yenngoc2409
Please anyone help me explain why it is not B?
Thanks a lot in advance!
HKD1710
A passenger cannot land in Ulan Batur without first landing in Ethiopia. You can land in Ethiopia only if you've landed in Republic.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?
B) If a passenger has not landed in Ethiopia, he must not have landed in Republic.
Source: 800Score
yenngoc2409 From the stimulus, we know two things: 1) If a passenger landed in Ulan Batur, then they landed in Ethiopia and 2) If a passenger landed in Ethiopia, then they landed in Republic. B incorrectly assumes that just because a passenger
did not land in Ethiopia, it is
impossible for him/her or "must not have" landed in the Republic. However, it's possible that he/she landed in the Republic without having gone to Ethiopia at all. Maybe we went to the North Pole first... Therefore, this statement is a possibility but not a definitive truth. (According to the Powerscore method, this would be considered a "mistaken negation".)
The negation concept is probably easier to understand outside of this context...because this whole country/region thing is confusing! For example, let's say that the original statement was: If you eat 5 pies, then you'll be sent to the hospital. If we negate this (the way B does with the original post), it'd say: If you did not eat 5 pies, then you must not have been sent to the hospital. Logically speaking, this looks "in line" with the original statement but is negated and makes 0 sense. Just because I didn't eat 5 pies, doesn't mean I didn't go to the hospital. What about getting sick? Visiting a friend?