Mental Reasoning 9 -Statement and Conclusion  : Questions and Step-by-Step Solutions for Competitive Exams SSC, BSSC, Bank, Railways

Mental Reasoning 9 –Statement and Conclusion  : Questions and Step-by-Step Solutions for Competitive Exams SSC, BSSC, Bank, Railways

Statement and Conclusion – Complete Explanation (Mental Reasoning)

What is a Statement and Conclusion Question?

Concept (English):
You are given one or more statements (facts, assumptions, or general truths) and some conclusions. You must decide which conclusion logically follows from the statement(s), not what you personally think.

हिन्दी में:
इस प्रकार के प्रश्नों में एक या अधिक वाक्य (Statement) दिए होते हैं, जिनसे कुछ निष्कर्ष (Conclusion) निकालने होते हैं।
आपको यह तय करना होता है कि कौन-सा निष्कर्ष तार्किक रूप से सही निकलता है — न कि आपकी राय या अनुभव के अनुसार।

Example

Statement:
All dogs are animals.
All animals are living beings.

Conclusions:

1. All dogs are living beings.
2. All living beings are dogs.

Answer:
Conclusion (1) follows ✅
Conclusion (2) does not follow ❌

Explanation:
If all dogs ⊂ animals and all animals ⊂ living beings →
All dogs ⊂ living beings.

How to Judge Whether a Conclusion Follows

Guidelines (English):

1. Accept the given statements as absolutely true.
2. Ignore real-world knowledge or assumptions.
3. Check whether the conclusion definitely follows the statements logically.

हिन्दी में:

1. दिए गए कथनों को सत्य मानें, चाहे वे वास्तविकता में सही हों या नहीं।
2. सामान्य ज्ञान का प्रयोग न करें।
3. निष्कर्ष तभी सही है जब वह स्पष्ट रूप से कथन से निकलता है।

Common Key Words in Statements

Venn Diagram Approach (Highly Useful for SSC, Banking)

Visualize relationships through Venn Diagrams:

Statement	Diagram	Explanation
All A are B		A is within B
Some A are B		A & B overlap partly
No A is B		No common part
Some A are not B		Part of A not in B

Main Types of Questions (All Covered for Maximum Syllabus)

Standard Rules (Very Important for Exam)

Common Examples

Example 1:

Statements: All cats are animals. All animals are living things.
Conclusions:

1. All cats are living things. (✅ Follows)
2. All living things are cats. (❌ Does not follow)

Example 2:

Statements: Some cars are bikes. All bikes are vehicles.
Conclusions:

1. Some cars are vehicles. (✅ Follows)
2. All vehicles are bikes. (❌ Does not follow)

Example 3 (Negative):

Statements: No apple is banana. Some bananas are mangoes.
Conclusions:

1. Some mangoes are not apples. (✅ Follows)
2. All apples are mangoes. (❌ Does not follow)

Example 4 (Either–Or Type):

Statements: Some pens are pencils. Some pencils are erasers.
Conclusions:
(i) Some pens are erasers.
(ii) Some pens are not erasers.

👉 Either (i) or (ii) follows
Rule: Same subject–predicate pair with opposite conclusions.

Example 5 (Coded Form):

Symbols:
A @ B → A is greater than B
A # B → A is equal to B
A $ B → A is smaller than B

Statement: A @ B # C
Conclusion: A ? C

⇒ A > B = C ⇒ A > C ✅

Tips & Tricks

Practice Strategy

1. Practice each type separately (All, Some, No, Some not).
2. Then mix 3–4 statements for high-level puzzles.
3. Use Venn diagrams to visualize.
4. Solve 20–25 daily to improve speed.
5. Revise “Either–Or” logic separately (a frequent exam trap).

Typical Exam Format

Directions:
In each of the following questions, two statements are followed by two conclusions. Consider the statements true and decide which conclusion(s) follow.

Options:
(A) Only conclusion I follows
(B) Only conclusion II follows
(C) Either I or II follows
(D) Neither I nor II follows
(E) Both I and II follow