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Reasoning practice

Statement and Conclusion Questions with Answers

Statement and conclusion questions give a short passage and ask which conclusions follow from it. The same format also appears as statement and assumption, argument or course of action. SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS, RRB NTPC and Group D, and bank prelims ask these in reasoning sections. The main tip is to accept the statement as true and use only what it says, with no outside knowledge.

Rules to remember

  • Treat the statement as true, even if it conflicts with real life. Use only what is written.
  • A conclusion follows only if the statement directly supports it. A conclusion that adds a new fact does not follow.
  • Extreme words such as 'all', 'only', 'never' and 'always' usually make a conclusion too strong unless the statement says the same.
  • Predictions about the future ('will fall', 'will rise') generally do not follow from a present-tense statement.
  • Assumption: something that must already be true for the statement to make sense. Test it by asking whether the statement would fail without it.
  • Strong argument: direct, relevant to the statement and important. Weak argument: vague, based on a single example, or only on a personal opinion.
  • Course of action: it follows if it directly tackles the problem and can be done in practice.
  • Either-or: if two conclusions form a complementary pair (one says 'X' and the other says 'not X') and neither follows alone, then 'either I or II follows'.

Worked examples

Q1. Statement: The city has banned plastic bags from 1 January. Conclusions: I. Shops in the city can no longer give plastic bags to customers after 1 January. II. People in the city will stop using plastic completely. Options: (A) Only I follows (B) Only II follows (C) Both follow (D) Neither follows

  1. Conclusion I restates the effect of the ban directly. It follows.
  2. Conclusion II says people will stop using all plastic. The statement only bans plastic bags, not all plastic. It adds a much bigger claim, so it does not follow.

Answer: (A) Only I follows

Q2. Statement: The company advertised, 'Apply online. No paper form will be accepted.' Assumptions: I. Applicants have access to the internet. II. All applicants prefer paper forms. Options: (A) Only I is implicit (B) Only II is implicit (C) Both are implicit (D) Neither is implicit

  1. The company expects people to apply online. That makes sense only if applicants can reach the internet. Assumption I is implicit.
  2. If all applicants preferred paper forms, the company would not refuse them. The statement does not rest on this idea, and it points the other way. Assumption II is not implicit.

Answer: (A) Only I is implicit

Q3. Statement: The government has reduced the import duty on edible oil from next month. Conclusions: I. The price of edible oil will fall next month. II. The price of edible oil will not fall next month. Options: (A) Only I follows (B) Only II follows (C) Either I or II follows (D) Neither follows

  1. The statement tells us the duty is cut. It does not say what will happen to the shop price, which also depends on other factors. So neither conclusion follows on its own.
  2. The two conclusions are a complementary pair: one says the price will fall, the other says it will not. One of them must be true.
  3. When neither follows alone but the pair covers every possibility, the rule is 'either I or II follows'.

Answer: (C) Either I or II follows

Shortcuts that save time

  • Underline the key words in the statement and check each conclusion against them. If you have to add even one fact from your own knowledge for a conclusion to work, mark it as not following.
  • Be careful with extreme words. A conclusion with 'all', 'only' or 'never' that the statement does not use is almost always a trap, and marking it costs negative marks.
  • Check for the either-or case last, and only when the two conclusions are direct opposites about the same subject. Do not use it for two conclusions that just look different.

Where this appears

SSC CGL Tier-1General Intelligence & Reasoning section
SSC CHSL Tier-1General Intelligence section
SSC MTSReasoning section
RRB NTPC CBT-1General Intelligence & Reasoning section
IBPS PO PrelimsReasoning Ability section

Statement and Conclusion

Practice Set
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Statement: There are 33 students in a class, of which 20 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 13 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

Reasoning · stress-free practice · answers reveal instantly

Statement and Conclusion questions with answers

10 sample questions from this topic with the correct option and the solution.

  1. Q1. Statement: There are 45 students in a class, of which 32 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 10 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion II follows
    2. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    3. Both conclusions I and II follow
    4. Only conclusion I follows

    Answer: (A) Only conclusion II follows

    Solution
    Boys = 45 - 32 = 13, so conclusion I is false. Girls are more than half of 45, so conclusion II is true. Hence, 'Only conclusion II follows'.

  2. Q2. Statement: There are 32 students in a class, of which 19 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 13 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion II follows
    2. Only conclusion I follows
    3. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    4. Both conclusions I and II follow

    Answer: (D) Both conclusions I and II follow

    Solution
    Boys = 32 - 19 = 13, so conclusion I is true. Girls are more than half of 32, so conclusion II is true. Hence, 'Both conclusions I and II follow'.

  3. Q3. Statement: There are 52 students in a class, of which 18 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 34 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Only conclusion II follows
    3. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    4. Both conclusions I and II follow

    Answer: (A) Only conclusion I follows

    Solution
    Boys = 52 - 18 = 34, so conclusion I is true. Girls are not more than half of 52, so conclusion II is false. Hence, 'Only conclusion I follows'.

  4. Q4. Statement: There are 39 students in a class, of which 26 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 15 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    2. Only conclusion I follows
    3. Only conclusion II follows
    4. Both conclusions I and II follow

    Answer: (C) Only conclusion II follows

    Solution
    Boys = 39 - 26 = 13, so conclusion I is false. Girls are more than half of 39, so conclusion II is true. Hence, 'Only conclusion II follows'.

  5. Q5. Statement: There are 52 students in a class, of which 20 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 30 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    3. Both conclusions I and II follow
    4. Only conclusion II follows

    Answer: (B) Neither conclusion I nor II follows

    Solution
    Boys = 52 - 20 = 32, so conclusion I is false. Girls are not more than half of 52, so conclusion II is false. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.

  6. Q6. Statement: There are 55 students in a class, of which 20 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 35 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    2. Only conclusion I follows
    3. Only conclusion II follows
    4. Both conclusions I and II follow

    Answer: (B) Only conclusion I follows

    Solution
    Boys = 55 - 20 = 35, so conclusion I is true. Girls are not more than half of 55, so conclusion II is false. Hence, 'Only conclusion I follows'.

  7. Q7. Statement: There are 45 students in a class, of which 22 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 23 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Both conclusions I and II follow
    3. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    4. Only conclusion II follows

    Answer: (A) Only conclusion I follows

    Solution
    Boys = 45 - 22 = 23, so conclusion I is true. Girls are not more than half of 45, so conclusion II is false. Hence, 'Only conclusion I follows'.

  8. Q8. Statement: There are 56 students in a class, of which 24 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 32 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion II follows
    2. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    3. Both conclusions I and II follow
    4. Only conclusion I follows

    Answer: (D) Only conclusion I follows

    Solution
    Boys = 56 - 24 = 32, so conclusion I is true. Girls are not more than half of 56, so conclusion II is false. Hence, 'Only conclusion I follows'.

  9. Q9. Statement: There are 43 students in a class, of which 28 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 15 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Both conclusions I and II follow
    3. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    4. Only conclusion II follows

    Answer: (B) Both conclusions I and II follow

    Solution
    Boys = 43 - 28 = 15, so conclusion I is true. Girls are more than half of 43, so conclusion II is true. Hence, 'Both conclusions I and II follow'.

  10. Q10. Statement: There are 51 students in a class, of which 29 are girls. Conclusions: I. There are 22 boys in the class. II. More than half the students in the class are girls. Which conclusion(s) logically follow(s)?

    1. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
    2. Only conclusion II follows
    3. Both conclusions I and II follow
    4. Only conclusion I follows

    Answer: (C) Both conclusions I and II follow

    Solution
    Boys = 51 - 29 = 22, so conclusion I is true. Girls are more than half of 51, so conclusion II is true. Hence, 'Both conclusions I and II follow'.