In Figure I, where does the middle term appear?

• A. As the predicate in the major premise only
• B. It does not appear in Figure I
• C. As the subject in both premises
• D. As the middle term in the conclusion

Answer: (C)

The middle term serves as the connecting term that links the major term (the one in the predicate of the conclusion) with the minor term (the one in the subject of the conclusion). In Figure I, this middle term is placed as the subject of both premises. So you would see it appearing at the start of each premise, like “All M are P” in the major premise and “All M are S” in the minor premise. The middle term is the common element in both premises, bridging P and S to relate the two terms in the conclusion.

Note that the middle term does not appear in the conclusion, which is why the option about it appearing in the conclusion isn’t correct.