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?

  1. A.

    1 is opposite to 5

  2. B.

    4 is opposite to 6

  3. C.

    4 is adjacent to 2 and 6

  4. 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.

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