Identify these questions

These types of questions typically ask you to choose two statements that together prove another given statement.

For the statement that you are trying to prove, you need to establish what truth is being expressed. Then, out of the options given, find the two statements that together prove this truth.

These questions are about testing your skills in logic and reasoning, and in establishing what information is relevant and required to prove the truth of something.

In the exam, you can identify these types of questions by looking for statements such as:

"Find the two statements which together prove that ..................."

As an example:

Carl works part time in a bar on Smith St. Which two statements together prove this?

(1) Carl cannot work full time
(2) Carl works on Smith St
(3) Carl's dream is to work part time in a bar on Smith St
(4) Carl is happy as he is currently fulfilling his dream
(5) Carl lives on Smith St

The strategy to answer these questions

To help solve these questions more easily, there are certain things you need to know:

• You should be able to look at a sentence and work out which parts are essential to its truth, i.e. what things can be proven to be true or false.
• In assessing the statements given – two of which prove the original statement – you must read them very closely in order to work out whether something they say is necessary to prove the first statement to be true.

There are a couple of important strategies for working out this type of question.

• Working out what is the truth of the statement. For example: John is a successful paediatrician with his own practice
• Ask yourself, what are the factual points? I.e. these are the things that can be either proved or disproved.
• The absolute truths of the statement are:
• John is a paediatrician
• John has his own practice
• John is successful in his work as a paediatrician

What about whether John is successful in general, not specifically as a paediatrician? This could possibly be inferred from the statement, but we do not have enough information to prove it. What about another possible truth – that John owns the practice but does not actively work there? Again, this could possibly be inferred from the statement, but there is not enough information to say absolutely that it is true or false.

Now… let's look at practice exam questions.

Example Question/s

Let’s work through an example question together:

Carl works part time in a bar on Smith St. Which two statements together prove this?

(1) Carl cannot work full time
(2) Carl works on Smith St
(3) Carl's dream is to work part time in a bar on Smith St
(4) Carl is happy as he is currently fulfilling his dream
(5) Carl lives on Smith St

To work this out, you could go through each option given and evaluate whether it proves, possibly proves or doesn't prove the truth of the statement.

NOTE - Sometimes at first glance it can look as though two statements together prove the original statement.

For example, when looking to prove the statement "Bill is a gardener for the royal family", "Bill plants trees" and "Bill works for the royal family" may appear to prove the original sentence, however another option given – "Bill is a professional gardener" more accurately and soundly proves the original sentence when combined with "Bill works for the royal family".

Be careful to read all the statements carefully and try combining them in different ways to establish which combination proves the statement. The statement "Bill plants trees", although appearing relevant, does not necessarily mean that he is a gardener (he may be a conservationist).

Watch video for explanation of the following question/s:

Find the two statements that together prove that:

Lucy entered a Bollywood dancing competition.

1 : Lucy likes Bollywood dancing
2 : The only dancing competitions around are Bollywood dancing.
3: Lucy won a dancing competition.
4 : On Thursday Lucy entered a dancing competition.
5 : Lucy will quit her job as a lawyer and become a Bollywood dancing sensation

A: 1 & 3 B: 3 & 4 C: 2 & 4 D: 3 & 5 E: 1 & 5

Which statements are likely to support the following:

The first team to arrive at the hotel will receive a 5-day holiday package to Byron Bay.

i) Samuel went to Byron Bay for a holiday.
ii) Lee, Samuel and Johnny all participated in a race.
iii) Johnny received a 5-day holiday package to Byron Bay as a reward from the race.
iv) The first team to arrive included Johnny.
v) Samuel and Lee were the only members in their team.

A: ii, iii, iv
B: iii, iv
C: ii, iii
D: i, ii, iv, v
E: v, iv, iii

Which statements are likely to support the following:

Those with a special talent may enter the competition.

i) Jade's special talent is singing eight octave ranges.
ii) Matthew does not have any special talent.
iii) Fabio and Jade are siblings
iv) Matthew's application to enter the competition was rejected

A: i, iii
B: ii, iv
C: i, ii, iii
D: iv, i, ii
E: i, ii, iii, iv

Find the two statements which together prove that Melissa and her best friend wore yellow dresses to the formal.

(1) Melissa travelled to the formal with her friend
(2) Melissa likes the colour yellow
(3) Melissa's best friend, Sally, persuaded Melissa to wear a dress the same colour as hers to the formal
(4) Melissa attended the formal
(5) Sally's formal dress was yellow

(a) 2 & 4 (b) 3 & 5 (c) 4 & 1 (d) 4 & 5 (e) 1 & 3

Key Rules to remember

• Identify the key elements. These need to be = TRUE
• Break down key elements to things that cannot be negotiated as being TRUE or FALSE.
• Go through each option. If they use "&" if one side proves false, therefore the whole thing is false.
• The correct answer will have you ticking both elements as TRUE.

Practice time!

Now, it's your turn to practice.

Click on the button below and start your practice questions. We recommend doing untimed mode first, and then, when you're ready, do timed mode.

Every question has two solutions videos after you complete the question. The first is a quick 60 second video that shows you how our expert answers the question quickly. The second video is a more in-depth 5-steps or less explainer video that shows you the steps to take to answer the question. It's really important that you review the second video because that's where you'll learn additional tips and tricks.

Once you're done with the practice questions, move on to the next checkpoint.

Now, let's get started on your practice questions.

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