A dice is numbered from 1 to 6 in different ways. If 2 is opposite to 3 and…
2023
A dice is numbered from 1 to 6 in different ways.
If 2 is opposite to 3 and adjacent to 4 and 6, then which of the following statements is necessarily true?
- A.
1 is opposite to 5
- B.
4 is opposite to 6
- C.
4 is adjacent to 2 and 6
- D.
1 is adjacent to 2 and 3
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
On a standard six-faced die, every face lies opposite exactly one other face and is adjacent to all four remaining faces. So a face is adjacent to another face whenever the two are not each other's designated opposite.
Here 2 is opposite 3, so the other four faces - 1, 4, 5 and 6 - must each be adjacent to both 2 and 3 (none of them can be 2's or 3's opposite, since that slot is already taken by each other). In particular, face 1 is neither 2's opposite nor 3's opposite, so 1 is necessarily adjacent to both 2 and 3, no matter how 1, 4, 5 and 6 eventually pair up into the remaining two opposite pairs.
"1 opposite to 5" fixes one specific pairing of the remaining four faces, but the given clues leave more than one valid way to pair 1, 4, 5 and 6 into the last two opposite pairs, so this is only possible, not necessary.
"4 opposite to 6" is likewise only one of the possible pairings left for 1, 4, 5 and 6 - it isn't forced by the given information.
"4 is adjacent to 2 and 6" would need 4 and 6 to not be opposite, which again isn't guaranteed by the given clues.
Only the statement that 1 is adjacent to both 2 and 3 holds in every arrangement consistent with the given clues, so it is the one that is necessarily true.