REASONING

This book is a part of set, not be sold separately.

 Introduction
The reasoning section forms a very crucial and important section in any
management entrance examination especially in CAT, where questions from English
and Maths section are also being modified and presented with reasoning essence.
Analysis and logic are two key features of reasoning since the solution of reasoning
is based in the analysis of the statements and the logic behind these questions.
The approach for solving analytical reasoning questions varies from questions to
questions as these questions can be classified into different categories.

As earlier said in this book you will come across reasoning questions from
different categories as diverse as arrangements (linear, complex and circular),
conditionalities, family pyramid and binary logic and also an additional brain tickling
section called GAMES.

There are EXERCISES at the end of illustrations in every chapter. It is important

that you solve the exercises and then analyze your mistakes and learn from them.

We want your feedback on the book, as it will help us to make further

improvement in our next edition. So, enjoy reading now. We wish you best of luck
for your successful career.
 Contents
1. Family Pyramid ... 7 - 17
2. Linear Arrangement ... 18 - 32
3. Complex Arrangement ... 33 - 46
4. Circular Arrangement ... 47 - 62
5. Binary Logic ... 63 - 72
6. Conditionalities ... 73 - 86
7. Games ... 87 - 96
Answers ... 97 - 98
 1
Family Pyramid
Family Pyramid logical problems mainly involves the hierarchical structure of a
family. While attempting problem from this section, the success of a candidate
depends upon his knowledge about various blood relations. Some of the
relationships given below is quite helpful in solving the problems. A pictorial
representation of the blood relations or family hierarchy is given below to make
your job simple.

CHILDREN & IN LAW

( Son, Daughter Niece, IV
Nephew, Son-in-law,
Daughter-in-law)

SIBLINGS, SPOUSE
& IN-LAWS III
(Bother, Sister, Cousin, Wife,
Husband, Bother-in-law, Sister-in-law)

PARENTS & IN-LAW II

(Father, Mother, Uncle, Aunt, Father-in-law,
Mother-n-law)

Family Pyramid
 REASONING

Mother’s or Father’s Son : Brother

Mother’s or Father’s Daughter : Sister
Mother’s or Father’s Brother : Uncle
Mother’s or Father’s Sister : Aunt
Mother’s or Father’s Mother/Father : Grandmother/Grandfather
Grandfather’s sister : Grandaunt
Son’s Wife : Daughter-in-law
Daughter’s Husband : Son-in-law
Husband’s or Wife’s Sister : Sister-in-law
Husband’s or Wife’s Brother : Brother-in-law
Sister’s or Brother’s Son : Nephew
Sister’s or Brother’s Daughter : Niece
Uncle or Aunt’s Son or Daughter : Cousin
Sister’s Husband : Brother-in-law
Brother’s Wife : Sister-in-law
Children of Same Parents : Siblings (could be all Brothers, All Sisters
or Some Brothers and Some Sisters)
Children : Son, Daughter
Children’s Children : Grandchildren (Grandson, Granddaughter)
Spouse : Husband or Wife
Grandfather and grandmother will come in the first level; mother, father, uncle
and aunt will come in the second level; sister, brother and cousin will come at the
third level; niece and nephew will come in the fourth level and finally, granddaughters
and grandsons will come. The above levels are made from the point of view of an
individual.
Now in questions of family pyramid, the relationship between two people is
given through a roundabout way of relating them through other people. You need
to go through the series of relationships and finally determine the relationship
between the two people given in the question. The relationship can be given as a
simple statement or as a statement made by a person.

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FAMILY PYRAMID

Illustration 1: Ballu’s father’s brother’s father is Balwant. How is Balwant related

to Ballu?
(1) Father (2) Grandfather
(3) Uncle (4) Son

Balwant
Father

Brother
Father
[ ] [ ]

Ballu

Solution: Ballu’s father’s brother is Ballu’s uncle. His uncle’s father is Ballu’s father’s
father. Balwant is the grandfather of Ballu.
Illustration 2: P’s father’s wife’s mother is Q, whose only child is R. How is R
related to P’s brother?
(1) Grandmother (2) Aunt
(3) Sister (4) Mother

[Q] Mother

Wife
Father [ ] []

Son
Brother
[P] []

Solution: P’s father’s wife is P’s mother. P’s mother’s mother is Q whose only child
is R. Hence, R is the mother of P. Similarly, R is the mother of P’s brother.

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 REASONING

Illustration 3: Neha’s brother’s sister’s father’s brother is Kunal and Kunal’s

daughter is Deep. How is Neha related to Deep?
(1) Brother (2) Sister
(3) Cousin (4) Uncle
Brother
[Kunal]
Father
Father Father
Daughter

Brother Sister [Deep]

[Neha]
Solution: Neha’s brother’s sister is Neha’s sister. Neha’s sister’s father is Neha’s
father. Neha’s father’s brother is Kunal means Kunal is the uncle of Neha. Kunal’s
daughter is Deep means Neha’s uncle’s daughter will be Neha’s cousin.
Illustration 4: Pointing to a photograph Rakesh said, “she is the sister of my
father’s mother’s only child’s son.” How is the person in the photograph related to
Rakesh?
(1) Sister (2) Aunt
(3) Mother (4) Cousin
Solution: My father’s mother’s only child is my father. My father’s son’s sister is in
the photograph.
Hence she is Rakesh’s sister.
[ ]

Mother

[ ]

Father

Sister
[Ramesh] [ ]
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FAMILY PYRAMID

Illustration 5: Bhanu’s father’s father is the husband of Chirag’s mother’s mother.

How is Bhanu related to Chirag?
(1) Brother (2) Sister
(3) Cousin (4) Cannot be determined
Solution: Bhanu’s father’s father is Bhanu’s grandfather.
Bhanu’s grandfather is the husband of Chirag’s mother’s mother i.e. grandmother. It
is possible that Bhanu and Chirag are siblings and the persons mentioned are their
paternal/maternal grand parents. It is also possible that Bhanu and Chirag are cousins.
Hence the relationship cannot be determined.

[ ] [ ]
[Husband]
Mother Father

[ ] [ ]

Mother/father Father/mother

[Bhanu] [Chirag]

11
 REASONING

EXERCISE – 1
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 3: Answer the questions based on the following
information. Mr. Mehra has 3 children — A, B and C. C is married to the eldest
daughter of Mrs. and Mr. Kapoor. Kapoors married their youngest daughter to the
eldest son of Mrs. and Mr. Gupta and the couple had two children E and F. J and K
are sons of C and D. L is daughter of E. (Assume children inherit the surname of the
father)
1. What is the surname of L?
(1) Mehra (2) Kapoor
(3) Gupta (4) Cannot be determined
2. How is J related to the father of D?
(1) Grandfather (2) Grandson
(3) Maternal uncle (4) None of these
3. How is Mrs. Kapoor related to K?
(1) Son-in-law (2) Mother-in-law
(3) Aunt (4) None of these
DIRECTIONS for questions 4 to 7: These questions are based on the following
data.
Celina, the only daughter of Brian was celebrating her tenth birthday. A total of 6
members attended the party. All except Gerhard who was a close friend of Celina,
were her close relatives. Anna was the daughter-in-law of Freda who was the wife of
Emanuel. Dimitri was the son of Anna and brother of Celina.
4. How is Freda related to Brian?
(1) mother-in-law (2) mother
(3) aunt (4) grand-mother
5. How is Gerhard related to Dimitri?
(1) friend (2) brother
(3) father (4) Not related
6. Who is the grandfather of Celina?
(1) Brian (2) Freda
(3) Dimitri (4) None of these
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FAMILY PYRAMID

7. How is Anna related to Emanuel?

(1) daughter-in-law (2) daughter
(3) grand-daughter (4) None of these
DIRECTIONS for questions 8 to 12: These questions are based on the information
given below.
A family consists of eight persons which has three married couples. L is the
grandfather of D. C is the mother of D and sister-in-law of B. Y is the cousin of D. A
is the mother of M and grandmother of Y. Y is the niece of X, who is the son-in-law
of L. All the relationships given here pertain to A, B, C, D, L, M, X and Y.
8. Who is the mother of Y?
(1) M (2) B
(3) C (4) Cannot be determined
9. What is D to A?
(1) grandson (2) son
(3) son-in-law (4) grandchild
10. Who is the wife of L?
(1) M (2) B
(3) A (4) C
11. What is Y to L?
(1) daughter (2) son
(3) grandson (4) grand-daughter
12. Who is the spouse of B?
(1) M (2) C
(3) X (4) A
DIRECTIONS for questions 13 to 17: These questions are based on the following
data.
Eight persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H, all belonging to the same family and related
to each other, go for a picnic. A is a student and is the youngest person in the group.
C is a writer and is the wife of B, who is a doctor. G is the father-in-law of E, an
engineer. C and F are the daughters of the salesman. H is the wife of G and grand

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 REASONING

mother of A and D. A is the cousin of D and the son of the doctor. There is a lecturer
in the group whose mother is a teacher. All relations and professions given here
pertain to one of A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H.
13. Who is the salesman?
(1) H (2) G
(3) F (4) B
14. Who is the wife of E?
(1) F (2) H
(3) G (4) A
15. Who is the teacher?
(1) B (2) G
(3) A (4) H
16. How is D related to C?
(1) nephew (2) daughter
(3) niece (4) Cannot be determined
17. How is the engineer related to A?
(1) uncle (2) father
(3) grandfather (4) son
DIRECTIONS for questions 18 to 22: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
Urmila, has just two daughters Rani and Sikha. Suchita has a nephew who is only
son of his parents. Rupiika and Suchita are sisters. Urmila is the daughter of Mr.
Ramit who has only 3 daughters. Urmila has 2 nephews and a niece. Rani is Suchita’s
niece.
18. How many sons does Rupiika have?
(1) one (2) two
(3) none (4) cannot be determined
19. How many daughters does Suchita have?
(1) one (2) two
(3) none (4) cannot be determined

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FAMILY PYRAMID

20. Rupiika is related to Sikha as

(1) mother (2) sister
(3) aunt (4) niece
21. How many grandsons does Ramit have?
(1) one (2) two
(3) three (4) four
22. How many grandchildren does Ramit have?
(1) three (2) four
(3) five (4) cannot be determined
DIRECTIONS for questions 23 to 28: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
There are six women, Shalini, Divya, Ritu, Rashmi, Nisha and Renu in a family of
twelve members. There are few married couples in the family and none of the
grandchildren are married. Sunil is married into the family. Rohan, Mahesh and Jatin
have a nephew Dipesh who is the only son of Rashmi. Ravi is the paternal grandfather
of Nisha. Ritu is the daughter-in-law of Shalini. Renu is the first cousin of Dipesh.
Shalini has only three grandchildren. Mahesh has two brothers and only one sister
Rashmi and a sister-in-law Divya. Dipesh’s only unmarried maternal uncle, Jatin is
the brother-in-law of Sunil. Rohan is the paternal uncle of Nisha. Ritu has two
daughters one of whom is Nisha.
23. How many married couples are there in the second generation?
(1) 1 (2) 2
(3) 3 (4) 4
24. Dipesh is
(1) Mahesh’s son (2) Ravi’s grandson
(3) Rohan’s son (4) Sunil’s nephew
25. Nisha is
(1) Rohan’s daughter (2) Jatin’s mother
(3) Renu’s cousin (4) None of these

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 REASONING

26. Which one of the following is a married couple?

(1) Rohan and Ritu (2) Shalini and Mahesh
(3) Renu and Sunil (4) Mahesh and Ritu
27. Rashmi is
(1) Mahesh’s wife (2) Renu’s aunt
(3) Nisha’s mother (4) None of these
28. Which one of the following is true?
(1) Dipesh is Mahesh’s son.
(2) Ravi has only two married children.
(3) Ravi is the paternal grandfather of Renu.
(4) None of these
29. How is my sister’s husband’s father’s wife’s only daughter-in-law’s father related
to me?
(1) brother (2) uncle
(3) father (4) Cannot be determined
30. Looking at a photograph Samuel says to Rina, “This person is the daughter of
your father’s mother and is my sister. How is Samuel and the person in the
photograph related to Rina?
(1) brother, aunt (2) uncle, aunt
(3) uncle, grand mother (4) None of these
31. Shilpa’s sister-in-law is the daughter of Rahul. If Shilpa is the only child of her
parents, then how is Shilpa’s husband related to Rahul?
(1) son (2) father
(3) uncle (4) father-in-law
32. What is my father’s father-in-law’s son’s only sister to me?
(1) aunt (2) mother
(3) grandmother (4) None of these
33. P’s father’s mother’s son’s wife is related to P as
(1) mother (2) mother-in-law
(3) aunt (4) Cannot be determined

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FAMILY PYRAMID

34. My father’s sister’s son’s father is related to me as

(1) uncle (2) cousin
(3) aunt (4) Cannot be determined
35. How is Anil’s sibling’s grand-father’s only daughter’s only child related to
Anil?
(1) brother (2) cousin
(3) nephew (4) Cannot be determined
36. My mother’s sister’s husband’s only son’s sister is related to me as
(1) sister (2) cousin
(3) aunt (4) Cannot be determined
37. My mother’s father’s only daughter’s only son is related to me as
(1) brother (2) cousin
(3) myself (4) either (1) or (3)
38. How is Pratima’s daughter-in-law’s son’s son related to Pratima’s husband?
(1) son-in-law (2) grandson
(3) great grandson (4) None of these

17
 2
Linear Arrangement
Sequencing is essentially arranging the objects given in a sequence. In this
type of questions, information is provided about certain number of items, be it
persons or things. And one has to fix only one facet of these objects. Hence, the
name linear arrangements. The questions of this type are also referred to as “Seating
Arrangement”. Essentially, these questions involve arranging subjects (people or
things) satisfying the given conditions. The information given has to be analyzed
and put in a suitable form before answering the questions.
These problems can be further divided into 2 types.

TYPE I: USUALLY INVOLVES ARRANGING.

A] OBJECTS BASED ON RANKING

These can have problems based on arranging objects in a row based on their
ranking. The rank would be due to any feature/facet such as weight, height, time,
distance, marks etc. Necessary information like comparison of objects would be
provided e.g., A is taller than B or A comes after B and so on.

B] OBJECTS ON OR AROUND CERTAIN GEOMETRIC STRUCTURES.

These can have problems based on arranging objects around a table. The table
could be circular, oval, triangular, rectangular, hexagonal, square shaped and so on.
The information provided would be in terms of directional places of the objects i.e.,
opposite, immediate, left, right and so on.

C] OBJECTS IN COTTAGES/ TENTS

These type of problems generally include people living in cottages and these
cottages may be in a row or two rows opposite to each other or may be arranged
around a circle (in this case, it becomes the same as the previous one).
LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

TYPE II: THIS INVOLVES SCHEDULING.

A] SCHEDULING IN A WEEK.

These type of problems generally include scheduling lectures, subjects to be

studied, activities to be done or flights of an airline etc., in a week.

B] SCHEDULING A TRIP.

A trip may include monuments to be visited, cities to be toured and so on.

C] DRAMA / MOVIES TO BE PLAYED / SCREENED.

These problems include certain number of dramas/movies or dance programs

which are presented by a combination of given actors or dancers.
DIRECTIONS for illustrations 1 to 5: Read the data given below carefully and
answer the questions that follow.
Seven friends Pawan, Jayanti, Rishi, Sam, Megha, Chandan and Vani went together
for a movie and are sitting in a row facing the screen. Rishi and Sam sit next to each
other. There must be exactly four persons between Jayanti and Vani. Sam sits to the
immediate right of Jayanti.
Illustration 1: If Pawan and Megha are separated exactly by two persons, then
who sits to the immediate left of Vani?
(1) Pawan (2) Megha
(3) Chandan (4) Rishi
Illustration 2: If Jayanti is not sitting at either extreme of the row, then who among
the following has as many persons on his left as on his right?
(1) Sam (2) Chandan
(3) Rishi (4) Vani
Illustration 3: If Jayanti sits at one extreme, then who is at the other extreme?
(1) Pawan (2) Megha
(3) Vani (4) Cannot be determined

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 REASONING

Illustration 4: Megha sits to the right of Jayanti, and Pawan is separated from
Megha by exactly three persons. Then, who is sitting to the immediate left of Vani?
(1) Chandan (2) Pawan
(3) Megha (4) Rishi
Illustration 5: In how many different ways can the seven persons sit in a row?
(1) 3 (2) 2
(3) 10 (4) 12
Solutions for illustrations 1 to 5:
Approach:
 In first step we should write down the conditions given in short form and then
represent them symbolically.
 Also, let us treat the left of the persons sitting as “left” and their right as “right”
for interpreting the conditions.
Rishi and Sam sit next to each other  RS or SR.
There are exactly 4 persons between Jayanti and Vani  J — — — — V or
V — — — — J.
Sam sits to the immediate right of Jayanti  SJ
Now let us analyse the information that we are given and then put the three conditions
together. We can also number the seats from our left to right as Seat 1 to Seat 7.
SR and SJ cannot occur simultaneously. Hence it has to be RS and SJ giving us RSJ.
Since S is to the right of J and since R and S have to be next to each other, R can come
only to the immediate right of S. Thus, R, S and J, will be in the order RSJ. Also SR
and SJ cannot occur simultaneously. Hence it has to be RS and SJ giving us RSJ.Since
there are four persons between J and V, J can be placed in seats 1, 2, 6 or 7. But if J
is in Seat 1 or 2, then there are no seats for R and S. Hence, there are only two seats
available for J. Let us fix the positions of R, S and V in each of these two positions
of J and write them down. The directions Left and Right are as shown below.
R L

20
LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

Arrangement I:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
V R S J
Arrangement II:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
V R S J
These are the only two arrangements possible for the four persons V, R, S and
Q. The other three persons Pawan, Megha and Chandan can sit in the three vacant
seats in any order, as no information is given about them. Now let us look at each of
the questions.
1. Pawan and Megha are separated by exactly two persons. Arrangement II is the
only one possible as in Arrangement I, Pawan and Megha cannot have exactly
two persons between them. So, we have the arrangement as follows:
M/P, V, C, P/M, R, S, J
So, Chandan must be sitting to the immediate left of Vani. Choice (3)
2. If Jayanti is not at the extreme right, then only Arrangement I above is possible.
The person who has as many persons on his left as on his right can only be the
person who is sitting in the middle seat, i.e. seat 4. In this arrangement, Rishi is
sitting in seat 4. Choice (3)
3. “Jayanti sits at one extreme” means that we should look at arrangement II. In
this arrangement, any one out of the three persons Pawan, Megha and Chandan
can be in seat 1, i.e. extreme right. Choice (4)
4. If megha and Pawan are separated by exactly three persons, then only
Arrangement I is possible. So, Megha and Pawan have to be in seats 3 and 7,
Since, we are also given that Megha is to the right of Jayanti, Megha has to be
in seat 3 and Pawan, in seat 7. So, the arrangement must be as follows:
V, C, M, R, S, J, P
The person sitting to the immediate left of Vani is Chandan. Choice (1)
5. We have two possible arrangements - Arrangement II and Arrangement I that
we looked at already. In each arrangement, the remaining three people can sit in
the remaining three seats in 6 ways. Thus, a total of 12 ways of seating the
seven persons is possible. Choice (4)
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 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for illustrations 6 to 9: Refer to the information below and answer

the questions that follow.
Six friends went for camping. They are to be accommodated in a row of nine
tents, each to a tent. Manu, Tanu and Ruma do not want to live in a cottage at the
end of the row. Balu and Manu must not have anybody adjacent to their tents.
There is only an empty tent between Manu and Ruma. Charu is adjacent to both
Jaya and Ruma. Tanu is next to the tent at the beginning.
Illustration 6: Who has empty tents on both sides?
1] Ruma 2] Balu 3] Manu 4] Tanu
Illustration 7: Who is in the third tent?
1] Jaya 2] Charu 3] Nobody 4] Ruma
Illustration 8: Which tents are empty?
1] 1, 6, 8 2] 1, 5, 8 3] 4, 5, 6 4] 5, 6, 8
Illustration 9: What is the maximum number of consecutive tents that are occupied?
1] 2 2] 3 3] 1 4] 4
Solutions for illustrations 6 to 9:
Step I
Identification and use of symbols: Manu (M) Tanu (T)
Balu (B) Ruma (R)
Charu (C) Jaya (J)
Step II
Positions Identification: These 6 friends have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
to occupy 6 out of 9 cottages.

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LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

Step III
Using the given conditions:
a] M, T and R do not want to live in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
a cottage at the end of the row R´ R´
T´ T´
M´ M´
Note: R´ represents that R is absent there.

b] B and M must not have anybody Θ B Θ and Θ M Θ

adjacent to their tents.

Note: Θ represents the vacant position.

c] There is 1 empty tent between M and R M Θ R or R Θ M

(If the cottage is empty then nobody occupies it)
d] C is adjacent to both J and R J C R or R C J
e] T is next to the tent at the beginning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

We need to analyse the given information to arrive at the answer. Look out for the
person or element which is common to two or more conditions. We find R common
to conditions (c) and (d). We form a chain

J C R Θ M or M Θ R C J
Also, since there must not be anybody
adjacent to M (condition (b)) we have J C R Θ M Θ OR Θ M Θ R C J

The other elements are Θ B Θ and T

Position of T is fixed at 2. R, T, M cannot be at position 1 and 9 (condition (a)). Also
J, C and B cannot be at position 1 (condition (b) and (d)). Thus, the only possibility
left for position 1 is an empty tents. C, M and B cannot be at positions 3 (condition
(b) and (d)). Thus, either R or J can occupy position 3.

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 REASONING

R should have a vacant place followed or preceded by M on one side and C on the
other. Both these conditions cannot be fulfilled simultaneously if R is placed at
position 3. Hence, J must be at position 3. Thus, C will be at position 4 and R at
position 5 followed by an empty cottage at position 6, Therefore, M is at position 7
followed by an empty cottage and B is at position 9. Therefore, the final arrangement
will look like:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Θ T J C R Θ M Θ B
Solution 6: Only Maun has empty tents on both the sides. Hence, [3].
Solution 7: Jaya is in the third tents Hence, [1].
Solution 8: The first, sixth and eighth tents are empty. Hence, [1].
Solution 9: Maximum four consecutive tents are occupied. Hence, [4].

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LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

EXERCISE – 2
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 5: These questions are based on the following
data.
Seven flags of different colours - Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red
- are placed in a row from left to right, not necessarily in that order. The Indigo flag
and the Yellow flag have four flags between them. The Orange flag is not between
the Indigo flag and the Yellow flag. The Violet flag and the Red flag cannot be next
to the Blue flag.
1. What is the total number of possible arrangements?
(1) 12 (2) 8
(3) 4 (4) None of these
2. If the Violet flag is adjacent to the Indigo flag, then which coloured flag is
exactly in the middle of the row?
(1) Red (2) Green
(3) Violet (4) Cannot be determined
3. If the Yellow fla g is adjacent to the Orange flag and the Blue flag, then which
coloured flag is 3 places away from the Indigo flag?
(1) Green (2) Red
(3) Violet (4) Cannot be determined
4. If the Black flag and the White flag are also to be placed in the row, such that
they are adjacent to each other but none of them is next to the Violet flag or to
the Red flag, and also none of them is at any of the extreme ends, then what is
the total number of possible arrangements?
(1) 24 (2) 48
(3) 96 (4) None of these
5. Which of the following statements must be true?
(1) Yellow flag is at one of the extreme ends.
(2) The Indigo flag and the Orange flag are adjacent to each other.
(3) The Blue flag is adjacent to the Green flag.
(4) The Yellow flag or the Indigo flag is/are adjacent to both the Orange flag
and the Blue flag.
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 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for questions 6 to 10: These questions are based on the data given
below.
Six persons – A, B, C, D, E and F – stand in a row. A is to the left of B. C is to the right
of D. E and F have two persons standing between them and neither of these two
persons is C or A.
6. What is the total number of possible arrangements?
(1) 2 (2) 4
(3) 6 (4) None of these
7. Who among the following stand at the extreme ends of the row?
(1) E and F (2) E and C
(3) A and C (4) None of these
8. If A sits to the immediate left of E, then who sits to the immediate right of B?
(1) D (2) F
(3) C (4) Cannot be determined
9. If A or C is permitted to sit between E and F, other conditions remaining the
same, what is the total number of possible arrangements?
(1) 36 (2) 48
(3) 18 (4) None of these
10. Who among the following sits to the immediate left of C, if B sits to the immediate
right of E?
(1) D (2) F
(3) D or F (4) Cannot be determined
DIRECTIONS for questions 11 to15: These questions are based on the data given
below.
Nine persons A to I are standing in a row. Both E and G are exactly next to one
person. There are two persons between C and A. F is between I and B. B is to the
immediate right of E, and C is to the immediate left of G.
11. Which of the following additional statements is necessary to determine the
order of the persons in the row, from left to right?
(1) I is to the immediate left of A and C is to the immediate right of H.
(2) A is to the left of D and H.

26
LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

(3) There are two persons between F and D.

(4) None of the above
12. If I is to the immediate right of A, then who is to the immediate left of C?
(1) D (2) F
(3) H (4) Either (D) or (H)
13. How many persons are there between C and E?
(1) 7 (2) 6
(3) 5 (4) 4
14. If H is to the immediate right of D, then how many persons are there between E
and D?
(1) 4 (2) 5
(3) 6 (4) Cannot be determined
15. How many arrangements of a row are possible, given that, F is to the immediate
right of B?
(1) 2 (2) 3
(3) 4 (4) 6
DIRECTIONS for questions 16 to 19: These questions are based on the information
given below.
With the helmet becoming compulsory for two wheeler drivers, a survey was
conducted on helmets of six different companies based on their popularity and
costs. The six companies were Volga, Studds, Aerostar, Steelbird, MPA and Globe.
The following statements give the result of the survey:
(i) There were only 5 rankings given in terms of cost and popularity for 6
helmets, because in each of the two categories i.e., cost and popularity,
one of the ranks (from 1 to 5) was shared by two companies. No two
companies had the same rank in both the categories.
(ii) The rank that has been shared is different in both the categories
(iii) In the cost category, Volga is cheaper than Studds. Volga has got equal
number of helmets costlier than it and cheaper than it.
(iv) MPA is costlier (Rank 1) than all the other helmets and Globe is cheaper
(Rank 5) than all the other helmets.

27
 REASONING

(v) Studds is the most popular (Rank 1) helmet and Steelbird is the least popular
(Rank 5) amongst all the helmets.
(vi) Aerostar has got exactly three helmets popular than itself and Globe has
got only one helmet which is less popular than itself.
(vii) Volga doesn’t share its ranking in terms of popularity.
16. What is the ranking of Volga in terms of popularity?
(1) First (2) Second
(3) Fourth (4) Last
17. Which of the following companies is sharing its rank in terms of popularity?
(1) Globe (2) Volga
(3) MPA (4) None of these
18. Rank 1 in any category is given 5 points; rank 2 is given 4 points; arid so on and
rank 5 is given 1 point. Considering both the categories, which company has
got the highest total number of points?
(1) Studds (2) MPA
(3) Volga (4) Aerostar
19. Name the company that gains the minimum total number of points, if in the cost
category, the costliest is given 1 point, and so on and the cheapest is given 5
points, and in the popularity category the most popular is given 5 points and
the least popular is given 1 point.
(1) Studds (2) Globe
(3) Aerostar (4) MPA

28
LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

SCHEDULING QUESTIONS
DIRECTIONS for questions20 and 21: These questions are based on the following
data.
Five buses B1, B2, B3, B4 and B5 operate between two stations S1 and S2. The 1st bus,
which leaves from S1, is the 3rd bus to reach S2. B1, the 2nd bus to reach S2, reaches
after B5. B4, the 2nd bus to leave the station S1 is the last to reach S2, immediately after
B2, which leaves S1 after B5 and B1 respectively.
20. Which bus is the first bus to leave from the S1?
(1) B4 (2) B5
(3) B3 (4) B1
21. What is the position of B1 in leaving S1 and in reaching S2?
(1) 4th, 3rd (2) 3rd, 5th
(3) 3rd, 2nd (4) 4th, 2nd
22. A train starts from station S1 to S6 and travels through the intermediary stations
S2, S3, S4 and S5 respectively. The train takes 30 minutes to travel from one
station to the next station and it stops at every station for 10 minutes. If the
train reaches S5 at 8:30 a.m., then at what time did the train start at S1?
(1) 6:10 a.m. (2) 6:00 a.m.
(3) 6:20 a.m. (4) 6:30 a.m.
23. There are six stations S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6. A train t1, starts from S1 to S6 and
another train t2 starts from S6 to S1. These trains take 30 minutes to travel from
one station to the next station and at every station they stop for 10 minutes. If
t1 reaches S4 at 8:20 a.m. and t2 reaches S3 at 9:00 a.m. then at what time did the
trains t1 and t2 start at stations S1 and S2 respectively?
(1) 6:30 a.m., 7:00 a.m. (2) 6:00 a.m., 6:30 a.m.
(3) 6:30 a.m., 7:10 a.m. (4) 6:10 a.m., 6:30 a.m.
24. In the above problem, at which station will the two trains meet each other?
(1) S4 (2) S2
(3) S3 (4) S5
DIRECTIONS for questions 25 and 26: These questions are based on the following
data.
T1, T2 and T3 are three trains that leave station S1 and reach station S2. The train

29
 REASONING

number and the order in which they depart or arrive is not the same. The first train to
leave S1 is the third train to reach S
25. Which train is the first to leave from S1?
(1) T1 (2) T2
(3) T3 (4) Cannot be determined
26. Which train is the second to reach S2?
(1) T1 (2) T2
(3) T3 (4) Cannot be determined
27. Five students A, B, C, D and E participated in a 100 m race and finished the race
in five different timings (not necessarily in the same order). Three students
finished the race behind D and three students finished the race ahead of E. C is
neither the first nor the last student to finish the race. If A finishes the race after
B, then who is the last student to finish the race?
(1) D (2) E
(3) A (4) Cannot be determined
28. Six buses B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6 leave a bus station at six different timings (not
necessarily in the same order). Buses B2, B3 and B5 leave the station one after
the other in the same order. B3 is neither the 2nd nor the 5th bus to leave the
station. B4 is neither the 1st nor the 6th bus to leave the station. If B1 leaves the
station after Be, then in which position will B4 leave the station?
(1) 4th (2) 5th
(3) 2nd (4) Cannot be determined
29. In the above problem, if B1 leaves the station immediately after B5, then in which
position will B3 leave the station?
(1) 3rd (2) 4th
(3) 5th (4) Either 3rd or 4th
DIRECTIONS for questions 30 and 31: These questions are based on the following
data.
B1, B2, B3 and B4 are four buses that leave station S1 and reach stations S2 and S3.
The bus number and the order in which they depart or arrive is not the same. The 1st
bus to leave S1 is the 2nd to reach S3 and 3rd to reach S2. The 1st bus to reach S3 is the
2nd bus to leave S1 and the last bus to reach S2.

30
LINEAR ARRANGEMENT

30. Which is the first bus to leave S1?

(1) B4 (2) B3
(3) B2 (4) Cannot be determined
31. Which is the second bus to reach S2?
(1) B1 (2) B2
(3) B3 (4) Cannot be determined
32. Which is the third bus to reach S3?
(1) B1 (2) B2
(3) B3 (4) Cannot be determined
DIRECTIONS for questions 33 to 35: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
A movie channel is showing all hit Hollywood films viz. Matrix, Anaconda, Godzilla,
Rambo and Terminator on a day. The time slot for every movie is 3 hrs., starting from
6:00 am to 9:00pm.
[a] Rambo is not shown in the first as well as the last slot.
[b] Matrix and Anaconda are shown in consecutive slots.
[c] Godzilla will be shown at 6 O’clock.
[d] Matrix will not be shown at 6 O’clock.
33. If Terminator is to be shown in the last slot, then Rambo is shown in which slot?
(1) 6:00 am - 9:00 am (2) 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
(3) 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm (4) 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
(5) Either [2] or [4]
34. In which slot can the movie Anaconda can be shown?
(1) 6:00 am - 9:00 am (2) 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
(3) 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm (4) 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
(5) All the time slots
35. If Rambo will be shown at 12: 00 noon then Terminator will be shown at
(1) 6:00 am - 9:00 am (2) 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
(3) 3:00 - 6:00 pm (4) Either [1] or [2]
(5) Either [2] or [3]

31
 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for questions 36 and 37: These questions are based on the following
data.
Seven army officials - T, (J, V, W, X, Y and Z -are standing in a row facing their leader.
They have to stand according to the following conditions.
(i) U is to the immediate left of X and V is to the immediate right of T.
(ii) Y has to stand at the extreme left end with respect to the leader.
(iii) Neither V nor X is adjacent to Y.
36. What can be the maximum number of officials standing between U and T?
(1) 0 (2) 1
(3) 2 (4) 3
37. What is the total number of different ways in which the army officials can
stand?
(1) 8 (2) 6
(3) 10 (4) 12
DIRECTIONS for questions 38 to 40: These questions are based on the information
given below.
Five boys - P, Q, R, S and T - are of different heights and are sitting in a row, in the
decreasing order of their heights from left to right. Two persons sit in between R and
T. T is shorter than at least two other boys. Q is neither the tallest nor the shortest.
S is sitting adjacent to both Q and T.
38. Who is the tallest person?
(1) P (2) R
(3) S (4) Cannot be determined
39. Who is sitting exactly in the middle of the row?
(1) R (2) Q
(3) S (4) Cannot be determined.
40. Which of the following pairs of persons always sit adjacent to each other?
(1) Q and S (2) S and T
(3) R and Q (4) All the above

32
 3
Complex Arrangement
In the linear arrangements chapter we have learnt about assigning only one
character to the objects given. Whereas, in this chapter, i.e the questions in complex
arrangements involve assigning of 2 or more characters to any object. e.g., Five
different games played by five players [name of the players being given]
Here, we have to assign to the players –
1. Name of their games.
2. Their surnames.
3. Name of their profession.
All the questions of this category can be solved if the given information is
analyzed and put in a TABULAR/MATRIX form, so as to be clearly understandable.
This is important because of the fact that questions will mostly be inclined towards
indirect information.
The most important point of concern in complex arrangements is to understand
the problem and draw a matrix illustrating all the given points of the basic structure
of the argument. Here, we will discuss the various methods to draw a matrix. For
reference, we will use the following example.
Illustration 1: There are 6 male friends who went to a multiplex theatre and everyone
watches a different movie – Black, Gladiator, Titanic, Aviator, Lagaan and Godzilla.
They are married to 2 Actresses, Doctor, writer, Professor and Housewife in not
necessarily the same order. The couples stay in 6 different cities - Shimla, Chennai,
Kolkata, Delhi, Patna and Indore. Following information is given:
1. The person who watched Gladiator is married to an actress, but does not belong
to either Kolkata or Delhi.
2. The Doctor and then person who watched Godzilla don’t stay in Indore and
Patna respectively.
 REASONING

3. The person who watched Titanic is not married to either Doctor or writer, but
his wife is not a housewife either.
4. One of the actresses stays in Delhi.
5. The person who watched Titanic, the one who watched Aviator and the one
who watched Black stay in Kolkata, Indore and Chennai respectively.
6. The lady who stays in Patna is a Housewife.
(i) Who is married to the person who watched Titanic ?
(ii) In which city does the Doctor stay?
(iii) Who is married to the person who watched Godzilla?
(iv) In which city does the person who watched Lagaan stay?
(v) In which city does the person who watched Gladiator stay?
The given problem can be represented as a three-parameter problem in which 2
characters are assigned to a given parameter. Here you are required to match correctly
the male friends with the female professionals living in different cities. your objective
should be very clear. For e.g., here our objective can be represented as,
Male viewer  Profession of wife  City
Method I
In this method, you fix any given parameter, called as reference parameter, in a
column and place the other two parameters in row getting a matrix . Ideally, the
parameter about which maximum information is given should be used as the reference
parameter. Hence, you get a matrix like,

Profession of Wife C i ti e s
Male Actr. Actr. Doctor Writer Prof. HW. Shim. Chen. Kolkata Delhi Patna Ind.
viewers
Black
Gladiator
Tita nic
Aviator
Lagaan.
Godzilla

34
COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT

Using the given conditions, put a cross or tick in the respective blocks. Using
condition (1) and (2), since the person who watched Gladiator is married to an
actress, the corresponding box is ticked and all other boxes in the corresponding
row and column is crossed. Also the corresponding blocks of Kolkata and Delhi
and Patna are crossed.
Male Actr. Actr. Doctor Writer Prof. HW. Shim. Chen. Kolkata Delhi Patna Ind.
viewers
Black ×
Gladiator  × × × × × × ×
Tita nic ×
Aviator ×
Lagaan. ×
Godzilla ×

Using condition (3) we get,

Male Actr. Actr. Doctor Writer Prof. HW. Shim. Chen. Kolkata Delhi Patna Ind.
viewers
Black ×
Gladiator  × × × × × ×
Tita nic × × × ×
Aviator ×
Lagaan. ×
Godzilla × ×

Using condition (5) we get,

Male Actr. Actr. Doctor Writer Prof. HW. Shim. Chen. Kolkata Delhi Patna Ind.
viewers
Black ×  × × × ×
Gladiator  × × × × × × × × ×
Tita nic × × × × ×  × × ×
Aviator × × × × × 
Lagaan. × × × ×
Godzilla × × × × ×

35
 REASONING

Now, using condition (2), the Doctor cannot live in Indore but the person who
watched Aviator lives there, so Aviator watcher is not married to the Doctor. So
strike out the corresponding block. The second actress lives in Delhi, thus she
cannot be married to the person who watched Black, Gladiator, Titanic or the one
who watched Aviator as they don’t live in Delhi. Also the Housewife lives in Patna,
so the person who watched Gladiator or Titanic cannot get married to the Housewife,
as they don’t live in Patna. After striking out the corresponding blocks, we are only
left with the option of the Lagaan watcher who stays in Patna so the Housewife
must be married to him and the second Actress to the person who watched Godzilla,
which in turn will leave the only option for the Doctor who will get married to the
person who watched the Black Hence, the Writer will get married to the person who
watched Aviator and the Titanic watcher will marry the Professor. Hence, we get the
final complete matrix with the help of which all the questions can be answered.

Male Actr. Actr. Doctor Writer Prof. HW. Shim. Chen. Kolkata Delhi Patna Ind.
viewers
Black × ×  × × × ×  × × × ×
Gladiator  × × × × ×  × × × × ×
Tita nic × × × ×  × × ×  × × ×
Aviator × × ×  × × × × × × × 
Lagaan. × × × × ×  × × × ×  ×
Godzilla ×  × × × × × × ×  × ×

Method II
This technique is more compact than the previous one and takes less working
space. It is advisable to the students to adapt themselves with this method. Here we
draw a matrix as shown below,

Male Profession of Cities

viewers Wife

36
COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT

Unlike the previous method, the blocks in the matrix are filled with the respective
parameters following the given conditions. Here also we fix a parameter taking it as
a reference. Using conditions (1),.(2), (3) and (5) we get,

Male Profession of Cities

viewers Wife
Black Eng. ~Kolkata, ~Delhi
Gladiator Bang.
Titanic Kolkata ~Doc ~Writer ~HW
Aviator Ind. ~Doc
Lagaan.
Godzilla ~Patna

On the right hand side of the matrix, the negation symbol means that the particular
object cannot be associated with the reference parameter.
Using condition (4) and (6), only possibility for placing Housewife + Patna and
Engineer + Delhi is with the Lagaan or Godzilla viewer. But the Athlete does not live
in Ernakulam, thus it should be associated with the Engineer who lives in Delhi and
the Lagaan viewer player with Housewife.
Hence we get,

Male Profession of Cities

viewers Wife
Black Eng. Ahm. ~ Kolkata, ~ Delhi
Gladiator Chennai
Titanic Kolkata ~Doc, ~Writer, ~HW
Aviator Ind. ~Doc
Lagaan. HW Patna
Godzilla Actress Delhi ~ Patna

Now, the Titanic and Aviator viewers cannot be married to the Doctor. Thus the
only option left with Doctor is the Black viewer. Also the Titanic viewer cannot be
married to the Writer hence the Aviator viewer will be married to the Writer and the
Titanic viewer with the Professor. Hence, we get the final matrix as,

37
 REASONING

Male Profession of Cities

viewers Wife
Black Actress ~ Kolkata, ~ Delhi
Gladiator Doctor Chennai
Titanic Prof. Kolkata ~Doc ~ ~HW
Aviator Writer Ind. ~Doc
Lagaan. HW Patna
Godzilla Actress Delhi ~Patna

38
COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT

EXERCISE – 3
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 3: These questions are based on the information
given below.
Each person among the ten people - Abhinav, Bhargav, Charan, David, Emmanuel,
Gregory, Jacob Kevin, Mukesh and Nayan - are staying in a colony in different
houses arranged in two rows which face each other. Each of the houses is colour
with a different colours among Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red,
Black, Pink and White. Each one of the houses which are in a row is exactly opposite
to one house in the other row. It is also known that
(i) Black coloured building is opposite to the Pink coloured building.
(ii) Bhargav and David live in the same row as that of Jacob and Mukesh.
(iii) Kevin’s house is opposite to Mukesh’s house but not in the same row as
that of Abhinav.
(iv) Bhargav is residing in the Black coloured house which is at one of the ends
and has Mukesh’s house to its immediate right.
(v) Gregory is the only person residing in between Emmanuel and Nayan.
(vi) Yellow coloured building is in between Abhinav and Jacob’s buildings.
(vii) Charan’s house is diagonally opposite to Abhinav’s house, which is the
Blue coloured building.
(viii) Nayan, who is staying in the Orange coloured buildings, is in between
Violet and Indigo coloured buildings.
(ix) Red and White coloured buildings are adjacent to each other and the Red
coloured building is not opposite to the Orange coloured building.
1. In which coloured building is Charan staying?
(1) Black (2) pink
(3) Orange (4) Yellow
2. Which coloured building is opposite the Yell ,coloured building?
(1) Violet (2) Indigo
(3) Green (4) Cannot be determined
3. Which of the following statements is definitely true?
(1) Gregory is staying in the Indigo coloured building.

39
 REASONING

(2) Mukesh is staying in the Indigo coloured building.

(3) Green and Violet coloured buildings are adjacent to each other.
(4) Emmanuel is staying in the Green coloured building.
DIRECTIONS for questions 4 to 6: These questions are based on the following
information.
Two female models - Malaika and Deepti and two male models - Dino and John are
selected as models for advertisements of four soaps - Lux, Santoor, Pears and Dove.
Each model features in the advertisements of exactly two different soaps. Each
advertisement features one male and one female model only. No two advertisements
feature the same pair of models.
Each advertisement is scheduled to be shot in a different location from among
Mauritius, Caribbean Islands, Hawai and Monaco. The following information is
also known:
(i) The male model scheduled to shoot in Mauritius and Monaco does not
feature in the advertisements of Santoor and Pears.
(ii) Malaika is scheduled to shoot in Hawai but does not feature in the Santoor
advertisement.
(iii) The Lux advertisement does not feature John.
4. Which of the following pairs is scheduled to shoot in the Caribbean Islands?
(1) Deepti-Dino (2) Malaika - Dino
(3) Malaika - John (4) Deepti - John
5. If Dino is scheduled to shoot in Mauritius, which of the following combinations
corresponds to Monaco?
(1) Dove-Deepti (2) Lux-Malaika
(3) Deepti-Lux (4) Cannot be determined
6. In how many different ways can the combinations be formed with the given
data?
(1) 8 (2) 6
(3) 4 (4) 2

40
COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT

DIRECTIONS for questions 7 to 9: These questions are based on the following

data.
Each of the four doctors - Jeevaka, Susruta, Charaka and Dhanvantari - has done
specialisation in a different subject among Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocranolbgy
and Ophthalmology, not necessarily in that order. Each of them works for a different
hospital among Apollo, Medvein, Mediciti and Care, not necessarily in that order.
The following information is known about their specialisations and the hospital for
which each of them works,
(i) Dhanvantari specialised in Endocrinology or Cardiology.
Jeevaka specialised in Cardiology or Ophthalmology.
Charaka specialised in Dermatology or Endocrinology.
Susruta specialised in Ophthalmology or Dermatology.
(ii) The one who is specialised in Ophthalmology works for Apollo or Mediciti.
The one who is specialised in Endocrinology works for Care or Medvein.
The one who is specialised in Dermatology works for Apollo or Care.
The one who is specialised in Cardiology works for Mediciti or Medvein.
(iii) Mediciti employed Jeevaka or Charaka.
Care employed Susruta or Charaka.
Apollo employed Dhanvantari or Susruta.
Medvein employed Jeevaka or Dhanvantari.
7. For which hospital does Dhanvantari work?
(1) Medvein (2) Apollo
(3) Mediciti (4) Cannot be determined
8. If Cardiology is the specialisation of Jeevaka, which of the following pairs
pertain to the one who is specialised in Endocrinology?
(1) Care - Dhanvantari (2) Medvein - Charaka
(3) Care-Charaka (4) Medvein - Dhanvantari
9. Which of the following is true?
(1) The one specialised in Dermatology works for Apollo.
(2) Jeevaka specialised in Ophthalmology.

41
 REASONING

(3) Care employed “the one who is specialised in Endocrinology.

(4) Susruta works for Apollo.
DIRECTIONS for questions 10 to 14: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
There are four friends A, B, C and D. They drink two soft drinks, Coke, Pepsi with
favourite heroes being Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. They drive a bike and a car.
– A drives a bike but not a car, drinks Coke and Pepsi and likes Brad Pitt.
– B drives both and drinks pepsi and likes Tom Cruise.
– C drives car and drinks nothing but likes both Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
– D drives nothing, drinks nothing but likes both Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
10. A and D always go together so they watch _____________ movie and go by
_____________.
(1) Tom, car (2) Tom and Brad, bike
(3) Tom, Bike (4) Brad, Bike
11. If D has to watch a Tom Movie, and has a bike, who does he go with?
(1) C (2) A
(3) B (4) (A) or (B)
12. Which of the following is true?
(i) A drinks Coke, because he likes Brad.
(ii) Among the four friends, those who love Tom drink Pepsi.
(iii) Among the four friends, those who drink Pepsi drive a bike.
(1) (i) (2) (ii)
(3) (iii) (4) (i) and (ii)
13. Which of the following is/are true?
(i) The person driving a car has Pepsi.
(ii) The person who likes Tom drives a bike.
(1) only (i) is true (2) only (ii) is true
(3) both are true (4) neither are true

42
COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT

14. If C goes for Brad movie on bike, then he goes with:

(1) A (2) B
(3) D (4) A & D
DIRECTIONS for questions 15 to 19: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
Six students; four boys and two girls study in I, II, III and IV standard. They like 6
different eatables; Maggie, Popcorn, Biscuit, Cornflakes, Bread and Chocolate. They
like 6 different colours Blue, Orange, Green, Yellow, Brown and Red, not necessarily
in the same order. Following things are known about their choices:
1. Students in I standard likes Maggie and Chocolate and they are the only
students in standard I.
2. Students who like Green and Brown colours do not like Bread and Maggie
respectively.
3. Two boys, who are the only students in their respective standards, like
Orange and Green.
4. Students of II and IV standard like Biscuits and Bread respectively.
5. None of the boys like Popcorn or Chocolate.
6. Girls are in the I and III standard.
15. The student in II standard likes:
(1) Brown (2) Red
(3) Green (4) Orange
16. The girl in III standard likes:
(1) Yellow (2) Red
(3) Green (4) Data insufficient
17. One of the III standard students prefers:
(1) Chocolate (2) Cornflakes
(3) Maggie (4) Bread
18. The student who likes orange is in standard:
(1) IV (2) III
(3) I (4) II

43
 REASONING

19. If a boy likes brown, then one of the girls must like
(1) Blue (2) Red
(3) Yellow (4) Any of (1), (2) or (3)
DIRECTIONS for questions 20 to 24: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
There are 6 dancers Abha, Babita, Payal, Rohini, Meena and Sweta. They perform 6
different dances Kuchipudi, Kathak, Garba, Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Western,
not necessarily in the same order. They belong to 6 different states - Gujarat, U.P,
M.P, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala and speak 6 different languages Marathi,
Oriya, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam and Telugu. Following information is given:
– Kathakali dancer speaks Bengali.
– Meena knows Kathak but does not speak Telugu or Marathi and does not
belong to Gujarat and M.P.
– Rohini and Sweta don’t know either of Bharatnatyam and Kathakali, but
belong to Kerala and Tamilnadu respectively.
– Dancer from M.P speaks Kannada. Abha and Babita don’t know Garba or
Western, and Babita speaks Kannada.
– Kuchipudi dancer speaks Kannada.
– Payal is from Karnataka.
– Abha speaks Bengali and Payal speaks Malayalam.
20. Meena speaks:
(1) Oriya (2) Bengali
(3) Marathi (4) Kannada
21. Kathakali is performed by:
(1) Abha (2) Payal
(3) Rohini (4) Sweta
22. If Rohini speaks Marathi, then Sweta must speak:
(1) Malayalam (2) Bengali
(3) Oriya (4) Telugu

44
COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT

23. Abha belongs to:

(1) Gujarat (2) U.P
(3) Kerala (4) M.P
24. Dancer from U.P is:
(1) Abha (2) Babita
(3) Sweta (4) Meena
DIRECTIONS for questions 25 to 29: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
6 professors Ajit, Barath, Dinesh, Gunit, Harish and Jayant teach at 6 different
institutes - XLRI, MDI, IIM-A, FMS, IIM-B and IIM-L, not necessarily in the same
order. They teach 6 different subjects HRM, Business Strategy, Accounts, Financial
Management, Marketing and Taxation; and graduated from 6 different B-schools;
Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, Sloan, Kellogg and AIM. Following information is
given:
– None of the IIM professors are from Stanford or Harvard.
– One who teaches Accounts graduated from Wharton.
– Barath and Dinesh teach Business Strategy and HRM respectively.
– Gunit and Harish teach at XLRI and FMS respectively, but do not teach
Accounts.
– Kellogg and Stanford are known for Business Strategy and Financial
Management graduates respectively.
– Marketing is taught by Gunit.
– Taxation is taught at MDI.
25. If professor Ajit at IIM-A teaches Accounts, then Jayant could be a graduate
from:
(1) Sloan (2) Kellogg
(3) Wharton (4) Stanford
26. FM is taught at:
(1) XLRI (2) FMS
(3) MDI (4) IIM-A

45
 REASONING

27. Barath can teach at:

(1) IIM-B (2) MDI
(3) IIM-A (4) [1] or [3]
28. Harish has done his graduation from:
(1) Stanford (2) Harvard
(3) Wharton (4) AIM
29. Taxation faculty has graduated from:
(1) Wharton (2) Stanford
(3) Sloan (4) Kellogg

46
 4
Circular Arrangement

SEATING ARRANGEMENT
The data given in such sets of questions specify the positions of some or all of
the individuals (or items) in a circular arrangement. For example people sitting around
a table, the table could be of any shape - rectangular, square, circular or any other or
a necklace consisting of different colour beads.
The positions are specified through conditions involving specified persons
sitting (or not sitting) opposite each other or a particular person sitting to the right
or left of another person, etc.

APPROACH AND INSTRUCTIONS:

 Once you read the data, first draw the shape specified in the data and then
draw the slots in the seating arrangement.

Six persons seating in a circular fashion

P
M N

L R
Q

 Remember the statement like “P and Q are sitting farthest from each other”
or “P and Q sit across the table” imply that P and Q sit opposite each other.
 On the other hand, you should also remember that, unlike in straight-line
arrangement, the words “immediately” and “directly” do not play any role
 REASONING

in circular arrangement. In general, there is no left side or right side (unless

we are talking of ‘immediate right’ or ‘immediate left’).So if it is given that R
sits to right of Q, then it is clear that R must be to the immediate right of Q.
 Go “anti-clockwise” if anybody’s right has to be located, and go “clockwise”
if somebody’s left has to be located.
Let us take some examples.
DIRECTIONS for illustrations 1 to 5: Read the following information and observe
the illustrations that follow.
Five friends Adam, Ben, Cebu, Danny and Ela decided to play musical chair game on
their college farewell.
Adam sits two seats to the left of Cebu and Ben sits two seats to the right of Cebu.
Illustration 1: If Danny sits in between Ben and Cebu, who sits to the immediate
right of Adam?
(1) Ela (2) Danny (3) Ben (4) Cebu
Illustration 2: Which of the following cannot be the correct seating arrangement
of the five persons in either the clockwise direction or the anti-clockwise direction?
(1) Adam, Ben, Cebu, Danny. Ela (2) Adam, Danny, Cebu,Ela, Ben
(3) Adam, Ben, Danny, Cebu, Ela (4) Adam, Ela, Cebu, Danny, Ben
Illustration 3: If Danny is not sitting next to Ben, who is sitting between Ben and
Danny?
(1) Cebu (2) Adam
(3) Ela (4) Both Cebu and Adam
Illustration 4: If a new person Frank joins the group such that the initial conditions
for the seating arrangement should be observed and also a new condition that
Frank does not sit next to Cebu be satisfied, then which of the following statements
is true?
(1) Frank sits to the immediate right of Danny.
(2) Frank sits to the immediate left of Ela.
(3) Frank sits to the immediate left of Adam.
(4) Either (1) or (2) above.

48
CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

Illustration 5: If a new person Frank joins the group such that the initial conditions
for the seating arrangement should be observed and also a new condition that
Frank does not sit next to Adam, Danny or Ela be satisfied, then who will be the
neighbours of Adam (one on either side)?
(1) Danny and Ela (2) Danny and Ben
(3) Ela and Cebu (4) Cebu and Ben
Solutions for illustrations 1 to 5:
Adam sits two seats to the left of Cebu, and Ben sits two seats to the right of
Cebu. We can represent this information in the diagram below.

D or E
C

Solution 1: If Danny sits between Ben and Cebu, then the arrangement is as follows.

D
C

As can be seen from the diagram, Ela lies to the immediate right of Adam.
Choice (1)

49
 REASONING

D or E
C

E or D
F
A
Solution 2: We will take each choice and see whether it fits in the arrangement that
we represented through a diagram in the analysis of the data (the same diagram is
reproduced below).
D or E
C

E or D
F
A
Solution 3: If Danny is not next to Ben, then the seating arrangement is fixed as
follows.
E
C

A
Now Adam is between Ben and Danny. Choice (2)

50
CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

Solution 4: On the basis of the diagram that we drew, we find that to accommodate
Frank we have to create a new slot between Adam and Ben.

D or E
C

E or D
F
A

Hence, choice (3) is the correct answer. Choice (3)

Solution 5: We create a new slot for the sixth person. But since Frank will not sit
next to Adam, Danny or Ela, he will have to sit between Cebu and Ben. The
arrangement will then look as follows:

F
C

E or D
E
or
D

We can see that the arrangement given in choice (1) is not possible and hence
the answer choice is (1). Choice (1)
DIRECTIONS for illustrations 6 to 10: These questions are based on the data
given below.
Six boys – Ayush, Deepak, Govil, Lakshya, Dabbo and Vikas – each wearing a
T-shirt of a different colour among Indigo, Green, Blue, Orange, Violet and Yellow,
are sitting around a table in six equi-spaced chairs. Deepak is opposite to the boy

51
 REASONING

wearing the Orange T-Shirt. Vikas is opposite to the boy wearing the Green T-Shirt.
Govil is to the right of the boy wearing the Indigo T-Shirt and opposite the boy
wearing the Violet T-Shirt. Dabbo is between the boys wearing Orange and Yellow
T-Shirts and is not wearing the Violet T-Shirt. Lakshya is opposite the boy who is
wearing the Yellow T-Shirt.
Illustration 6: Which of the following statements is true?
I. The boys wearing Green and Orange T-Shirts are either next to each other
or opposite to each other.
II. The boys wearing Indigo and Orange T-Shirts are either next to each other
or opposite to each other.
III. The boys wearing Blue and Violet T-Shirts are always next to each other.
IV. The boys wearing Blue and Indigo T-Shirts are either opposite to each
other or are next to each other.
(1) Only I and II (2) Only III
(3) Only III and IV (4) I, II, III and IV
Illustration 7: If Govil is opposite to Deepak, then who is between the boys wearing
Green and Violet T-Shirts
(1) Ayush (2) Govil
(3) Deepak (4) Vikas
Illustration 8: If Vikas is wearing the Orange T-Shirt, then who is wearing the
Green T-Shirt?
(1) Ayush (2) Deepak
(3) Dabbo (4) Lakshya
Illustration 9: If Dabbo is wearing the Indigo T-Shirt, then who is wearing the
Blue T-Shirt?
(1) Deepak (2) Vikas
(3) Ayush (4) Lakshya
Illustration 10: If Govil is wearing the Orange T-Shirt, then who is between Dabbo
and Lakshya?
(1) Govil (2) Ayush
(3) Deepak (4) Vikas
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CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

Solutions for illustrations 6 to 10:

By taking the data given in the problem. We get the following four different
arrangements. The first letters of the fames of the colours are used to denote the
colours.
Case 1:
Lakshya (V)
Vikash (B) Ayush (O)

Deepak (I) Daboo (G)

Govil (Y)
Case 2:
Deepak (V)

Vikash (B) Ayush (Y)

Lakshya (I) Daboo (G)

Govil (O)
Case 3:

Lakshya (V)
Vikash (O) Ayush (B)

Daboo (I) Deepak ()

Govil (Y)

53
 REASONING

Case 4:

Deepak (V)

Vikash (Y) Ayush (B)

Daboo (I) Lakshya (I)

Govil (O)

Solution 6: All the statement are true. Choice (4)

Solution 7: This question is referring to cases-2 and 4. In both the cases it is Ayush
who is between the boys wearing Green and Violet T- shirts. Choice (1)
Solution 8: This question is referring to case-3. In this case, it is Deepak who is
wearing the Green T-shirt. Choice (2)
Solution 9: This question is referring to cases-3 and 4 In both the cases it is Ayush
who is wearing the blue T-shirt. Choice (3)
Solution 10: This question is referring to cases-2 and 4 In both the Cases it is
Deepak who is between Daboo and Lakshya. Choice (3)

54
CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

EXERCISE – 4
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 3: Answer these questions based on the data
given below.
Six tourists - A, B, C, D, E and F - from six . countries - America, England, Germany,
Japan, Russia and South Africa - are sitting around a circular table. The following
information is known about them. E is opposite to the American. The South African
and the German are adjacent to the Japanese. The Russian is to the right of B, who
is from England. F and A are adjacent to the German. D is opposite A. The South
African is to the left of B.
1. C is from which country?
(1) Japan (2) Russia
(3) America (4) Germany
2. Who is the second person to the right of the Englishman?
(1) The German (2) The American
(3) The Japanese (4) The Russian
3. Who is sitting-opposite the Russian?
(1) The German (2) The American
(3) The Japanese (4) The South African
DIRECTIONS for questions 4 to 6: Read the following data and answer the
questions.
Eight people A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H are sitting around a rectangular table not
necessarily in the same order. One person sits along the shorter side and three
persons sit along the longer side.
A and G are sitting diagonally opposite to each other. D and E are sitting opposite to
each other. A is sitting to the immediate left of F, who is sitting at one of the shorter
sides of the table.
4. If C is sitting to the immediate right of H, then who is sitting opposite to F?
(1) B (2) C
(3) H (4) Cannot be determined

55
 REASONING

5. If C is sitting opposite to A, then who among the following must be sitting on

the same side as C?
(1) G and E (2) G and D
(3) G (4) H or B
6. If H is not sitting at one of the shorter sides, then how many arrangements are
possible?
(1) 24 (2) 8
(3) 4 (4) 16
DIRECTIONS for questions 7 to 11: These questions are based on the following
information.
Four men – A, B, C and D and four women – P, Q, R and S are sitting around a table.
No two males sit adjacent to each other. D is two places to the right of A and
adjacent to S, who is two places to the left of P, who is adjacent to B, who in turn is
not opposite to A.
7. Who is sitting opposite to S?
(1) Q (2) R
(3) A (4) Cannot be determined
8. If Q sits three places away from C and B, then who sits three places to the left
of D?
(1) P (2) R
(3) B (4) Cannot be determined
9. If each person exchanges his/her seat with the person sitting opposite to him/
her, then who sits to the immediate right of B?
(1) Q (2) S
(3) R (4) Cannot be determined
10. If every man shifts by two places to his right and every woman shifts by two
places to her left, then who sits adjacent to C?
(1) Q and R (2) P and S
(3) P, and Q or R (4) Cannot be determined

56
CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

11. If D and Q exchange their seats, then which of the following conditions is not
violated?
(1) No two men can sit adjacent to each other.
(2) D is two places to the right of A.
(3) B is not opposite to A.
(4) All the above are violated.
DIRECTIONS for questions 12 and 13: These questions are based on the data
given below.
Sameer, Sameep, Sandeep, Sangeet, Sanskar and Saarang are sitting around a
hexagonal table in a library studying a book each. The cover of the book in their
hands is of different colours from amongst - Red, Green, Blue, Orange, White and
Yellow - not necessarily in that order. Further, it is known that Sameer sits opposite
to Sameep, who sits to the immediate left of the person holding the Blue cover book,
who sits two places away from the person holding the White cover book. Sangeet
sits two places away from the person holding the Yellow cover book and sits opposite
to the person holding the white cover book. Sandeep and Saarang sit next to each
other.
12. What must be the colour of the book with Sanskar?
(1) Yellow (2) White
(3) Blue (4) Cannot be determined
13. If the person holding the Orange cover book sits opposite to the person holding
the Red cover Book, then which statement among the following cannot be
true?
(1) Sanskar does not hold the White cover book.
(2) Sangeet is not holding a Green cover book.
(3) Saarang holds the Yellow cover book.
(4) Sandeep holds the Yellow cover book.

57
 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for questions 14 to 18: These questions are based on the following
data.
Eight friends, A to H, are sitting around a circular table, playing a game of cards.
They belong to two different teams X and Y. No two persons of the same team sit in
adjacent seats.
(i) A sits neither opposite to D nor to H but is sitting in between C and G. (ii) B sits
neither opposite to A nor to G but is sitting in between F and D. (iii) B and H belong
to team X and D sits opposite to E. (iv) A scored two points more than D, who scored
three points more than F, who scored four points more than E. B scored twice as that
of G, who scored twice that of C, who scored twice that of H.
14. Who are the members of team X?
(1) A, D, F and E (2) B, H, C and E
(3) B, D, H and G (4) B, H, C and G
15. If only one person sits between C and H, then who among the following could
be that person?
(1) B (2) F
(3) E (4) D
16. If E and H scored one point each, then which team wins the game, given that the
team with the minimum points wins the game?
(1) Team X (2) Team Y
(3) Both teams scored the same points (4) Cannot be determined
17. If the person sitting between A and D scored 28 points and the person sitting
between C and G scored 30 points, then which team wins the game and by what
margin, given that the team with the minimum points wins the game?
(1) X wins by 2 points. (2) Y wins by 3 points.
(3) Y wins by 4 points. (4) None of these
18. If team Y scores 92 points and team X scores 90 points, then which among the
following is definitely true?
(1) H and D scores equal points.
(2) B scores twice as many points as F.
(3) A scores three points less than G.
(4) D scores one point more than G.

58
CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

DIRECTIONS for questions 19 to 23: These questions are based on the data given
below.
There are two circular tables in a room. Six Russians - A, B, C, D, E and F – are sitting
at one table and six Frenchmen - M, N, O, P, Q and R – are sitting at the other table.
A and D are sitting opposite to each other. B and E are sitting opposite each other.
C sits to the right of D. B is the only person who can translate Russian to French; C
is the only person who can translate French to Russian, and none of them does the
vice-versa, unless so stated. E and F sit adjacent to each other. Also, M sits opposite
P; Q sits to the right of R and R sits opposite O. N and P sit adjacent to O. On the
table, any person can talk to another person, only as stated below. The only
conversations that took place are as given below:
A spoke to B; B to R; R to C; R to Q; Q to P; P to O; O to N; N to M; C to D; D to E;
F to A; M to R; and E to F.
The conversations are one-sided i.e., A spoke to B implies that A is the speaker and
B is the listener and not vice-versa.
19. If C wants to send a message to M, then how many persons must the message
pass through? (excluding the first and the last)
(1) 1 (2) 6
(3) 10 (4) None of these
20. If the person sitting to the right of A wants to send a message to the person
sitting to the left of N, then the message has to pass through how many persons?
(excluding the first and the last)
(1) 1 (2) 5
(3) 7 (4) None of these
21. If the order of conveying messages is reversed at both the tables (i.e., “A
speaks to B” now becomes “B speaks to A”, and so on) and also B and C
exchange their interpretory skills, then which of the following must be true?
(1) A can send a message to Q involving only 2 persons.
(2) The person sitting to the right of F can send a message to the person
sitting to the left of N, by involving only five persons.

59
 REASONING

(3) The person sitting to the right of C, on the same table, can translate Russian
into French.
(4) The maximum number of persons involved in the longest message in this
new arrangement is more than that in the previous arrangement.
22. If the person sitting to the right of B wants to send a message to the person
sitting two places to the left of D, then what is the maximum number of people
involved between them? (excluding the two people)
(1) 11 (2) 10
(3) 4 (4) None of these
23. If every person is allowed to speak to the person who sits opposite to him
directly, then what is the least number of persons involved in passing a message
from C to M? (excluding the two people)
(1) 6 (2) 3
(3) 7 (4) None of these
DIRECTIONS for questions 24 and 25: These questions are based on the data
given below.
Eight persons – S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z – are sitting around a circular table and each
person is wearing a shirt of a different colour viz., Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Black,
Orange, White and Grey. S sits opposite to U, who sits two places away from V. T
sits 3 places away from W, who wears neither Red nor Blue coloured shirt. X wears
the Orange shirt and sits opposite to Z, who wears the Grey shirt. The person who
wears the Yellow shirt sits opposite the person who wears the Red shirt. W sits
between the persons wearing Red and Green shirts, and opposite to the person
wearing the White shirt. The person wearing the Orange shirt sits to the right of S,
and Z sits to the right of the person wearing the Yellow shirt.
24. After the agreement is made, every person exchanges his shirt with the person
sitting opposite to him. Now what is the colour of the shirt worn by the person
who sits three places to the right of the person wearing the White shirt?
(1) Blue (2) Black
(3) Green (4) None of these

60
CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT

25. S, T, U and V exchange their shirts with the persons sitting to their right and
then W, X, Y and Z exchange their shirts with the persons sitting to their right.
If now the persons exchange their places as well as shirts with the persons
sitting opposite to them, then which of the following statements must be true?
(1) Black is three places from Yellow.
(2) S, T, U and V are wearing Blue, Yellow, Green and White coloured shirts
respectively.
(3) The person wearing the Red shirt is sitting between the persons wearing
White and Grey shirts.
(4) None of these
DIRECTIONS for questions 26 to 30: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
A merry-go-round has eight seats with a child on each of them. Mayur is seated
diagonally opposite to Amit. Bharati and Ayush sit between Mayur and Ela. Astha
sits to the right of Mayur and Rohilla sits to the left of Amit. The eighth child sitting
on the merry-go-round is Mehak.
26. Who sits to the right of Amit?
(1) Ayush (2) Astha
(3) Ela (4) Cannot be determined
27. Who sits to the right of Bharati?
(1) Ayush 2] Ela
(3) Mayur (4) Cannot be determined
28. Who sits to the left of Rohilla?
(1) Astha (2) Mehak
(3) Amit (4) Cannot be determined
29. If Eric sits to the left of Ayush, who sits to the left of Mayur ?
(1) Bharati (2) Ayush
(3) Ela (4) Cannot be determined
30. Who sits diagonally opposite to Astha?
(1) Mayur (2) Ayush
(3) Ela (4) Mehak
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 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for questions 31 to 35: Read the following information carefully

answer the questions that follow.
i] Eight friends P, Q, R, S, T, U, V and W are seated around a square table
facing the centre with two on each side.
ii] 3 ladies are among the eight friends and they are not seated next to each
other.
iii] S, a lady is seated second to the left of U.
iv] Between W and Q sits U with Q to the right of U.
v] Q, a male friend, sits exactly opposite to P, a lady,
vi] One lady who is not V sits between Q and T.
31. What is the maximum number of persons that sit between Q and V?
(1) Two (2) One
(3) Three (4) Four
(5) None of these
32. Who sits between P and S?
(1) T (2) Q
(3) V (4) R
(5) Cannot be determined
33. Who is the lady member other than S and P?
(1) R (2) U
(3) T (4) W
(5) Cannot be determined
34. Who sits exactly opposite to W?
(1) U (2) R
(3) W (4) P
(5) Cannot be determined
35. If (U and P) and (R and V) interchange positions, then V sits next to:
(1) T (2) Q
(3) S (4) [1] and [2]
(5) [2] and [3]
62
 5
Binary Logic
In this category of reasoning, we come across questions whose solutions are
based on the truth or falsity of statements given in the question. In these questions
we normally deals with three kind of characters. They are ‘Truth-Teller’, ‘Liar’ and
‘Alternator’. These characters may or may not be clearly defined in the question.
The following are the definitions of these characters, which you can use while
analyzing the statements and then answering these questions, unless otherwise
defined.
Truth-teller: A person whose each and every statement is true.
Liar: A person whose each and every statement is false.
Alternator: If first statement of the person is true, the next statement is false or vice
versa. The question does not specify as to which statement is true or false. It has to
be found out by trial and error and by checking for consistency in the given statement.
The following illustration helps in understanding the concept.
Illustration 1: Ganpath’s village is divided in two communities - Truth-tellers and
Liars. Truth-tellers always speak the truth and Liars always lie. On one of his visits
he met three villagers X, Y and Z, and asked them ‘Who among you is the truth-
teller?’ Following were their replies.
X : I am not a Liar.
Y : Z is not a Liar.
Z : Y is a Truth-teller.
If it was known that exactly one person among the three was a Truth-teller and the
other two were Liars, then who among them must be the Truth-teller?
(1) X (2) Y
(3) Z (4) cannot be determined
 REASONING

Solution 1: let us first analyze the statements given by X, Y and Z separately as

below.
X : ‘ I am not a liar’
If X is the truth-teller, then this statement given by him is true; hence X must be the
truth- teller.
Y : ‘ Z is not a liar’.
If Y is the truth-teller, then Z must be a truth-teller. But we cannot have two truth-
tellers, hence Y cannot be a truth-teller.
 Y is a liar.
Z : ‘Y is a truth-teller’
If Z is the truth-teller, then Y is also a truth-teller, which means there are two truth-
tellers.
As it is given that exactly one person among them is a truth-teller, hence Z cannot be
a truth-teller.
 Z is a liar.
From above arguments we can conclude that X is a truth-teller and Y and Z are
liars
DIRECTIONS for illustrations 2 to 4: These illustrations are based on the data
given below.
Three persons – Mehak, Nishank and Jacob – gave one statement each. There is
one person who speaks the truth, one who tells lies and another whose statement
cannot be classified as either true or false. Following are the statements made by
them:
Mehak : I am not a liar.
Jacob : I am a Liar.
Nishank : I neither speak the truth nor do I lie.
Illustration 2: What is the name of the person whose statement can be classified as
neither true nor as false?
(1) Mehak (2) Jacob
(3) Nishank (4) Cannot be determined

64
BINARY LOGIC

Illustration 3: Who tells lies?

(1) Jacob (2) Mehak
(3) Nishank (4) Cannot be determined
Illustration 4: What is the nature of the statement given by Mehak?
(1) True (2) False
(3) Cannot be classified as true or false (4) Cannot be determined
Solutions for illustrations 2 to 4:
The statement given by Jacob is “ I am a liar”. If Jacob always speaks the truth, he
will not call himself a liar. Similarly if Jacob is a liar, then he will not speak the truth by
admitting that he is a liar. Hence, Jacob is the person whose statement is neither true
or false. Then, Nishank statement must be false, as only one statement cannot be
classified as true and false and that is Jacob. Hence, Mehak always speaks the truth.
Therefore,
Mehak : always speaks the truth.
Jacob : neither speaks the truth nor tell lies.
Nishank : always tells lies
Solution 2: Jacob is the one whose statement cannot be classified as either true or
false.
Solution 3: Nishank always tells lies.
Solution 4: Mehak always tells the truth.

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 REASONING

EXERCISE – 5
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 3: These questions are based on the data given
below.
There are four persons – A, B, C and D – each of whom plays exactly one game from
amongst
Cricket, Football, Table-Tennis and Tennis. No game is played by two persons. Each
person gives two replies to any question asked to them.
At least one person among them always speaks the truth and at least one person
always tells lies.
There is at least one person who always alternates between the truth and lie in any
order.
When asked about the names of the persons and the respective games played by
them, following were their replies:
A : I play Cricket. C plays Cricket.
B : I play Tennis. D plays Tennis.
C : A plays Table-Tennis. B plays Cricket.
D : C plays Football. I play Table-Tennis.
It is also known that D plays Tennis and a definite arrangement can be obtained
from the statements given by each person.
1. Who among the following plays Cricket?
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) Cannot be determined
2. Who among the following always speaks the truth?
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) D
3. Who are the two persons who always alternate between the truth and lie?
(1) A and D (2) B and C
(3) D and B (4) Such a thing does not happen

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DIRECTIONS for questions 4 to 6: These questions are based on the data given
below.
To save our solar system from the attacks of the ETs from other galaxies, the
representatives of all nine planets gathered at the ‘Galaxy Hall’ for a meeting. While
entering the Hall, each alien (representative of each planet) had to show his ID card
to Mr. Gurkha-the gatekeeper. But three aliens-Eena, Meena and Deeka forgot their
ID cards at the hotel. When asked, who represented which planet, the following
were their replies:
Eena : Deeka is from Mars. Meena is from Saturn.
Meena : Eena is from Jupiter. Deeka is not from Saturn.
Deeka : Meena is from Saturn. I am from Jupiter.
It was known that exactly one amongst them belonged to the planet Jupiter, another
belonged to the planet Saturn and the third belonged to the planet Mars. It was also
known that each of them made at least one true statement.
4. Who must be from Saturn?
(1) Eena (2) Meena
(3) Deeka (4) Cannot be determined
5. Which planet was Eena from?
(1) Mars (2) Jupiter
(3) Saturn (4) Cannot be determined
6. Which of following statements can never be true?
(1) Each of Eena and Meena always spoke the truth.
(2) Each of Eena and Meena spoke one truth and one lie.
(3) Deeka always spoke the truth.
(4) The first statement given by each person was always false.
DIRECTIONS for questions 7 and 8: These questions are based on the data given
below.
Twelve coins were distributed among A, B and C, who always gave two replies to
any question. When asked about the distribution of coins, following were their
replies:
A : I got 4 coins. C did not get the least number of coins.
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 REASONING

B : I got the least. A got the most.

C : A got the least. B got 4 coins.
Each person received at least one coin. Also, it was known that one person among
them always spoke the truth, another always tells lies and the third person alternates
between the truth and lie, in any order.
7. If each of them received equal number of coins, then who among them always
tells lies?
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) Cannot be determined
8. If the coins were distributed as 3, 4 and 5, then who can never get three coins?
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) Cannot be determined
DIRECTIONS for questions 9 to 11: These questions are based on the data given
below.
Each of the three persons – Ramu, Raman and Rajan-belonged to exactly one of
different cities amongst Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Each person always gives two
replies to any question asked. Out of these three, exactly one person always speaks
the truth, other always lies and the another always alternates between truth and lie,
in any order. When each was asked “Which city do you belong to?”, the following
were their replies:
Ramu : I am from Delhi. Raman is from Mumbai.
Raman : I am from Delhi. Rajan is from Chennai.
Rajan : Ramu is from Mumbai. Raman is from Delhi.
Based on the above, answer the following questions.
9. Who among the three must be from Chennai?
(1) Ramu (2) Raman
(3) Rajan (4) Cannot be determined
10. Which city did Raman belong to.?
(1) Delhi (2) Mumbai
(3) Chennai (4) Chennai or Delhi

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BINARY LOGIC

11. If there are exactly two persons who always tell the truth, and the third person
either always lies or alternates between truth and lie, then which of the following
statements must be false?
(1) Rajan is not from Mumbai. (2) Ramu is not from Delhi.
(3) Rajan is not from Chennai. (4) Raman is from Delhi.
DIRECTIONS for questions 12 to 14: These questions are based on the data given
below.
There are only four members of a family viz., A, B, C and D and there is only one
couple among them. When asked about their relationships, following were their
replies:
A : B is my son. D is my mother.
B : C is my wife. D is my father.
C : D is my mother-in-law. A is my daughter.
D : A is my grand daughter. B is my daughter-in-law.
It was known that exactly one person among thern always speaks the truth, one
always tells lies and the other two persons always alternate between the truth and
lie. All the relations mentioned exist only among them, if the relations exist at all. It is
also known that there are exactly two males in the family.
12. Who must be the person who always speaks the truth?
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) D
13. How is B related to C?
(1) Father (2) Mother
(3) Husband (4) None of these
14. Which of the following statements must be true?
(1) A’s grandmother alternates between the truth and lie.
(2) C’s wife always speaks the truth.
(3) A’s grandfather always speaks the truth.
(4) B’s daughter always tells lies.

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 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for questions 15 to 17: These questions are based on the data given
below.
On the eve of Army Day Parade, I met five Army men - Ranjeet, Ranmeet, Ranpreet,
Randheer and Ranveer – each of whom had exactly one different rank from amongst
Lieutenant, Captain, Colonel, Major and Brigadier, not necessarily in the same order.
Each of these persons always gave three replies to any question asked to them.
Except one person, all the other four speak at least one true statement. Except one
person, all the other four tell at least one lie. Exactly one person among them alternates
between the truth and lie, in any order. When I asked them about their respective
ranks, following were their replies:
Ranmeet : Randheer is the Major, Ranjeet is the Captain, Ranpreet is the
Lieutenant.
Ranpreet : Ranjeet is the Colonel, Randheer is the Major, Ranmeet is the Captain.
Randheer : Ranveer is the Lieutenant, Ranjeet is the Major, Ranpreet is the Captain.
Ranveer : Ranmeet is the Colonel, Ranpreet is the Major, I am the Lieutenant.
Only one definite arrangement exists based on their statements, which gives out
their ranks.
15. Who among the following always speaks one truth and tells two lies but does
not alternate between truth and lie?
(1) Ranjeet (2) Ranpreet
(3) Randheer (4) Ranmeet
16. What is the rank of the person who alternates between the truth and lie, in any
order?
(1) Brigadier (2) Captain
(3) Major (4) Colonel
17. Which of the following statement is definitely true?
(1) Ranjeet is the Brigadier. (2) Ranmeet is the Captain.
(3) Ranveer is the Lieutenant. (4) Randheer is the Major

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BINARY LOGIC

DIRECTIONS for questions 18 to 21: These questions are based on the data given
below.
John, James, Jack and Jeromy are compared with each other in terms of height,
weight, age and wealth. Each of them gives three statements to any question, such
that the three statements given by each person are alternately true and false, in any
order. The first statement made by exactly two persons is false. When asked about
the characteristic possessed by each of them, following were their replies:
John : I am the tallest, Jack is the heaviest, James is the richest.
Jack : Jeromy is the shortest, I am the youngest, John is the second tallest.
Jeromy : James is the lightest, Jack is the poorest, John is the youngest.
James : I am the tallest, Jack is the lightest, Jeromy is the 2nd youngest.
It is also known that no person gets the same rank (or position) in any two of the
four comparisons and no comparison has two persons having the same rank.
18. Who among the following is the 2nd heaviest?
(1) John (2) Jack
(3) Jeromy (4) James
19. Who is elder, wealthier, heavier, but shorter, than James?
(1) Jack (2) Jeromy
(3) John (4) Cannot be determined
20. Who is the second poorest?
(1) Jeromy (2) John
(3) James (4) Jack
21. How many persons weigh more than James?
(1) Zero (2) One
(3) Two (4) Three
DIRECTIONS for questions 22 to 24: These questions are based on the data given
below.
There are four executives A, B, C and D each working in a different organization
amongst Microsoft, Oracle, Infosys and IBM, not necessarily in the same order.
Each of them gives three replies to any question asked, which are alternately true or

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 REASONING

false, in any order. When asked to mention the name of the executive and the
organization that he works for, they gave the following replies:
A : C works with Microsoft, D works with IBM, B woks with Infosys.
B : A works with IBM, C works with Infosys, D works with Oracle.
C : D works with Microsoft, B works with Oracle, A works with Infosys.
D : B is not working with Infosys, A is working with IBM, C is not working with
Microsoft.
A definite arrangement can be obtained from the above information. Answer the
questions based oh the above data.
22. Who among the following works with Microsoft?
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) D
23. B works with
(1) IBM. (2) Infosys.
(3) Microsoft. (4) Oracle.
24. Which of the following statements must be false?
(1) D is working with IBM.
(2) The first statement made by only A, B and C is false.
(3) The second statement made by only A, B and C is false.
(4) The third statement made by only A, B and C is false.

72
 6
Conditionalities

INTRODUCTION
For the occurrence of an event or in the formation of groups for a particular
arrangement, certain conditions are imposed. These conditions have to be taken
into account always in this regard.

CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS
In conditionality, the occurrence of an event depends on the occurrence of
another event For example, consider this statement that if war P was fought at
location X then war Q also must have been fought at location Y. Thus the occurrence
of war Q is affected by the occurrence of war A. But the converse may not be true,
i.e., if war Q has been fought at location Y then it is not necessary that war P should
also have been fought at position X and in case if the converse is also true then the
statement is called bi-conditional
The symbol (~) is normally used to denote the negation of the statement or, the
NOT statement, or that the statement does not occur.
The relationship M N which means, “If M happens, N has to occur”, has the
implication,
1. ~N  ~M i.e. if N has not occurred, then M cannot have occurred.
2. N  M is NOT necessary, i.e. if N has occurred, it is not necessary that M
has to have occurred before.
For example, if we say,
If there is a deadly virus, the system will crash.
Here, statement M is “There is a deadly virus”; and statement N is “The system
will crash.”
 REASONING

Now, N: “The system has crashed” does NOT necessarily mean M: “There was
a deadly virus”, it could have crashed because of some other reason as well.
But, ~N: “The system has not crashed”, will definitely mean ~M: “There was no
deadly virus.”
The above relationship and its implications are classified into four categories at
many places in the format explained below. These are:
(a) If P occurs then Q will also occur.
PQ
The reverse implication of this statement is, that, if Q has not occurred, we can
be sure that P too has not occurred. hence
~Q  ~P i.e. if Q doesn’t occur then P also doesn’t occur.
Also, It is not necessary that Q  P.
(b) If P occurs then Q will not occur.
P  ~Q
The reverse implication is
Q  ~P
But, It is not necessary that ~Q  P
(c) If P has not occurred then Q will occur. ~P  Q
The reverse implication is.
~Q  P
It is not necessary that Q  ~P.
(d) If P has not occurred then Q will also not occur. ~P  ~Q
The reverse implication is
QP
It is not necessary that ~Q  ~P
A serious thought over the above conditionality will tell us, that if we would
have defined the statements (What is P and what is Q) slightly differently, they all
will become the same as in M & N above.

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CONDITIONALITIES

NOTATIONS
The various notations used in conditionalities and group formations are:
1. P belongs to Q PQ
2. P does not belong to Q PQ
3. If P belongs to Group I then Q belongs to Group II P  I  Q  II
4. P and Q do not belong to the same group. PQ’
5. P and Q belong to the same group. PQ
DIRECTIONS for illustrations 1 to 5: Read the following information and answer
them.
2 avid book collectors, Rishi and Vipin , are each selecting a group of three books
from a colletion of 7 books each by a different author say, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. No book
can be in both groups. The selections made by Rishi and Vipin are subject to the
following restrictions.
1. If B is in Rishi’s group, D must be in Vipin’s group.
2. If E is in Rishi’s group, G must be in Vipin’s group.
3. A and G cannot be in same group.
4. D and F cannot be in the same group.
Illustration 1: If E is in Rishi’s group, any one of the following could be in Vipin’s
group except:
(1) A (2) B
(3) C (4) D
Illustration 2: Which of the following pairs of groups selected by Rishi and Vipin
confirm to the restriction?
RISHI VIPIN
(1) A, B, C D, E, F .
(2) A, B, F C, D, E
(3) B, E, G A, D, F
(4) C, D, E B, F, G

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 REASONING

Illustration 3: If B is in Rishi’s group, then which of the following is true?

(1) A must be in Rishi’s group. (2) F must be in Rishi’s group.
(3) C must be in Vipin’s group. (4) F cannot be Vipin’s group.
Illustration 4: If B and E are in Rishi’s group, Vipin’s group must consist of:
(1) A, D and F (2) A, F and G
(3) C, D and G (4) C, F and G
Illustration 5: If T is in Vipin’s group, which of the following is true?
(1) B cannot be in Rishi’s group. (2) E cannot be in Rishi’s group.
(3) F cannot be in Vipin’s group. (4) G must be in Vipin’s group.
Step 1
Identification of the items. Seven books-A, B, C, D, E, F and G.
Step 2
Identification of the groups. Rishi (R) and Vipin’s (V).
Step 3
Interpretation of the given Conditions:
1. If B is in Rishi’s group, D must be in Vipin’s group, i.e., B  R  D  V
2. If E is in Rishi’s group, G must be in Vipin’s group, i.e., E  R  Z  V
3. A and G cannot be in the same group i.e., AGE.
4. D and F cannot be in the same group i.e., DFE.
Solution 1: From condition (2), E  R  Z  V. A must be in Vipin’s group.
Since AR’ from (3). T cannot be in Vipin’s s group. Hence, [1].
Solution 2: Choices [1] and [3] are ruled out since condition (4) is violated.
Choice [2] is ruled out since condition (3) is violated. Hence, [4].
Solution 3: Since B  R  D  V and since DF’, F is not in Vipin’s group, but at the
same time it is not necessary that F should be in Rishi’s group. Hence, [4].
Solution 4: B  R  D  V and F  V
E  R  G  V and A  V
Choice [3] satisfy these two conditions. Hence, [3].
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CONDITIONALITIES

Solution 5: If T is in Vipin’s group, then Z cannot be in Vipin’s group – AF’. This

means that E cannot be in Rishi’s group because E  R  Z  V. Hence, [2].
DIRECTIONS for illustrations 6 to 10: Read the following information and answer
them.
From a group of six men M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6 and five women W1, W2, W3, W4
and W5 a committee of six members is chosen under the following conditions:
(i) W4 and W5 have to be together.
(ii) M3 cannot go with W4.
(iii) M1 and M4 have to be together.
(iv) M4 cannot go with W1.
(v) M3 and W2 have to be together.
(vi) M2 and W3 have to be together.
(vii) M2 and M5 cannot be grouped together.
Illustration 6: If the committee consists of four women, the members of the committee
are:
(1) M2M5W1W3W4W5 (2) M5M6W1W4W5
(3) M2W1W3W4W5 (4) M2M3W1W3W4W5
Illustration 7: If the committee consists of five men and there is only one woman,
then the woman would be:
(1) W1 (2) W2
(3) W3 (4)W4
Illustration 8: If the committee consists of four men including M5, then the other
members of the committee are:
(1) M1M4M6W4W5 (2) M1M2M4W4W5
(3) M1M3M4W1W2 (4) M1M2M4W3W2
Illustration 9: If the committee consists of three women including W1, then the
other members of the committee are:
(1) M1M2M4W3W4 (2) M2M3M6W3W4
(3) M1M4M5W4W5 (4) M2M3M6W2W3

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 REASONING

Illustration 10: If the committee including M3 consists of four men, then the other
members of the committee are:
(1) M1M4M5W4W5 (2) M1M2M4W2W3
(3) M1M2M4W1W2 (4) M1M2M4W1W3
For answers to illustrations 6 to 10:
Solution 6: W4 and W5 have to be together. Therefore, M3 won’t be there, according
to (ii) and hence W2 won’t be there according to (v). So the four women would be
W1, W3, W4 and W5. Hence, M4 and M1 won’t be there according to (iv) and (iii).
Hence one of either M2 and M5 will be there according to (vii). Since M2 and W3
have to be together, the members of the committee would be M2W1W3W4W5. Hence,
[3].
Solution 7: The only committee of 5 men possible is M1M3M4M5M6. The only
woman would be M according to (v). Note that M1M2M3M4M6 is not possible as
two women W2 and W3 will have to be selected. Hence, [2],
Solution 8: The committee cannot include M2 according to (vii). The women in the
committee can only be W4 and W5. Hence M3 won’t be there according to (ii). Hence
the men in the committee will be M1M4M5M6. Hence the committee other than M5 is
M1M4M6W4W5. Hence, [1].
Solution 9: The committee will not include M1 and M4, according to (iii) and (iv).
The only men in the committee would be M2M3M6 and the girls would be W2 and
W3. Hence, [4].
Solution 10: The only committee possible including M 3, other than M3 is
M1M2M4W2W3. Hence, [2].

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CONDITIONALITIES

EXERCISE – 6
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 4: These questions are based on the following
data.
The positions of eleven players in a football team are divided into four groups -
Forward, Mid-field, Full-back and Goalkeeper. Each of the first three groups have a
left wing and a right wing. A football coach wanted to field the eleven members of
his team - A through K - as follows.
Four forward positions - two in the left wing and two in the right wing.
Four mid-field positions - two in the left wing and two in the right wing.
Two full-back positions - one in the left wing and one in the right wing. One
Goalkeeper.
The coach does not want I or J to play in the mid-field position, if K plays in the
forward position. The positions and the wings in which each player can play is as
follows.
Left forward – D, E, F, J, K
Right forward – B, C, E, F
Left mid-field – A, F, I, J, K
Right mid-field – C, F, G, I
Left full-back – F
Right full-back – G, H
Goalkeeper – E, I
1. Which players must play in the full-back position?
(1) F and G (2) G and H
(3) H and F (4) Cannot be determined
2. If I is the goalkeeper, which of the following statements is true?
(1) G and C are the right mid-field players.
(2) G and C play in different positions.
(3) B and E are the left forward players.
(4) Both (1) and (3)
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 REASONING

3. C plays in which position?

(1) Right forward (2) Right mid-field
(3) Left forward (4) Cannot be determined
4. If I is the goalkeeper, who are the forward players?
(1) J, D, B and E (2) B, J, C and E
(3) K, J, D and E (4) K, B, D and C
DIRECTIONS for questions 5 to 8: These questions are based on the following
information.
In a training center, four professors - Anand, Kashyap, Murugan and Somnath - are
available to take reasoning classes. The classes will run throughout the year on all
seven days of the week and in two slots, morning and evening, everyday. The
faculty for any slot on any day must be the same throughout the year i.e., for
example, the professor on Monday morning slot must be same throughout the year.
No professor can take classes on three consecutive days and no professor can take
the class in the same slot (morning or evening) for two consecutive days. No
professor can take classes in both the slots in a single day. Further,
(i) Classes on Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening are taken by
Mr. Murugan.
(ii) Anand and Kashyap take the same number of classes every week.
(iii) The number of morning slots allotted to each professor is the same as the
number of evening slots allotted to him and no proffesor was allotted more
than four classes a week,
(iv) Wednesday morning slot and Friday evening slots are allotted to Somnath
and Sunday evening and Monday morning slots are allotted to Kashyap.
(v) Each slot has just one class.
5. Who takes class in the Monday evening slot?
(1). Murugan (2) Kashyap
(3) Somnath (4) Anand
6. Who takes class in the Sunday morning slot?
(1) Kashyap (2) Somnath
(3) Anand (4) Murugan

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CONDITIONALITIES

7. Who takes class in the Friday morning slot?

(1) Anand (2) Kashyap
(3) Somnath (4) Murugan
8. How many professors take classes in two consecutive slots i.e., a class in the
evening slot and another class in the next day morning slot?
(1) 1 (2) 2
(3) 3 (4) 4.
DIRECTIONS for examples 9 to 13: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
From a group of six boys A, B, C, D, E and F and five girls L, M, N, O and P a
volleyball team of six members is chosen under the following conditions: (i) O and P
have to be together. (ii) C cannot go with O. (iii) A and D have to be together. (iv) D
cannot go with L. (v) C and M have to be together. (vi) B and N have to be together.
(vii) B and E cannot be teamed together.
9. If the team consists of four girls, the members of the team are:
(1) BELNOP (2) EFLNOP
(3) BFLNOP (4) BCLNOP
10. If the team consists of five boys and there is only one girl, then the girl would
be:
(1) L (2) M
(3) N (4) O
11. If the team consists of four boys including E, then the other members of the
team an
(1) ADFOP (2) ABDOP
(3) ACDLM (4) ABDNM
12. If the team consists of three girls including L, then the other members of the
team are:
(1) ABDNO (2) BCFNO
(3) ADEOP (4) BCFMN

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 REASONING

13. If the team including C consists of four boys, then the other members of the
team are:
(1) ADEOP (2) ABDMN
(3) ABDLM (4) ABDLN
DIRECTIONS for examples 14 to 17: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow,
In a five-member team to go to a science fair, three scientists and two students are to
be selected A, B, C, D and E are scientists and P, Q, R and S are students.
(i) A will not go if C goes.
(ii) P will go only if Q goes.
(iii) Q will not go if R goes.
(iv) B will go only if E goes.
(v) D will not go if S goes.
(vi) E will not go with P.
(vii) B will not go with R.
14. What is the largest number of students and scientists combination possible?
(1) 1 (2) 2
(3) 3 (4) 4
15. If B is selected which other scientists may be selected?
(i) A, E (ii) D, E (iii) C, E
(1) (i) only (2) (i) and (iii)
(3) (i) or (ii) (4) (ii) only
16. If Q is selected which other students may be selected?
(1) P (2) R
(3) S (4) R or S
17. Which of the following are not necessarily selected?
(1) Q (2) A
(3) E (4) S

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CONDITIONALITIES

DIRECTIONS for examples 18 to 22: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
There are five events A, B, C, D and E that can happen. The occurrence of every
event is governed by few rules, which are:
– If A occurs then either of B or C or both must occur.
– If B occurs then D cannot occur.
– If C occurs then E must occur.
– If D occurs then C must occur.
– If E occurs then A must occur and B cannot occur.
– If D has not occured then A will also not occur. ,
18. If C has occured, then which event definitely occurs?
(1) A (2) B
(3) D (4) A and D
19. If E has not occured, then which of the statements must be true?
I. C has not occured.
II. B has occured.
III. D has not occured. IV. A has not occured.
(1) I and II (2) III and IV
(3) I, III and IV (4) I and IV
20. If B has occured, then which statement will be definitely false?
(1) D has not occured. (2) C has not occured
(3) E has not occured (4) A must occur.
21. If A has occured, then which event(s) will definitely occur?
(1) B (2) C and D
(3) B and E (4) C, D and E
22. If D occurs, then any of the events can occur except:
(1) A (2) B
(3) A and E (4) Cannot say

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 REASONING

DIRECTIONS for questions 23 to 27: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow.
Three dacoits D1, D2 and D3 each has been terrorising three different men, M1, M2
and M3 not necessarily in that order. Each of these men is a citizen of three different
areas A1, A2 and A3 not necessarily in that order. Each of the dacoit favours a
different mode of transport, horses, jeeps and boats, again not necessarily in that
order.
– D2 and his horsemen do not terrorise M3.
– D3 is not water borne and does not operate in A2.
– Neither M3 nor M2 has anything to do with A3 which has been terrorised
by dacoits in jeeps
– D1, is not from area A1.
23. D3’s mode of transport is:
(1) Horse (2) Jeep
(3) Boat (4) Cannot be determined
24. M3 has been terrorised by:
(1) D1 (2) D2
(3) D3 (4) Cannot be determined
25. The bandit on horse back is the terror of:
(1) A2 (2) A3
(3) A1 (4) Cannot be determined
26. D3 has been terrorising:
(1) M3 (2) M1
(3) M2 (4) Cannot be determined
27. A2 has been terrorised by:
(1) D1 (2) D2
(3) D3 (4) Cannot be determined

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CONDITIONALITIES

DIRECTIONS for questions 28 to 32: Refer to the data below and answer the
questions that follow
Five men A, B, C, D and E are going out for a dinner party wearing five different
coloured hats. The colours of the hats are blue, red, green, yellow and white. The
men will wear the hats following few rules, which are:
– If A wears the red hat, then C must wear the yellow hat.
– B will wear the yellow hat only if D wears the white hat.
– If D is not wearing the blue hat, then A must wear the red hat.
– E will not wear the blue hat only if C will wear the yellow hat.
– If C does not wear the red hat then E will not wear the green hat.
– B can never wear the blue hat.
– If E does not wear the white hat, then D must wear the green hat.
– It is possible that more than one person can wear the same coloured hat
but nobody can wear two hats.
28. If A wears a red hat and D does not wear a green hat and no two of them are
wearing the same coloured hats, then B must wear which coloured hat?
(1) Blue (2) Green
(3) White (4) Yellow
29. D does not wear a blue hat and no two of them are wearing the same coloured
hats, then which coloured hat he must wear?
(1) Green (2) White
(3) Red (4) Yellow
30. If E does not wear a white hat, then A must wear which coloured hat?
(1) Blue (2) Yellow
(3) Red (4) White
31. Which of the following is/are not possible?
I. E is wearing a green hat.
II. B is wearing a yellow hat and E a white hat.
III. D is not wearing a white hat.
(1) I only (2) II only
(3) I and II only (4) II and III only
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32. If A does not wear a red hat, then B can wear any coloured hat EXCEPT:
I. Blue
II. Yellow
III. Red
IV. White
(1) I only (2) III only
(3) I, II and IV only (4) I, III and IV only

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 7
Games
People enjoy playing games. Whether the mathematics behind the game is
simple or complex, the chance for social interaction and for controlled competition
will help to break up any routine patterns in daily life.
At the same time, these problems hold a lot of content, and people frequently
find their solution quite difficult. The chief difficulties consist first in articulating the
winning strategy, and second in proving that the strategy considered always leads
to a win. In surmounting these difficulties, you will learn more about accepted
standards of mathematical argument, and will refine their understanding of what it
means to solve a problem.
There are many types of games considered in mathematics, and many types of
game theories. In each of these games, there are two players who take turns making
moves, and a player cannot decline to move. The problem is always the same: to find
out which player (the first or the second) has a winning strategy.

I. PSEUDO GAMES
The first class of games that you will come across here turn out to be jokes. The
outcomes of these pseudo-games do not depend on how the play proceeds. For
this reason, the solution of such a pseudo-game does not consist of a winning
strategy, but of a proof that one or the other of the two players will always win
(regardless of how the play proceeds!).
Objective: Pseudo-games allow you to relax and be relieved of the tension of having
to solve a problem or win a game. It is important to let let you actually play the games
before giving a solution
Illustration 1. Two children take turns breaking up a rectangular chocolate bar
6 squares wide by 8 squares long. They may break the bar only along the divisions
between the squares. If the bar breaks into several pieces, they keep breaking the
 REASONING

pieces up until only the individual squares remain. The player who cannot make
a break loses the game. Who will win?
Solution: After each move, the number of pieces increases by one. At first, there is
only one piece. At the end of the game, when no more moves are possible, the
chocolate is divided into small squares, and there are 48 of these. So there must
have been 47 moves, of which the last, as well as every other odd-numbered move,
was made by the first player. Therefore, the first player will win, no matter how the
play proceeds..
Illustration 2: There are three piles of stones: one with 10 stones, one with 15
stones, and one with 20 stones. At each turn, a player can choose one of the piles
and divide it into two smaller piles. The loser is the player who cannot do this.
Who will win, and how?
Solution: After each move, the number of piles increases by 1. At first there are
three piles, and at the end of the game there are 45. Therefore, 42 moves are made
altogether. The last and winning move is always made by the second player
Illustration 3: The numbers 1 through 20 are written in a row. Two players take
turns putting plus signs and minus signs between the numbers. When all such
signs have been placed, the resulting expression is evaluated (i.e., the additions
and subtractions are performed). The first player wins if the sum is even, and the
second wins if the sum is odd. Who will win and how?
Solution: The parity of the result does not depend on the position of the pluses and
minuses, but only on the number of odd integers in the original set of numbers.
Since there are 10 odd integers to begin with, and 10 is an even number, the first
player will win.
Illustration 4: Two players take turns placing rooks (castles) on a chessboard so
that they cannot capture each other. The loser is the player who cannot place a
castle. Who will win?
Solution: After each move, the number of rows in which it is possible to place a rook
decreases by 1, as does the number of columns. Therefore, there can only be 8
moves altogether, and the second player will make the last (winning) move.
Illustration 5: Given a checkerboard with dimensions (a) 9 × 10; (b) 10 × 12; (c)
9 × 11. In one turn, a player is allowed to cross out one row or one column if at the

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GAMES

beginning of the turn there is at least one square of the row or column remaining.
The player who cannot make a move loses.
Solution: This game is not entirely a joke, since the player who should win can in
fact make a mistake and lose his or her advantage. This mistake consists in moving
so that the remaining blank squares are all in one column or all in one row, allowing
the opponent to win in the next move. The loser in this game, it turns out, is the
player who makes just this fateful move. Notice that after crossing out a row of an m
× n board, we can consider the remaining squares to be an (m – 1) × n board.
Analogously, in crossing out a column of an m × n board, we form an m × (n – 1)
board. The unique situation in which each move is “fateful” is the case of a 2 x 2
board. Therefore, the player who leaves this position for his opponent will win.
However, as we have seen, after each turn the sum of the rows and columns decreases
by 1. Therefore, the parity of this sum at the beginning of play will determine the
winner. In case (a) this is the first player, while in the remaining cases it is the
second. Note that in case (b) the second player can follow a strategy of symmetry.

II. SYMMETRY GAMES

Illustration 1: Two players take turns putting pennies on a round table, without
piling one penny on top of another. The player who cannot place a penny loses.
Solution: In this game, the first player can win, no matter how big the table may be!
To do so, he must place the first penny so that its center coincides with the center
of the table. After this, he replies to each move of the second player by placing a
penny in a position symmetric to the penny placed by the second player, with
respect to the center of the table. Notice that in such a strategy the positions of the
two players are symmetric after each move of the first player. It follows that if there
is a possible turn for the second player, then there is a possible response for the first
player, who will therefore win.
Illustration 2: Two players take turns placing bishops on the squares of a
chessboard, so that they cannot capture each other (the bishops may be placed on
squares of any color). The player who cannot move loses.
Solution: Since a chessboard is symmetric with respect to its center, it is natural to
try a symmetric strategy. But this time, since one cannot place a bishop at the center
of the chessboard, the symmetry will help the second player. It might seem, from an

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analogy with the previous problem, that such a strategy would allow the second
player to win. However, if he follows it, he cannot even make a second move. The
bishop placed by the first player can take a bishop placed in the symmetric square.
This example shows that in employing a symmetric strategy one must take into
account that a symmetric move can be blocked or prevented, but only by a move the
opponent has just made. Because of the symmetry, moves made earlier cannot
affect a player’s move. To solve a game using a symmetric strategy, one must find a
symmetry such that the previous move does not destroy the chosen strategy.
Therefore, to solve the above Problem you must look not to the point symmetry of
the chessboard, but to its line symmetry. you can choose, for example, the line
between the fourth and fifth rows as the line of symmetry. Squares, which are
symmetric with respect to this line, will be of different colors, and therefore a bishop
on one square cannot take a bishop on the symmetric square. Therefore, the second
player can win this game.
The idea of a symmetric strategy need not be purely geometric. Consider the following
problem.
Illustration 3: There are two piles of 7 stones each. At each turn, a player may take
as many stones as he chooses, but only from one of the piles. The loser is the player
who cannot move.
Solution: The second player can win this game, using a symmetric strategy. At
each turn, he must take as many stones as the first player has just taken, but from
the other pile. Therefore the second player always has a move.
The symmetry in this problem consists in maintaining the equality of the num-ber
of stones in each pile.
Illustration 4: A daisy has (a) 12 petals; (b) 11 petals. Players take turns tearing
off either a single petal, or two petals right next to each other. The player who
cannot do so loses.
Solution: The second player wins in both cases. No matter how the first player
begins, the second player can reply so as to leave two identical rows of petals on
the flower. He can then follow a symmetric strategy.

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GAMES

Illustration 5: Two players take turns breaking a piece of chocolate consisting of

5 x 10 small squares. At each turn, they may break along the division lines of the
squares. The player who first obtains a single square of chocolate wins.
Solution: The loser is the player who breaks off a rectangle of width 1. The first
player will win, by first breaking the chocolate bar into two 5 × 5 pieces. After
that, he plays symmetrically.

III. WINNING POSITIONS GAMES

Illustration 1: On a chessboard, a rook stands on square a1. Players take turns
moving the rook as many squares as they want, either horizontally to the right or
vertically upward. The player who can place the rook on square h8 wins.
Solution: In this game, the second player will win. The strategy is quite simple: at
each turn, place the rook on the diagonal from a1 to h8. The reason this works is that
the first player is forced to move the rook off the diagonal at each turn, while the
second player can always put the rook back on this diagonal. Since the winning
square belongs to the diagonal, the second player will eventually be able to place
the rook on it.
Try to analyze this solution a little more deeply. You will be able to define here
a class of winning positions (in which the rook is on the diagonal from a1 to h8),
which enjoys the following properties:
(1) The final position of the game is a winning one;
(2) A player can never move from one winning position to another in a single
turn;
(3) A player can always move from a non-winning position to a winning one in
a single move.
The discovery of such a class of winning positions for a given game is
equivalent to solving the game. Indeed, moving to a winning position at each move
constitutes a winning strategy. If the initial position of the game is a winning one,
then the second player will win (as in the game described above). Otherwise, the
first player will win.

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 REASONING

Illustration 2: There are two piles of candy. One contains 20 pieces, and the other
21. Players take turns eating all the candy in one pile, and separating the
remaining candy into two (not necessarily equal) non-empty piles. The player
who cannot move loses.
Solution: The first player wins. The winning positions are those in which both piles
have oddly many pieces of candy. The first move is to eat the pile of 21 candies and
divide the pile of 20 candies into any two piles of oddly many candies.
Illustration 3: A box contains 300 matches. Players take turns removing no more
than half the matches in the box. The player who cannot move loses.
Solution: The first player wins. The winning positions are those in which the box
contains 2n – 1 matches. The first move is to leave 255 matches in the box.
Illustration 4. There are three piles of stones. The first contains 50 stones, the
second 60 stones, and the third 70. A turn consists in dividing each of the piles
containing more than one stone into two smaller piles. The player who leaves
piles of individual stones is the winner.
Solution: The first player wins. The winning positions are those in which the largest
pile of stones contains 2n – 1 stones. The first move consists in dividing the first two
piles in any way at all, and dividing the third pile into two piles of 63 and 7 stones,
respectively.
Illustration 5: The number 60 is written on a blackboard. Players take turns
subtracting from the number on the blackboard any of its divisors, and replacing
the original number with the result of this subtraction. The player who writes the
number 0 loses.
Solution: In this game, the player who obtains a 1 will win. This is the first player, if
he recognizes that writing an odd number is a winning position.

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GAMES

EXERCISE – 7
PSEUDO GAMES
1. Ten 1’s and ten 2’s are written on a blackboard. In one turn, a player may erase
any two figures. If the two figures erased are identical, they are replaced with a
2. If they are different, they are replaced with a 1. The first player wins if a 1 is
left at the end, and the second player wins if a 2 is left.
2. The numbers 25 and 36 are written on a blackboard. At each turn, a player writes
on the blackboard the (positive) difference between two numbers already on
the blackboard—if this number does not already appear on the black-board.
The loser is the player who cannot write a number.

SYMMETRY GAMES
1. Two players take turns placing knights on the squares of a chess-board, so that
no knight can take another. The player who is unable to do this loses.
2. Two players take turns placing kings on the squares of a 9 × 9 chessboard, so
that no king can capture another. The player who is unable to do this loses.
3. (a) Two players take turns placing bishops on the squares of a chess-board. At
each turn, the bishop must threaten at least one square not threatened by
another bishop. A bishop “threatens” the square it is placed on. The player
who cannot move is the loser, (b)* The same game, but with rooks (castles).
4. Given a 10 × 10 chessboard, two players take turns covering pairs of squares
with dominoes. Each domino consists of a rectangle 1 square in width and 2
squares in length (which can be held either way). The dominoes cannot overlap.
The player who cannot place a domino loses.
5. A checker is placed on each square of an 11 × 11 checkerboard. Players take
turns removing any number of checkers which lie next to each other along a row
or column. The winner is the player who removes the last checker.
6. There are two piles of stones. One has 30 stones, and the other has 20 stones.
Players take turns removing as many stones as they please, but from one pile
only. The player removing the last stone wins.

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 REASONING

7. Twenty points are placed around a circle. Players take turns joining two of the
points with a line segment which does not cross a segment already drawn in.
The player who cannot do so loses.
8. Given a rectangular parallelepiped of dimensions (a) 4 × 4 × 4; (b) 4 × 4 × 3; (c)
4 × 3 × 3, consisting of unit cubes. Players take turns skewering a row of cubes
(parallel to the edges of the figure), so long as there is at least one cube which
is not yet skewered in the row. The player who cannot do so loses.
9. Two players take turns placing x’s and o’s on a 9 × 9 checkerboard. The first
player places x’s, and the second player places o’s. At the end of the play, the
first player gets a point for each row or column which contains more x’s than
o’s. The second player gets a point for each row or column which contains
more o’s than x’s. The player with the most points wins.

WINNING POSITION GAMES

1. A king is placed on square a1 of a chessboard. Players take turns moving the
king either upwards, to the right, or along a diagonal going upwards and to the
right. The player who places the king on square h8 is the winner
2. A checker is placed at each end of a strip of squares measuring 1 × 20. Players
take turns moving either checker in the direction of the other, each by one or by
two squares. A checker cannot jump over another checker. The player who
cannot move loses.
3. There are two piles of matches:
(a) a pile of 101 matches and a pile of 201 matches;
(b) a pile of 100 matches and a pile of 201 matches.
Players take turns removing a number of matches from one pile which is equal
to one of the divisors of the number of matches in the other pile. The player removing
the last match wins.
4. A pawn is placed in each of the three leftmost squares of a 1 × 20 table. A move
consists of shifting one pawn to any of the free squares to the right of it,
without jumping over any other pawns. The player who cannot make a move
loses.

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GAMES

5. A pawn is placed in each of the three leftmost squares of a 1 × 20 table. A move

consists of shifting any of the pawns to the neighboring square on the right if
it is free. If this neighboring square is occupied but the next one to the right is
not, the player can shift the pawn to that free square. The player who cannot
make a move loses.
6. The number 1234 is written on a blackboard. A move consists of subtracting
some non-zero digit of the written number from this number (the difference is to
be written on the blackboard instead of the old number). The player who writes
the number zero wins.
7. The numbers 1 through 100 are written in a row. A move consists of inserting
one of the signs “+”, “—”, or “x” in a free space between any two neighboring
numbers. The first player wins if the final result is odd, and loses otherwise.
8. The numbers 1, 2, 3, ... , 20, 21 are written in a row on a blackboard. A move
consists of crossing out one of the numbers not yet crossed out. The game
ends when there are only two numbers on the blackboard. If the sum of these
numbers is divisible by 5, then the first player wins; otherwise, the first player
loses.
9. A table with dimensions a) 10 × 10; b) 9 × 9 is given. A move consists of filling
any free box with a plus or minus sign (a player may choose either sign at each
turn). The player whose move creates three consecutive identical signs on a
straight line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) wins the game.
10. There are two heaps of candies on a table: 22 candies in one of them, and 23 in
the other. A move consists of either eating two candies from one heap, or of
moving one candy from one heap to the other. The player who cannot make a
move wins the game.
11. The first player writes on a blackboard one of the digits 6, 7, 8, 9. Each next
move consists of writing one of the same digits to the right of the number on
the blackboard. The game ends after a) the 10th; b) the 12th move (note that the
10th move, for instance, is the 5th move made by the second player). The first
player wins if the resulting number is not divisible by 9, and loses otherwise.

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 REASONING

12. Two players play a game on an infinite sheet of graph paper. The first player
puts a cross in some square. In each of his next moves he must put a cross in
any free square which shares a common side with a square which already has a
cross. The second player puts three crosses in any free squares. Prove that no
matter how the first player plays, the second player can “stalemate” him—that
is, create a position where the first player has no permitted moves.
13. There are 1001 matches in a pile. A move consists of throwing away pn matches
from the pile, where p is, any prime number, and n = 0, 1, 2, .... The player who
takes the. last match wins the game.
14. There are 1991 nails in a plank. A move consists of connecting two of them,
which are not yet connected with each other, by a wire. If after a move there is
a circuit, then the player who made that move a) wins the game; b) loses the
game.
15. A move consists of coloring black one or more boxes which form a square in a
given table with dimensions a) 19 × 91; b) 19 × 92. It is not allowed to color any
box twice. The player who colors the last box wins the game.
16. A 30 × 45 sheet of graph paper is given. A move consists of making a cut along
a line connecting two neighboring nodes of the lattice. The first player begins
by cutting from the edge of the paper. Any cut must begin where the last cut
ended. The player after whose move the sheet falls apart wins the game.
17. A king, when it is his turn, can put two crosses into any two free squares on an
infinite sheet of graph paper. His secretary, when it is his move, can put a
naught into any free square. Is it possible for the king to get 100 crosses in a
row (vertically or horizontally)?

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ANSWERS

ANSWERS EXERCISE – 1
1. (4) 2. (2) 3. (4) 4. (2) 5. (4)
6. (4) 7. (1) 8. (4) 9. (4) 10. (3)
11. (4) 12. (1) 13. (2) 14. (1) 15. (4)
16. (4) 17. (1) 18. (1) 19. (1) 20. (3)
21. (2) 22. (3) 23. (3) 24. (2) 25. (4)
26. (4) 27. (2) 28. (3) 29. (3) 30. (2)
31. (1) 32. (2) 33. (4) 34. (1) 35. (2)
36. (2) 37. (4) 38. (3)

ANSWERS EXERCISE – 2
1. (4) 2. (4) 3. (1) 4. (4) 5. (3)
6. (2) 7. (3) 8. (4) 9. (1) 10. (2)
11. (1) 12. (4) 13. (3) 14. (2) 15. (4)
16. (2) 17. (1) 18. (1) 19. (4) 20. (3)
21. (4) 22. (2) 23. (3) 24. (1) 25. (2)
26. (1) 27. (3) 28. (4) 29. (2) 30. (1)
31. (1) 32. (4) 33. (5) 34. (5) 35. (5)
36. (3) 37. (4) 38. (4) 39. (4) 40. (4)

ANSWERS EXERCISE – 3
1. (2) 2. (4) 3. (4) 4. (4) 5. (4)
6. (3) 7. (1) 8. (4) 9. (4) 10. (4)
11. (3) 12. (3) 13. (4) 14. (1) 15. (3)
16. (4) 17. (2) 18. (1) 19. (4) 20. (1)
21. (1) 22. (4) 23. (1) 24. (4) 25. (1)
26. (2) 27. (4) 28. (1) 29. (3)

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 REASONING

ANSWERS EXERCISE – 4
1. (4) 2. (2) 3. (3) 4. (3) 5. (3)
6. (2) 7. (4) 8. (2) 9. (4) 10. (1)
11. (3) 12. (3) 13. (2) 14. (4) 15. (3)
16. (1) 17. (4) 18. (4) 19. (3) 20. (2)
21. (2) 22. (2) 23. (1) 24. (3) 25. (3)
26. (3) 27. (4) 28. (2) 29. (1) 30. (3)
31. (3) 32. (3) 33. (1) 34. (2) 35. (4)

ANSWERS EXERCISE – 5
1. (2) 2. (3) 3. (3) 4. (2) 5. (4)
6. (4) 7. (2) 8. (3) 9. (3) 10. (2)
11. (3) 12. (2) 13. (3) 14. (4) 15. (3)
16. (4) 17. (3) 18. (3) 19. (2) 20. (2)
21. (3) 22. (1) 23. (4) 24. (3)

ANSWERS EXERCISE – 6
1. (3) 2. (1) 3. (4) 4. (1) 5. (3)
6. (3) 7. (2) 8. (3) 9. (3) 10. (2)
11. (1) 12. (4) 13. (2) 14. (2) 15. (2)
16. (3) 17. (2) 18. (4) 19. (3) 20. (4)
21. (4) 22. (2) 23. (2) 24. (1) 25. (3)
26. (2) 27. (1) 28. (2) 29. (1) 30. (3)
31. (3) 32. (3)

98