Cause and Effect

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Contents
I. INTRODUCTION
II. DESCRIPTION
A.
B.
C.
D.

ONE OF THE STATEMENTS IS THE CAUSE AND THE OTHER IS THE EFFECT
BOTH STATEMENTS ARE INDEPENDENT CAUSES
BOTH STATEMENTS ARE EFFECTS OF A COMMON CAUSE
TWO STATEMENTS ARE EFFECTS OF INDEPENDENT CAUSES

III. MINI EXERCISE

IV. GENERAL QUESTION PATTERN
V. SOLVED EXAMPLES
VI. SUMMARY

Cause and Effect

I. INTRODUCTION
The students analytical reasoning ability is tested by questions on the
subject of Cause and Effect. If an action or situation (A) has occurred
because of some other action or situation (B), then (B) is the cause of (A).
Alternatively, (A) is said to be the effect of (B).

II. DESCRIPTION
These questions require that the given statements be classified either as
Cause or Effect. In order to do this correctly, the nature of the
relationship that exists between the statements needs to be properly
understood and identified.

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As there are many different types of relations which can exist between
the pairs of statements given, the following simple example is used to
illustrate the point and help give a better understanding of the concept.

Example 1:
In the given situation, identify which statement is the Cause and
which is the Effect.
(a) Ustad Zakir Hussain is a genius who has composed amazing
musical pieces through years of determination and hard work.
(b) Ustad Zakir Hussain was awarded the National award for
outstanding achievement in music.
Explanation:
In this case statement (b) has occurred because of (a). Without (a),
(b) would not have happened. This shows that (a) is the Cause of
(b), or you can say that (b) is the Effect of (a).

DEFINITION OF THE CAUSEEFFECT RELATIONSHIP

If an action, event, situation, thought or occurrence labelled (X) is
responsible for or brings into existence another action, event, situation,
thought or occurrence labelled (Y) and you can say (Y) happened because
of (X), then there exists a cause and effect relationship between (X) and
(Y). In this case, (X) is said to be the cause and (Y) is the effect.
THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH A RELATIONSHIP OF THIS TYPE
CAN BE IDENTIFIED ARE GIVEN BELOW.

A. ONE OF THE STATEMENTS IS THE CAUSE AND THE OTHER IS THE

EFFECT

Example 2:

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Identify the relation between the two statements.

A The railway signalling system is not functioning properly.
B There have been many rail accidents lately.
Explanation:
In this case the malfunctioning of the signalling system is the reason
for the rail accidents.
Hence, (A) is the Cause and (B) is the Effect.

B. BOTH STATEMENTS ARE INDEPENDENT CAUSES

Example 3:
Identify the relation between the two statements.
A The railway signalling system is not functioning properly.
B There have been no population control measures implemented.
Explanation:
In this case, there is no relation between the two statements. It
appears that there may be some outcome of the two given
statements. For example, statement (A) may be the cause of
accidents happening. Statement (B) may be the cause of very high
population growth.
Hence, both the statements are independent causes.

C. BOTH STATEMENTS ARE EFFECTS OF A COMMON CAUSE

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Example 4:
Identify the relation between the two statements.
A Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
B Mother Teresa is loved and respected all over the world.
Explanation:
In this case, both the statements are effects of the exemplary work
of Mother Teresa. Even though there is no direct connection
between the two statements, a link to the two statements is clearly
indicative of a common cause.
Hence, (A) and (B) are both effects of a common cause.

D. TWO STATEMENTS ARE EFFECTS OF INDEPENDENT CAUSES

Example 5:
Identify the relation between the two statements.
A It is not possible to travel by local train during rush hour.
B There have been many rail accidents lately.
Explanation:
In this case, Statement (A) is probably the effect of overcrowding in
trains and statement (B) is probably the effect of faulty equipment
or human error.
Hence, (A) and (B) are effects of independent causes.

III. MINI EXERCISE

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Questions 14: Match the Causes in Column 1 with the suitable Effects
in Column 2.

Explanation:
Shahrukh Khans performance is the cause of him getting an award.
Hence, the 1d link is obvious. The Indian audiences dislike of sad
endings is the reason for commercial filmmakers not making films
with sad endings. Hence, 2c. Since Sanjay D has been convicted and
will not be able to act, his films had to be shelved. Hence, 3a. Since
thousands of people come to Mumbai to act in Bollywood films the
competition for roles has intensified. Hence, 4b.
Solution:
1. 1 d
2. 2 c
3. 3 a
4. 4 b

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Questions 58: Match the Causes in Column 1 with the suitable Effects
in Column 2

Explanation:
Private transport being extremely expensive in Europe is the likely
cause of most Europeans preferring to travel by public transport. So
the 1d link is clear. The reduction in cost of raw materials is likely to
make cars cheaper. It can also have the effect of increasing the profits
of car manufacturers. Hence (b) and (c) are both effects of a common
cause (4). Statement (a) is not the effect of any of the statements in
the first column. It is an independent effect. Similarly statements (2)
and (3) do not have any effects in the second column. Hence, they are
independent causes.
Solution:
1. 1 d
2. 2 None
3. 3 None
4. 4 b and c

IV. GENERAL QUESTION PATTERN

Usually this pattern comprises a set of questions having the instruction at

the start along with the directions.

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Each question comprises two statements.

Generally an array of five options which classify the relationship between the
two statements is offered.

The option in which the statements are correctly classified is to be selected.

Sample (CET 2006):

Each question has two statements. Identify the nature of the
relationship between them.
Options:
(1) if statement A is the cause and statement B is the effect.
(2) if statement B is the cause and statement A is the effect.
(3) if statements A and B are independent causes.
(4) if statements A and B are effects of independent causes.
(5) if statements A and B are effects of a common cause.
A. There is an ever increasing demand for gold ornaments in
India due to the wedding season.
B. The price of gold has gone up all over the country.
Explanation:
It is obvious from the two statements that the price of gold has
gone up because of the increasing demand for gold during the
wedding season.
Hence, statement (A) is the cause and (B) is the effect.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

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V. SOLVED EXAMPLES
Each question has two statements. Identify the nature of the
relationship between them.
(1), if statement A is the cause and statement B is the effect.
(2), if statement B is the cause and statement A is the effect.
(3), if statements A and B are independent causes.
(4), if statements A and B are effects of independent causes.
(5), if statements A and B are effects of a common cause.

Example 6:
A: The tyre of the left rear wheel of Rams car got punctured on the
way while he drove to the interview.
B: Ram did not get the job because he arrived late for the interview.
Solution:
The objective in this question is to identify the relation between the
two statements i.e. between Rams car getting a tyre puncture and
his not getting the job as a result of reaching late.
The first statement says that Ram was travelling by car to the
interview. The tyre puncture probably delayed Ram. The second
statement says that Ram reached late and did not get the job. So we
can say that statement (A) is the cause of Statement (B).
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

Example 7:

A : Harbhajan was fined 10% of his match fee by the umpire.

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B : Harbhajan broke the code of conduct by using abusive language

while playing the match.
Solution:
The objective in this question is to identify the relation between the
two statements i.e. between Harbhajan being fined and his using
abusive language during the match.
The second statement says that Harbhajan broke the rules by using
abusive language during the match. The breaking of rules probably
caused the umpire to punish him. The first statement says that he
was fined. So, statement (B) is the cause of Statement (A).
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Example 8:
A: There were a lot of poor people in Mother Teresas city, Kolkata.
B: Dr. Singh liberalized the Indian economy in 1991.
Solution:
The objective in this question is to identify the relation between the
two statements i.e. between Mother Teresas work and Dr. Singhs
liberalization policy.
It is obvious that there is no relation between the two statements. It
appears that statement (A) is the cause of Mother Teresa taking up
social work. Statement (B) can probably be the cause of the current
growth of the Indian economy. Hence, statements (A) and (B) are
independent causes.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.

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Example 9:
A: Sachin won the man of the match award in the final cricket
match.
B: The sports minister praised Sachin for his fantastic performance
in the final.
Solution:
The objective in this question is to identify the relation between the
two statements
i.e. between Sachin winning the man of the match award and the
praise of the sports minister.
There is some relation between the two statements since they are
both about Sachin and refer to his performance in the final.
However, we cannot say that any one statement is the cause of the
other. Therefore it appears that both statements probably have a
common cause. The common cause could be that Sachin had played
the final match exceptionally well. Hence, statements (A) and (B)
are effects of a common cause.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.

REMEMBER:
Please note the difference between options (3) and (4). In both cases
you have two statements that are unrelated. You may feel that they
can be classified as causes as well as effects. In order to decide
between options (3) and (4) you must consider the tone and the
apparent context of the statements.

For Example:
1. India was finally able to qualify for the Olympic Games.

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2. Ramesh was rewarded with a scholarship by the school authorities.

The above statements are unrelated. However, both of them seem to be the
result or the end product of some activity. India was finally able to qualify
probably because of effort put in by the sports authorities or because other
nations withdrew or some other reason. Similarly, Ramesh was probably
rewarded with a scholarship because of some reason like his hard work or
excellent performance. Thus, the statements seem to describe effects of
some actions or occurrences rather than causes. Hence, these are
independent effects.
Now consider the following two statements:
1. Indian athletes practised extremely hard to qualify for the Olympic Games.
2. Ramesh studied day and night for his SSC examination.
The above statements are unrelated. However, they are statements which
are likely to result in some achievement. The India athletes practising hard
may be the reason why they qualified for the Olympics. Also Ramesh
studying day and night may be the reason for him performing excellently at
the SSC examination. Therefore, these are independent causes.

VI. SUMMARY
A. Do not judge whether individual statements are correct or wrong
from your personal viewpoint.
B. Pay attention to the different options in the questions.
1. If statement A is the cause and statement B is the effect.
2. If statement B is the cause and statement A is the effect.
3. If statements A and B are independent causes.
4. If statements A and B are effects of independent causes.
5. If statements A and B are effects of a common cause.
* pay special attention to option (5) as most students overlook

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this option when they see that there are two related statements
and choose from the first two options.
C. The options will help you solve the question even if one of the
statement is ambiguous.
D. If there is no relation between the two statements you can eliminate
options 1, 2 and 5 because in these options you are bound to see
some connection between the two statements. In this case you only
have to see whether the statements appear to be causes or effects
and decide between options 3 and 4.
E. To identify statements that seem to be related, try to imagine which
statement will chronologically follow the other. This will help you
distinguish between the cause and the effect.

********************************* End of Lesson *********************************

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