16. Cause & Effect

Sakshi Education

INTRODUCTION:
It is a fundamental property of nature that events do not just happen; they happen because there was a cause behind them. These causes are the conditions under which these events (or results or effects) happen. As we shall see later, something can be said to be a cause of another event only if it is a necessary as well as sufficient condition for that effect to take place. Sometimes we use the word cause in the sense of a sufficient condition.

EXERCISE
Directions (1-5): Below in each question are given two statements (A) and (B). These statements may be either independent causes or may be effects of independent causes or a common cause. One of these statements may be the effect of the other statement. Read both the statements and decide which of the following answer choice correctly depicts the relationship between these two statements.
Mark answer (1) If statement (A) is the cause and statement (B) is its effect.
Mark answer (2) if statement (B) is the cause and statement (A) is its effect.
Mark answer (3) if both the statements (A) and (B) are independent causes.
Mark answer (4) if both the statement (A) and (B) are effects of independent causes.
Mark answer (5) if both the statement (A) and (B) are effects of some common cause.

A.Majority of the students of the school passed in mathematics in the annual examination.
B.Majority of the students of the school failed in English in the annual examination.
A.A huge explosion rocked the housing complex as a cooking gas cylinder exploded in one of the flats in the complex.
B.Residents of the housing complex came running out of their houses and assembled in the open courtyard.
A.Three top players of the Indian cricket missed all the matches of the five match tournament due to injury.
B.India lost the cricket tournament to the visitors with a 2: 3 margin.
A.The municipal authority advised all the schools in the city to close down for the next two days.
B.A huge storm is likely to hit the city during the next two days.
A.The prices of food grains have increased by about 20 per cent over the same period last year.
B.The prices of vegetables have substantially decreased during the past few weeks.

Directions (6-10): Below in each question are given two statements (A) and (B). These statements may be either independent causes or may be effects of independent causes or a common cause. One of these statements may be the effect of the other statement. Read both the statements and decide which of the following answer choice correctly depicts the relationship between these two statements.
Mark answer (1) If statement (A) is the cause and statement (B) is its effect.
Mark answer (2) if statement (B) is the cause and statement (A) is its effect.
Mark answer (3) if both the statements (A) and (B) are independent causes.
Mark answer (4) if both the statement (A) and (B) are effects of independent causes.
Mark answer (5) if both the statement (A) and (B) are effects of some common cause.
A.The average day temperature of the city has increased by about 2 degrees in the current year over the average of past ten years.
B.More people living in rural areas of the state have started migrating to the urban areas in companies with the earlier year.
A.Most of the shopkeeper in the locality closed their shops for the second continuous day.
B.Two groups of people living in the locality have been fighting with each other with bricks and stones forcing people to stay indoors.
A.the Government has decided to increase the prices of LPG gas cylinders with immediate effect.
B.the Government has decided to increase the prices of kerosene with immediate effect.
A. A Cyclonic storm is expected to hit the coastline in the state during the next 48 hours.
B.Warning has been issued that heavy rains are expected in the coastal region in the state during the next 48 hours.
A.Majority of the first year students of the engineering college failed in Mathematics in the semester examination.
B.The college authority terminated the contract of the professor who taught mathematics to the first year students.
A.Asthma cases in the city are on a continuous rise since last year.
B.The number of commonly found animals such as sparrows, squirrels and pigeons in the city has continuously dwindled since last year.
A.Prices of food grains in India have increased substantially.
B.lakhs of farmers have quit farming owing to the lack of governmental support in the form of subsidies.
A.The university decided to postpone the final exams for course X by a month.
B.Nearly twenty five students out of sixty students in course X failed to pass the final exams last year.
A.Government has increased number of buses plying between Mumbai and Surat.
B.the Government has allowed private bus owners to operate between Mumbai and Surat.
A.The association of management colleges conducted a combined admission exam for all the institutes this year.
B.As the dates for entrance exam for many management colleges clashed last year. Many candidates complained that they could not appear for a number of entrance exams.
A.The department store owner put cameras for surveillance of the store.
B.Many products were reported missing by the staff working in the departmental store.
A.State Government has ordered immediate ban on airing of certain movie channels on television.
B.Few social activists have come together and demanded ban on telecasting ‘Adult’ movies on television.
A.Employment scenario in the country has remarkably improved recently.
B.the number of prospective job-seekers going abroad has increased recently.
A.Government has tightened security checks at all important places and also at various public places.
B.Incidences of terrorist attacks are increasing day by day.
A.High Court has fixed a time limit for repairing all the roads in the city.
B.Road development Authorities in the city are carrying out road repair work on urgent basis.
A.There is an outbreak of several epidemics in the country.
B.There was a worst flood situation ever experienced in the past in most parts of the country.
A Police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the unlawful gathering of large number of people.
B.The citizen's forum called a general strike in protest against the police atrocities.
A.It is the aim of the city's civic authority to get the air pollution reduced by 20% in the next two months.
B.The number of asthma cases in the city is constantly increasing.
A.The police authority has recently caught a group of house breakers.
B.The citizens group in the locality have started night vigil in the area.
A.The university authority has instructed all the colleges under its jurisdiction to ban use of all phones inside the college premises.
B.Majority of the teachers of the colleges signed a joint petition to the university complaining the disturbances caused by cell phone ring-tones inside the classrooms.
A.The government has recently fixed the fees for professional courses offered by the unaided institutions which are much lower than the fees charged last year.
B.The parents of the aspiring students launched a severe agitation last year protesting against the high fees charged by the unaided institutions.
A.Large numbers of people living in the low-lying areas have been evacuated during the last few days to safer places.
B.The Government has rushed in relief supplies to the people living in the affected areas.
A.The performance of most of the students in final exam of class X in the schools run by the Government was excellent.
B.Many teachers of the Government schools left the school and joined private schools.
A.Majority of the citizens in the locality belong to higher income group.
B.The sales in the local super market are comparatively much higher than in other localities.
A.There is considerable reduction in the number of people affected by waterborne diseases in City A during this rainy season.
B.The government has opened four new civil hospitals in City A in the beginning of the year.
A.The literacy rate in the district has been increasing for the last four years
B.The district administration has conducted extensive training programme for the workers involved in the literacy drive.
A.Most of the steel producing companies in the country have made considerable profit during the last financial year.
B.Many Asian countries have been importing huge quantities of steel from India.
A.Rural and semi-urban areas in the country have been suffering due to load shedding for quite some time.
B.If the Government is not able to overcome the power crisis, load shedding will be extended even to the urban areas.
A.The employees of the biggest bank in the country have given an indefinite strike call starting from third of the next month.
B.The employees of the Central Government have withdrawn their week long demonstrations.
A.The school authority has asked the X Std. students to attend special classes to be conducted on Sundays.
B.The parents of the X Std. students have withdrawn their wards from attending private tuitions conducted on Sundays.
A.The farmers have decided against selling their Kharif crops to the Government agencies.
B.The Government has reduced the procurement price of Kharif crops starting from last month to the next six months.
A.The government has decided to make all the information related to primary education available to the general public.
B.In the past, the general public did not have access to all these information related to primary education.
A.The life today is too fast, demanding and full of variety in all aspects which at times leads to stressful situations.
B.Number of suicide cases among teenagers is on increase.
A.There is unprecedented increase in the number of young unemployed in comparison to the previous year.
B.A large number of candidates submitted applications against an advertisement for the post of manager issued by a bank.
A.All the schools in the area had to be kept closed for most part of the week.
B.Many parents have withdrawn their children from the local schools,
A.There has been a high increase in the incidents of atrocities against women in the city during the past few months.
B.The police authority has been unable to nab the culprits who are committing crime against women.
A: Rate of crime is very low in this city.
B: The police is efficient in this city.
Effect: The temple at the religious site wears a deserted look with the number of devotees trickling down.
Which of the following can be a possible cause of the above effect?
(1) A structural engineer had visited the temple a month back and had declared the structure unsafe.
(2) The temple is facing a drastic depletion of its funds which had accumulated over the years due to offering made by devotees.
(3) The local corporation decided to donate a huge amount of money to the temple for its renovation.
(4) The village housing the religious site has qualified priests to perform religious ceremonies.
(5) A famous actor recently visited the temple and paid his respects to the deity.
Statement: The Income Tax authorities carried out raids at three different business houses in the city last week.
Which of the following can be possible effect of the above statement?
(1) The three business houses are regular defaulters in payment of their income tax.
(2) The income Tax department had received a tip off about the illegal activities going on in the three business houses.
(3) The government decided to look into the matter and has appointed an inquiry committee.
(4) Other business houses took immediate action to clear off all their income tax dues in order to avoid a raid on their establishments.
(5) The authorities intend to conduct raids in several other business houses in the vicinity.
Effect: As a step to regulate private hospitals, the state health department is framing rules to ensure all such hospitals are registered with it.
Which of the following can be possible cause of the above statement?
(1) The department realized the private hospitals charge much less for treatment as compared to government hospitals.
(2) Government run hospitals do not maintain the same standards as private hospitals.
(3) The department realized that several hospitals were rejecting cases stating lack of infrastructure.
(4) Apart from the number of doctors, nurses and beds, the kind of procedure a hospital can carry out based on its infrastructure will also be registered and detailed.
(5) Private hospitals not registering with the department shall be forced to do so and will have to pay hefty penalties.
Statement: The college has finally received accreditation and has gained the status of a deemed university.
Which of the following can be possible effect of the above statement?
(1) The Principal of the college will now have to be a retired government official.
(2) Number of students seeking admission to this college in the next academic year would drop significantly.
(3) The college will charge lesser fees from all its students despite not getting a grant from the government.
(4) The college will reduce the number of courses that it runs by a significant margin.
(5) The reputation of the college amongst the student population general has improved.
In a governmental initiative which started a couple of years ago. School teachers of a particular state were engaged in teaching the illiterate every evening after the regular school hours.
Which of the following can be an effect of the statement given above?
(1) A report given to the state government a couple of years ago stated a high percentage of illiterate population as compared to some other states.
(2) Many teachers were motivated to join the scheme started by the government as the remuneration provided to them was attractive.
(3) Lack of accessibility to school and extreme poverty were major causes of illiteracy in the state.
(4) Evening classes help individuals working as daily wagers attend classes after work.
(5) The literacy rate in the state has improved significantly this year.
Which of the following is a possible cause of – “The housing society has decided to charge a fine to all those who waste water”?
(1) Some members of the housing society have been wasting a lot of water
(2) Most members of the society are unwilling to pay a fine
(3) The charges for water have decreased
(4) Number of people wasting water has gone down/ reduced in the society
(5) The housing society has a new management committee

Directions (49-50): Read the given statements carefully and answer the questions which follow.
After the government announced a compensatory policy for farmers in return for the acquisition of their land, the farmers demanded a written proof of the policy. Which of the following could possibly be a cause for demanding the written proof?
(1) The farmers were unable to contest the inadequate compensation for their land in earlier such policies.
(2) The compensation promised in the policy was grossly in adequate.
(3) The farmers were unwilling to surrender their lands to the government.
(4) The farmers demand a certain-percentage of share out of the revenue generated by the government off their lands.
(5) The only option to enforce the government officials to frame a compensatory policy for the farmers was to demand a proof.
The number of cases concerning a non-contagious chemical poisoning is on the rise among local villagers.
Which of the following could possibly be a cause of the statement given above?
(1) The government has ordered an immediate enquiry into the matter.
(2) Unless timely treatment is provided to the patients, the poisoning can prove to be fatal.
(3) Many factories surrounding the village do not dispose off their wastes appropriately.
(4) The only hospital in the area is not equipped to treat chemical poisoning related ailments.
(5) A Study done a couple of years ago had reported that a large number of farmers had stopped using chemical fertilizers owing to their ill-effects on health.

ANSWER KEY
1	d	11	d	21	b	31	b	41	b
2	a	12	b	22	a	32	e	42	b
3	a	13	d	23	b	33	d	43	d
4	b	14	b	24	e	34	a	44	d
5	d	15	b	25	b	35	d	45	e
6	d	16	b	26	b	36	b	46	a
7	b	17	b	27	e	37	a	47	e
8	e	18	d	28	d	38	a	48	a
9	a	19	b	29	c	39	d	49	e
10	a	20	a	30	d	40	b	50	c