise is 'not Q' (not monitored). The valid conclusion is therefore 'not P' (not in ICU). The other options are possible explanations but are not logical certainties based *only* on the given premises.

GCAT - General Cognitive Ability Test Practice Test

GCAT - General Cognitive Ability Test Practice Test

GCAT - General Cognitive Ability Syllogistic Reasoning Questions and Answers