There are seven friends — Brian, Paul, Qasim, Rustam, Sam, Tom, Winston — each…
2024
There are seven friends — Brian, Paul, Qasim, Rustam, Sam, Tom, Winston — each likes a different subject among Chemistry, Geography, Physics, Math, Sociology, History, Biology. They are ranked 1 (best) to 7 (worst) in the final exam.
Clues:
Qasim likes Sociology and stands above Tom but below Winston.
Tom gets the worst rank and he likes neither Geography nor History.
Sam likes Physics and stands above both Qasim & Winston but below Paul.
Rustam gets Rank 2 and likes neither Chemistry nor Math.
Paul likes Biology and not the best rank.
The student who likes Math gets the best rank.
Rustam doesn’t like Geography.
Which of the following statements is true?
- A.
Brian likes Geography
- B.
Winston likes maths
- C.
Tom likes Chemistry
- D.
Sam likes chemistry
Attempted by 32 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Step 1 — Direct facts from clues:
Qasim likes Sociology and is between Winston and Tom (Qasim is above Tom but below Winston).
Tom is rank 7 (worst) and does not like Geography or History.
Sam likes Physics and is above both Qasim and Winston but below Paul.
Rustam is rank 2 and does not like Chemistry, Math, or Geography, so Rustam must like History.
Paul likes Biology and is not rank 1.
The student who likes Math holds rank 1 (best).
Step 2 — Use elimination to assign remaining subjects:
After assigning Sociology (Qasim), Physics (Sam), Biology (Paul), and History (Rustam), the remaining subjects are Chemistry, Geography, and Math, to be assigned to Brian, Winston, and Tom.
Tom cannot like Geography or History, and cannot like Math because Math is the best rank (rank 1) while Tom is rank 7, so Tom must like Chemistry.
Step 3 — Determine consistent rank order:
Sam is above Winston and Qasim but below Paul, giving the relative order Paul < Sam < Winston < Qasim < Tom.
With Rustam fixed at rank 2 and Tom at rank 7, the only assignment that fits all clues places Brian at rank 1 (Math), Rustam rank 2 (History), Paul rank 3 (Biology), Sam rank 4 (Physics), Winston rank 5 (Geography), Qasim rank 6 (Sociology), and Tom rank 7 (Chemistry).
Final assignments:
Brian — Rank 1, Math
Rustam — Rank 2, History
Paul — Rank 3, Biology
Sam — Rank 4, Physics
Winston — Rank 5, Geography
Qasim — Rank 6, Sociology
Tom — Rank 7, Chemistry
Conclusion: The statement "Tom likes Chemistry" is true.