Start here · the first lesson of Possibility cases
Possibility cases
Syllogisms · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT
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The idea
Possibility conclusions ask whether something can be true, not whether it must be. They follow whenever at least one diagram that fits the statements makes them true. Rohtak 2020 Q17 paired one ("Some WhatsApp are Google is a possibility") with a definite conclusion.
Textbook vs exam method
Textbook method
Draw the minimum diagram, then try to stretch it: can you overlap A and B (or put all of A inside B) without breaking any statement? If yes, the possibility follows. If a statement forbids the overlap, it does not.
Exam method
- Look for a ban. "No pencil is a pen" bans any pen-pencil overlap; "some erasers are pencils" then bans "all erasers are pens".
- No ban, it follows. All fans are jalebis, all jalebis are laddoos, some laddoos are clocks: some fans being clocks is possible.
- 'Only a few' blocks 'all'. Only a few colours are cold, so "all colours can be cold" is impossible.