Three of the five students allocated to a hostel put in special requests to…
2019
Three of the five students allocated to a hostel put in special requests to the warden. Given the floor plan of the vacant rooms, select the allocation plan that will accommodate all their requests.
Request by X: Due to pollen allergy, I want to avoid a wing next to the garden.
Request by Y: I want to live as far from the washrooms as possible, since I am very sensitive to smell.
Request by Z: I believe in Vaastu and so want to stay in the South-west wing.
The shaded rooms are already occupied. WR is washroom.
Attempted by 37 students.
Show answer & explanation
Key constraints: three students have these requirements:
X: must avoid any wing that is next to the garden (so X cannot be placed on the east-side rooms adjacent to the garden).
Y: wants the room farthest from the washrooms (washrooms are on the left side), so Y should be placed on the right side, as far away as possible.
Z: requests the south-west wing, which corresponds to the lower-left wing of the plan.
Identify fixed features:
Garden areas are on the right (east) side of the layout; any room adjacent to that side is considered next to the garden.
Washrooms are located on the left side (top-left and bottom-left). Rooms farthest from the washrooms lie on the right side.
Why the correct allocation works:
Z is placed in the south-west wing (lower-left), exactly matching Z's Vaastu request.
X is placed away from the east side next to the garden, so X's pollen-allergy request is met.
Y is placed on the side farthest from both washrooms (on the right side), satisfying the requirement to be as far from washrooms as possible.
Conclusion: The plan that places Z in the south-west wing, X away from the garden-adjacent wing, and Y on the rightmost side farthest from the washrooms satisfies all three requests. Therefore this allocation is the correct one.
Why the other proposed allocations fail (brief):
Some plans place X next to the garden, violating the allergy constraint.
Some plans place Z away from the south-west wing, violating Z's Vaastu requirement.
Some plans leave Y closer to a washroom instead of in the spot farthest from both washrooms.
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