Comprehension : (Que No. 12-16) Direction: Read the information given and…

2025

Comprehension : (Que No. 12-16)

Direction: Read the information given and answer the following questions.

The head of the newly formed government desires to appoint five of the six elected members A, B, C, D, E and F in the portfolios of Home, Defence, Power, Telecom and Finance.

(i) F does not want any portfolio if D gets one of the five.

(ii) C wants either Home or Finance or no portfolio.

(iii) B says if D gets either Power or Telecom, then she must get the other one.

(iv) E insists on a portfolio if A gets one.

Question:

If A is assigned Defence, then who among the following must be assigned any portfolio?

  1. A.

    C

  2. B.

    D

  3. C.

    B

  4. D.

    E

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

Concept

This is a conditional-constraint puzzle: each numbered clue is an “if-then” statement tied to one specific person. When a question fixes the antecedent of exactly one clue as true, that clue's consequent follows immediately by direct implication (modus ponens) — the full arrangement of all five portfolios does not need to be resolved unless the question itself asks for it.

Application

  1. The four clues, restated: (i) F takes no portfolio if D gets one; (ii) C wants Home or Finance or nothing; (iii) whichever of Power/Telecom D does not take, B must take; (iv) E must get a portfolio if A gets one.

  2. The question fixes A as assigned Defence — so A has, in fact, received a portfolio.

  3. This makes the antecedent of clue (iv) — “if A gets one” — true, so its consequent applies directly: E must also be assigned a portfolio.

Cross-check / Contrast

  • Clue (i) links F's non-assignment to D's assignment — it says nothing about A, so it is not triggered here.

  • Clue (ii) only states C's own preference (Home, Finance, or none) — it is not a consequence of A's assignment.

  • Clue (iii) links B's assignment to D's placement in Power or Telecom — again independent of what A receives.

  • So among the four clues, only (iv) is triggered by A being given Defence; no person besides E is forced into a portfolio by this fact alone.

Result: E must be assigned a portfolio.

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