Infosys Logical

Reasoning

Fundamentals, Approach
and Examples
Statement and Assumption
 Assumptions should be drawn only from the
given statement, not from your real life
experiences
Assumption should not be negative, it should
be practical and logical the word “only” makes a
lot of difference in reasoning.
If a notice/ advertisement is put up, that will be
considered true, the implicit assumption is that it
will have impact
Examples
Statement:  "Please put more people on the job to
make up for the delay.“

Assumptions: 
(I)     Delay is inevitable in most jobs.
(II)   Output will increase with more number of people
on the job.

A.   Only assumption I is implicit      

B.   Only assumption II is implicit
C.   Either I or II is implicit               
D.   Neither I nor II is implicit
E.    Both I and II are implicit
Statement: If you are an engineer, we have a
challenging job for you (an advertisement).

Assumptions: 
(I)   We need an engineer. 
(II) You are an engineer.

A.   Only assumption I is implicit    

B.   Only assumption II is implicit
C.   Either I or II is implicit         
D.   Neither I nor II is implicit
E.    Both I and II are implicit
Statement: Everybody loves reading adventure stories.

Assumptions: 
(I)   Adventures stories are the only reading material.
(II) Nobody loves reading any other material.

A.   Only assumption I is implicit      

B.   Only assumption II is implicit
C.   Either I or II is implicit               
D.   Neither I nor II is implicit
E.    Both I and II are implicit
Statement: “You can't solve syllogism question without
constructing a diagram. Difficult questions on syllogism need
Venn diagram solving,” a teacher tells his students.

Assumption: 
(I)   The students are not intelligent. 
(II) Problem cannot be solved.

A.   Only assumption I is implicit      

B.   Only assumption II is implicit
C.   Either I or II is implicit               
D.   Neither I nor II is implicit
E.    Both I and II are implicit
Statement: "A rare opportunity to be a professional while you
are at home." - An advertisement for computer literate
housewives by a computer company.

Assumptions: 
(I)   Some housewives simultaneously desire to become
professional.
(II) Computer industry is growing at a fast pace.
(III) It is possible to be a professional as well as a housewife.

A.   Only I and II are implicit

B.   Only II and III are implicit
C.   Only I and III are implicit
D.   Only II is implicit
E.    None of these
Strong and Weak Argument

1. Strong Argument: Strong arguments are those

which are directly related to the statement, do not
make extra assumptions, are valid and hold true.

2. Weak Argument: Weak arguments are those

which not related to the statement directly, may
make unjustified assumptions, are false, vague or
invalid.
Examples

Statement: Are nuclear families better than joint

families?

Arguments:
I.  No. Joint families ensure security and also
reduce the burden of work.

II.  Yes. Nuclear families ensure greater freedom.

Statement: Should the education at all levels be offered only
in vernacular medium?
Arguments:
I.    Yes. This is the only way to enhance performance of the
students.
II.    No. This will severely affect acquiring knowledge for want
of good text books in vernacular medium.

A.   Only argument I is strong            

B.   Only argument II is strong
C.   Either I or II is strong                  
D.   Neither I nor II is strong
E.    Both I and II are strong
Statement: Should girls learn arts like judo and karate?
Arguments:
(I)  Yes. It will enable them to defend themselves from rogues and
ruffians.                   
(II) No. They will lose their feminine grace.

Statement: Should books by only deserving authors be published?

Arguments:
(I) Yes. It will save a lot of paper which is in short supply.
(II) No. It is not possible to draw a line between the deserving and
the undeserving.
 Statement and Conclusion

• What is definitely true is conclusion

• We don’t have to assume anything
• Go with what is given, do not consider general
knowledge
 Examples

Statements:  In a one-day cricket match, the total runs

made by a team were 200. Out of these 160 runs were
made by spinners.
Conclusions: (I) 80% of the team consists of spinners.
                   (II) The opening batsmen were spinners.
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
Statement: Any student who does not behave properly while in
the school brings bad name to himself and also for the school.
Conclusions: (I) Such student should be removed from the school.
                      (II) Stricter discipline does not improve behavior of
the students.
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
Statement: Money plays a vital role in politics.
Conclusion: (I) The poor cannot become
politicians. (II) All rich men take part in politics.
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
Statements: Our securities investments carry market risk.
Consult your investment advisor or agent before investing.
Conclusions: (I) One should not invest in securities.
                    (II) The investment advisor can reasonably
estimate the market risk
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
 Course of Action
 There must be no extremity involved in the
course of action
 The course of action should be justified based
on the statement
 The course of action should not raise another
problem.
 Statement: Child labour is the reason for the increase in
school drop out rate.

Course of Action :
A. The local government should launch specific
programs to stop child labour.
B. There is corruption on every level in Indian society.
C. Free education should be made available to the poor
families.
 Only A
  Only B
   Only A and B
  Only A and C
   Only C
Statement: The Company X has rejected the first load of valves supplied by
Company A and has cancelled its entire huge order quoting use of
inferior quality material and poor craftsmanship.
Courses of Action:  
I.         The Company A needs to investigate functioning of its purchase,
production and quality control departments.
II.         The Company A should inspect the valves rejected by Company X.
III.         The Company A should inform Company X that steps have been
taken for improvement and renegotiate schedule of supply.

A.   Only I and II        

B.   Only I and III       
C.   Only II and II    
D.   All of I, II, III     
E.    None
 Cause and Effect
• Cause and effect deal with analyzing and thinking as to
what will be the effect of an action or what is the cause
for an effect
• At some point or the other, we all have been told that
there are consequences to our actions. This is cause and
effect. While making a decision, we find ourselves
thinking about how or what the outcome will be. One
could also be thinking about the reason or the cause for a
present occurring phenomenon or event. If one is late to
work because of traffic, then traffic is the cause, while the
effect is him being late to work.
Statements:
1. A huge truck overturned on the middle of the road last
night.
11. The police had cordoned of entire area in the locality
this morning for half of the day.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B.Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C.Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D.Both the statements I and II are effects of independent
causes.
E.Both the statements I and II are effects of some common
cause.
 Statements:
1. The staff of Airport Authorities called off the strike they were
observing in protest against privatization.
11. The staff of Airport Authorities went on strike anticipating a
threat to their jobs.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B.Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C.Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D.Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
E.Both the statements I and II are effects of some common
cause.