Data Sufficiency: Question: Among T, V, B, E and C, who is the third from the…

Concept: In a data-sufficiency question, a statement (or a combination of statements) is sufficient only when it lets you arrive at ONE unique answer to the exact question asked — here, identifying who occupies third place in the descending weight order. A statement that only fixes a partial relationship, without pinning enough of the overall sequence to answer that specific query, is insufficient even if it is true information.

Application:

1. From Statement I: B > T, B > C, and V > B, with V stated not to be the heaviest.

2. Among the five people, only E's rank relative to V is unstated, so E must be the one heavier than V — making E the heaviest.

3. This gives the complete order E > V > B > {T, C}, with T and C in either order between themselves.

4. B occupies third place in every arrangement consistent with this order, so Statement I alone is sufficient.

5. From Statement II: C is heavier than only T, meaning exactly one person (T) is lighter than C, so C sits in the fourth position.

6. Statement II says nothing about how E, V, and B compare with each other, so any of them could occupy the top three positions in different sequences.

7. Statement II alone cannot identify who is third, so it is insufficient by itself.

Cross-check: swapping T and C in Statement I's order (E>V>B>T>C vs E>V>B>C>T) never changes third place — it stays B — confirming Statement I is genuinely sufficient despite that one ambiguity. For Statement II, at least two different orders honour “C heavier than only T” while giving different third-place occupants — for example E>V>B>C>T (third = B) and V>B>E>C>T (third = E) — which proves Statement II alone cannot fix third place.

Hence, Statement I alone is sufficient while Statement II alone is not sufficient.