GRE Sample Questions

Analytical Section : Logical Reasoning

Question 21

All poles are guns. Some boats are not poles.

Sentences:

1. All guns are boats
2. Some boats are not guns

Answer: (d)

Clarification: Clearly, the term 'guns' is distributed in both the conclusions without being distributed in any of the premises. So, neither conclusion follows.

Question 22

Many scooters are trucks. All trucks are trains.

Sentences:

1. Some scooters are trains.
2. No truck is a scooter

Answer (a)

Clarifications: As the first premise is particular, the conclusion should also be particular and should not have the middle term. Thus, only sentence 1 follows.

Question 23

Some papers are pens. Angle is a paper.

Sentences:

1. Angle is not a pen.
2. Angle is a pen.

Answer (c)

Clarification: As the middle term 'papers' is not distributed even at least once in the premises, no exact conclusion follows. Though, 1 and 2 involve only the extreme terms and make an opposite pair. Therefore, either 1 or 2 follows.

Question 24

All birds are tall. Some tall are hens.

Sentences:

1. Some birds are hens.
2. Some hens are tall.

Answer (b)

Clarification: As the middle term 'tall' is not distributed even at least once in the premises, no exact conclusion follows. Though, 2 is the contrary of the second premise and so it holds.

Question 25

Some papers are pens. Some pencils are pens.

Sentences:

1. Some pens are pencils.
2. Some pens are papers

Answer (e)

Clarification: Since both premises are particular, therefore no exact conclusion follows. Though, 1 is the opposite of second premise, while 2 is the converse of the first premise. So, both of them hold.

Question 26

Some men are educated. Educated persons prefer small families.

Sentences:

1. All small families are educated.
2. Some men prefer small families

Answer (b)

Clarification: As one premise is particular, the conclusion should also be particular and should not have the middle term. Therefore, only 2 sentences follow.

Question 27

All educated people read newspapers. Rahul does not read newspaper.

Sentences:

1. Rahul is not educated.
2. Reading newspaper is not essential to be educated

Answer (a)

Clarification: As both the premises are universal and one premise is negative, the conclusion must be universal negative and should not contain the middle term. So, only 1 sentence follows.

Question 28

All pens are chalks. All chairs are chalks.

Sentences:

1. Some pens are chairs.
2. Some chalks are pens.

Answer (b)

Clarification: As the middle term 'chalks' is not distributed even at least once in the premises, no exact conclusion follows. Though, 2 is the opposite of the first premise and so it holds.

Question 29

Bureaucrats marry only intelligent girls. Tanya is very intelligent.

Sentences:

1. Tanya will marry a bureaucrat
2. Tanya will not marry a bureaucrat

Answer (c)

Clarification: The information does not talk about whether all intelligent girls are married to bureaucrats. Therefore, either 1 or 2 may follow.

Question 30

It is generally supposed that the teachers are more or less uninterested about the microcomputer knowledge. This statement is not true, or at least dated. A review lately performed point out that 80 percent of the 7,000 surveyed teachers discovered a high level of curiosity in microcomputers.

Amongst the following sentences which one of this are most damaging the above argument if confirmed to be correct?

Answer: (b)