CAT 1999 — DILR Question 7
Directions: Each question consists of five statements followed by options consisting of three statements put together in a specific order. Choose the option which indicates a valid argument, that is, where the third statement is a conclusion drawn from the preceding two statements.
Example:
A. All cigarettes are hazardous to health.
B. Brand X is a cigarette.
C. Brand X is hazardous to health.
Here, ABC is a valid option, where statement C can be concluded from statements A and B.
A. All actors are handsome.
B. Some actors are popular.
C. Ram is handsome.
D. Ram is a popular actor.
E. Some popular people are handsome.
Answer & solution
- A
ACD
ABE
- C
DCA
- D
EDC
(b) ABE is the correct answer choice, as it forms a valid syllogism.
H = Handsome people
A = Actors
P = Popular people
The shaded portion are some popular people who are actors and hence are handsome people.
All actors are handsome and some of those actors are also popular. Therefore, some who are popular
are also handsome.
(a) ACD is invalid, as there are four terms: actors, handsome people, Ram and popular actors.
Furthermore, just because Ram is handsome does not definitely mean that he is an actor, let alone ‘a popular
actor’.
(c) and (d) are similarly invalid as option (a), because they each have four terms.