In a school group song, 8 students took part. They performed a song forming a…
2024
In a school group song, 8 students took part. They performed a song forming a circular group. The students were Rani, Preeti, Shama, Suhani, Aashka, Vaishali, Priya, and Unnati. They were standing in such a way that Preeti, Shama, and Suhani were side by side. Shama and Aashka were the farthest apart, and Priya and Rani were at least three persons away from each other. Suhani is standing opposite to Vaishali and between Priya and Shama, and Unnati is standing between Priya and Aashka. Then, Vaishali is standing between whom?
- A.
Preeti and Rani
- B.
Rani and Aashka
- C.
Shama and Preeti
- D.
Unnati and Aashka
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept:
In a circular arrangement of 8 people, two people stand "opposite" each other only when their seats are exactly half the circle apart - 4 seats away - and a person stands "between" two others only when those two occupy the seats immediately on either side of that person. Such puzzles are solved by converting every verbal clue into one seat-constraint and propagating them around a single reference circle until all 8 seats are fixed, then checking that every clue holds together in the final layout.
Application:
The clue that Preeti, Shama, and Suhani stand side by side, together with Suhani standing between Priya and Shama, fixes one continuous run of four seats in the order Priya, Suhani, Shama, Preeti.
Standing "the farthest apart" on an 8-seat circle means sitting diametrically opposite, 4 seats away. Counting 4 seats on from Shama's seat fixes Aashka's seat directly opposite Shama.
Suhani standing opposite Vaishali means Vaishali's seat is likewise 4 seats on from Suhani's seat, landing on the far side of the circle from the Priya-Suhani-Shama-Preeti run.
Unnati standing between Priya and Aashka places her in the one seat touching both Priya's seat and Aashka's already-fixed seat, closing the gap on that side.
Only one seat now remains, for Rani; three people intervene between her seat and Priya's - four seats apart along the shorter arc - which matches "Priya and Rani at least three persons away".
Reading the two seats immediately on either side of Vaishali's fixed seat identifies who she stands between.
Cross-check:
Testing every original clue against this one completed circle at once: Shama and Aashka sit exactly opposite; Suhani and Vaishali sit exactly opposite; Preeti, Shama, and Suhani occupy three consecutive seats; Unnati sits directly between Priya and Aashka; and Priya and Rani are separated by three intervening seats, meeting the stated minimum. Every clue holds simultaneously only in this layout.
So Vaishali is standing between Rani and Aashka.