Puzzle Test Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Dinesh and Chandan could be 19 and 21.

With Bharat 17, the youngest, Ferguson must be older than Bharat and younger than Dinesh. So Dinesh cannot be 18, since no whole age lies between 17 and 18 for Ferguson. That rules out every option starting with 18.

Dinesh 19 and Chandan 21 works: Ferguson 18, Amit 20 (older than Bharat), Chandan 21 (older than Dinesh) and Eeshwar 22 use every age once.

Options 18 and 19, 18 and 20, and 18 and 21 all leave no room for Ferguson between Bharat and Dinesh.

Answer: A

The Congress procession can be allowed only on Thursday.

List the streets each route uses. Congress: A-C, C-D, D-E. BJP: A-B, B-D, D-E. SP: A-B, B-C, C-E. BSP: B-C, C-E. CPM: A-C, C-D.

BJP uses B-D, closed on Thursday, so BJP must go on Friday. SP shares A-B with BJP, so SP goes on Thursday. BSP shares B-C and C-E with SP, so BSP goes on Friday. Congress shares D-E with BJP, so Congress goes on Thursday, and CPM, sharing A-C and C-D with Congress, goes on Friday.

Thursday: Congress and SP. Friday: BJP, BSP and CPM. No street is used twice on either day.

Congress cannot go on Friday, because it would share D-E with BJP, which has no choice but Friday. So 'only on Friday' and 'on either day' are wrong, and no cancellation of the religious procession is needed, since a Thursday slot is available.

Answer: D

The statement that is not true is Congress and BSP can take out their processions on the same day.

List the streets each route uses. Congress: A-C, C-D, D-E. BJP: A-B, B-D, D-E. SP: A-B, B-C, C-E. BSP: B-C, C-E. CPM: A-C, C-D.

BJP uses B-D, closed on Thursday, so BJP must go on Friday. SP shares A-B with BJP, so SP goes on Thursday. BSP shares B-C and C-E with SP, so BSP goes on Friday. Congress shares D-E with BJP, so Congress goes on Thursday, and CPM, sharing A-C and C-D with Congress, goes on Friday.

Thursday: Congress and SP. Friday: BJP, BSP and CPM. No street is used twice on either day.

Congress is forced onto Thursday and BSP onto Friday, so they cannot march on the same day.

The other three statements are true: Congress and SP both march on Thursday; CPM shares streets with Congress and so cannot be on Thursday; and BJP, which needs street B-D, can only march on Friday.

Answer: D

Monday's lecture is Statistics.

History must be on Tuesday. English, Economics and Mathematics must fall on three consecutive days in that order, and Economics cannot be on Tuesday. With Tuesday taken, the only run of three free consecutive days is Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: English on Wednesday, Economics on Thursday, Mathematics on Friday.

That leaves Statistics for Monday. History, Economics and Mathematics are all fixed to other days.

Answer: B

The lecture between them is History.

The schedule (see the previous question) is: Monday Statistics, Tuesday History, Wednesday English, Thursday Economics, Friday Mathematics.

Between Statistics (Monday) and English (Wednesday) lies Tuesday, with History. Economics and Mathematics come after English, and there is a lecture on every day, so 'No Lecture' is wrong.

Laying out the five days in a row makes such questions quick: Statistics, History, English, Economics, Mathematics.

Answer: A

Geography is B's subject.

Fix the known people first: A Economics, C Sociology (Delhi), F Commerce (Srinagar), G Statistics (Chennai), D from Shillong. The subjects left for B, D and E are History, Geography and Mathematics. B takes neither History nor Mathematics, so B is the geographer.

The geographer is from Kanpur, so B is from Kanpur. C has Sociology and E is left with History or Mathematics, so neither is the geographer, and the data are sufficient.

Answer: B

The Economics lecturer is from Mumbai.

A teaches Economics. The cities still free after Delhi (C), Srinagar (F), Chennai (G), Shillong (D) and Kanpur (B) are Hyderabad and Mumbai, for A and E.

A does not belong to Hyderabad, so A is from Mumbai. That rules out Hyderabad and 'neither', and the answer is fully determined.

This question depends on clue V; without it A could equally be from Hyderabad.

Answer: B

The lecturer from Hyderabad is E.

B is from Kanpur (the geographer), and A, the economist, takes Mumbai because he is not from Hyderabad. The only city left for E is Hyderabad.

So 'B', 'Neither B nor E' and 'Cannot be determined' are all wrong.

The full arrangement is: A Economics, Mumbai; B Geography, Kanpur; C Sociology, Delhi; D Shillong; E Hyderabad; F Commerce, Srinagar; G Statistics, Chennai, with D and E sharing History and Mathematics in some order.

Answer: A

The maximum earner is H.

W and D work in X, and M, who cannot share T's factory Y, also works in X. So X has W, D, M and Y has T, B, H.

Earnings: T is lowest; D < M < B; and B earns less than both H and W. So the top earner is H or W, and since W does not earn the maximum, it is H.

The full arrangement: factory X has W, D and M; factory Y has T, B and H; and the earnings run T < D < M < B < W < H.

Answer: B

B works in factory Y.

Factory X must hold W and D (they are not in Y) and M (who cannot be in T's factory Y). That fills X, so the other three, T, B and H, are in Y.

No one works in both factories, and the data are sufficient.

The key step is that M must be in factory X: T is in Y and M cannot share T's factory, so X is completed by W, D and M, and B has to be in Y with T and H.