SSC MTS Syllogism โ Study Material, 16 PYQs & Practice MCQs | ZestExam
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SSC MTS Syllogism
Study Material โ 16 PYQs (2023โ2023) ยท Concept Notes ยท Shortcuts
SSC MTS Syllogism is a frequently tested subtopic โ 16 previous year questions from 2023โ2023 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
16 questions from actual SSC MTS papers ยท all shown free ยท click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. No politicians are saints.
2. Some honest people are saints.
Conclusion: Some honest people are not politicians.
Is the conclusion valid?
Statements:
1. All teachers are educated.
2. Some educated people are doctors.
Conclusion: Some doctors are teachers.
Is the conclusion valid?
Exam Q 32023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All fruits are healthy.
2. All apples are fruits.
Conclusion: All apples are healthy.
Is the conclusion valid?
Exam Q 42023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. No reptiles are mammals.
2. All snakes are reptiles.
Conclusion: No snakes are mammals.
Is the conclusion valid?
Exam Q 52023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. Some athletes are vegetarians.
2. All vegetarians are health-conscious.
Conclusion: All athletes are health-conscious.
Is the conclusion valid?
Exam Q 62023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All birds have wings.
2. Some animals with wings are not birds.
Conclusion: Which of the following must be true?
Either: Some animals with wings are birds, OR No animals with wings are birds.
Exam Q 72023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All poets are creative.
2. No creative person is lazy.
3. Some writers are lazy.
Conclusion: Either all writers are poets, or some writers are not creative.
Which statement best describes the validity of this conclusion?
Exam Q 82023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All teachers are educated.
2. Some educated people are not disciplined.
Conclusion: Some teachers are not disciplined.
Which of the following is true about the above conclusion?
Exam Q 92023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. No reptile is a mammal.
2. All snakes are reptiles.
3. Some cold-blooded animals are snakes.
Conclusion: Some cold-blooded animals are not mammals.
Is the conclusion valid?
Exam Q 102023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All fruits are nutritious.
2. Some nutritious things are expensive.
3. No vegetable is a fruit.
Conclusion: Some vegetables are not nutritious.
Is the conclusion logically valid?
Exam Q 112023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All honest people are trustworthy.
2. Some employees are not trustworthy.
3. No dishonest person is an employee.
Conclusion: Some employees are not honest.
Which of the following best evaluates this conclusion?
Exam Q 122023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All philosophers are critical thinkers.
2. Some critical thinkers are not scientists.
3. No scientist is a philosopher.
Which of the following conclusions is definitely true?
A) All philosophers are scientists.
B) Some philosophers are not scientists.
C) All critical thinkers are philosophers.
D) Some scientists are philosophers.
Exam Q 132023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. No reptile is a mammal.
2. All snakes are reptiles.
3. Some cold-blooded animals are reptiles.
Which of the following conclusions is definitely true?
A) All snakes are mammals.
B) No snake is a mammal.
C) Some snakes are cold-blooded animals.
D) All cold-blooded animals are snakes.
Exam Q 142023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All poets are creative individuals.
2. Some creative individuals are not writers.
3. All writers are published authors.
Which of the following conclusions is definitely true, or is it impossible to determine?
A) All poets are writers.
B) Some poets are not writers.
C) Either all poets are writers or some poets are not writers.
D) No poet is a writer.
Exam Q 152023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All engineers are problem-solvers.
2. No artist is a problem-solver.
3. Some professionals are artists.
Which of the following conclusions is definitely true?
A) Some professionals are not engineers.
B) All professionals are engineers.
C) No professional is an engineer.
D) Some engineers are professionals.
Exam Q 162023Previous Year Pattern
Statements:
1. All doctors are highly educated.
2. Some highly educated individuals are not researchers.
3. All researchers are published authors.
4. No published author is a doctor.
Which of the following conclusions is definitely true?
A) Some doctors are researchers.
B) No doctor is a researcher.
C) Some doctors are published authors.
D) Either some doctors are researchers or no doctor is a researcher.
Concept Notes
Syllogismโ Rules & Concept
๐ก
Core Concept
Read this first โ the foundation of the topic
โCore Concept
A syllogism has two or more statements followed by conclusions. You must check if the conclusions logically follow from the statements, ignoring what you know about the real world
๐กKey Rules
(1) Accept all statements as true, even if they seem wrong in reality. (2) Use only the given information. (3) Draw conclusions based purely on logical connections. (4) 'Some' means 'at least one but not all'. (5) 'All' means '100% without exception'
๐Venn Diagram Method
This is the most reliable approach. Draw circles to represent each category mentioned in statements. Overlap circles based on relationships given in statements. Check if conclusions match your diagram.
๐
Exam Patterns
What examiners ask โ read before attempting PYQs
๐SSC CGL typically asks
(1) Statement-Conclusion type (2-3 statements, 2-4 conclusions to verify) (2) Only conclusion follows questions (3) Possibility-based conclusions. Most questions use words like All, Some, No, Few.
Shortcut Formula #1 - Conversion Rule: 'All A are B' can be converted to 'Some B are A'. But 'All A are B' cannot be converted to 'All B are A'.
Shortcut Formula #2 - Negative Conclusions: If both statements are positive, the conclusion cannot be negative. If one statement is negative, the conclusion must be negative
โ๏ธWorked Example 1
Statements: (1) All roses are flowers (2) Some flowers are red
Conclusions: (I) Some roses are red (II) All red things are flowers
Solution: Draw three circles - Roses (inside Flowers circle), Flowers (big circle), Red (overlapping with Flowers). From the diagram, roses and red may or may not overlap. Conclusion I is 'possible but not definite' - so FALSE. Conclusion II says all red are flowers, but statement 2 only says some flowers are red, not the reverse - so FALSE
โAnswer
Neither conclusion follows
โ๏ธWorked Example 2
Statements: (1) No cats are dogs (2) All cats are animals
Conclusions: (I) No dogs are cats (II) Some animals are cats
Solution: Draw separate circles for cats and dogs (no overlap due to 'No'). Draw animals circle containing cats circle completely
โConclusion I
'No dogs are cats' is the same as 'No cats are dogs' - TRUE
โConclusion II
Since all cats are animals, definitely some animals are cats - TRUE
โAnswer
Both conclusions follow.
Trick #3 - Possibility Conclusions: When a conclusion uses 'Some X can be Y' or 'X is a possibility', it's asking if the relationship is possible, not definite. Even if something is not proven definite, it might still be possible.
Common Mistake #1: Students use real-world knowledge instead of logical reasoning. For example, if given 'All books are tigers', students reject it as impossible. In syllogism, you must accept this as true for that question and proceed logically
โกTime-Saving Approach
For statement-conclusion questions, quickly eliminate obviously wrong conclusions first. Look for direct contradictions with statements. Then use Venn diagrams only for remaining conclusions. This saves precious exam time.
Medium/Definite Rule: If conclusion says 'definitely' or uses strong words like 'certainly', it needs 100% proof from statements.
If it says 'can be' or 'possible', it needs only logical possibility, not certainty.
Key Points to Remember
Accept all statements as true regardless of real-world logic
Use Venn diagrams to visualize relationships between categories
Formula: 'All A are B' converts to 'Some B are A' but not 'All B are A'
Rule: If both statements are positive, conclusion cannot be negative
Some means 'at least one but not all', All means '100% without exception'
Possibility conclusions need logical possibility, not definite proof
No real-world knowledge should influence your logical reasoning
Trick: Check direct contradictions with statements to eliminate wrong conclusions quickly
Formula: One negative statement makes the conclusion negative
Time-saver: Eliminate obviously wrong conclusions before drawing Venn diagrams
Exam-Specific Tips
Syllogism appears in every SSC CGL paper with 4-5 questions guaranteed
Statement-conclusion type is the most common format in SSC exams
Venn diagram method has 95% accuracy rate for solving syllogisms
Words 'All, Some, No, Few' appear in 90% of SSC syllogism questions
Possibility-based conclusions appear in 30% of recent SSC papers
Conversion rule: 'All A are B' always converts to 'Some B are A'
Two positive statements can never yield a negative conclusion
SSC typically gives 2-3 statements with 2-4 conclusions to verify
60-Second Revision โ Syllogism
Remember: Accept all statements as true, ignore real-world knowledge
Formula: All AโB converts to Some BโA, not All BโA
Trap: Using real-world logic instead of pure logical reasoning
Method: Use Venn diagrams for visual clarity and accuracy
Rule: Positive statements cannot produce negative conclusions
Trick: Eliminate contradictory conclusions first to save time
Focus: 'Some' = at least one, 'All' = 100%, 'Possible' = logically feasible