Read the given information carefully and answer the related questions: Six…
2024
Read the given information carefully and answer the related questions:
Six boxes - A, B, C, D, E and F are placed one above another. These boxes are of different types – Jute, Steel, Iron, Wood, Leather, Brass. All the information is not necessarily in the same order. Box D is placed three places above leather box. Same number of boxes are placed above box D and below steel box. Box B is placed just below box F and just above wood box. Box A is placed two places below iron box. More than one box is placed below box C which is placed below brass box.
Which of the following statement is incorrect?
- A.
Box E is bottommost box
- B.
Box B is leather box
- C.
Box D is placed above box F
- D.
Box A and B are adjacent to each other
- E.
Box C is brass box
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: E
Concept
In a vertical stack-arrangement puzzle, fix a reference frame first — number the positions from bottom (1) to top (6) — and convert every clue into a positional relation. "X places above" means a fixed gap (D = leather + 3); "same number above one as below another" means the two are mirror-symmetric about the centre (boxes above D = boxes below steel). Place the most rigid clues first, then let the looser clues eliminate the remaining cases until a single layout survives.
Applying the clues
"Same number of boxes above D as below steel" makes D and steel mirror images: boxes above D (= 6 - posD) equal boxes below steel (= posSteel - 1), so posSteel = 7 - posD.
"D is three places above the leather box" forces posD = posLeather + 3, so D can only sit at 4, 5 or 6 with leather at 1, 2 or 3 respectively.
"B is just below F and just above the wood box" fixes a rigid trio F-B-wood in consecutive descending positions (F = B + 1, wood = B - 1).
"A is two places below the iron box" gives iron = A + 2; "more than one box is below C, and C is below the brass box" forces C to position 3 or higher with brass strictly above it.
Testing the allowed D/leather placements against the rigid F-B-wood trio and the A/iron gap leaves exactly one consistent stack.
The unique arrangement (top to bottom)
Position | Box | Type |
|---|---|---|
6 (top) | D | Brass |
5 | C | Jute |
4 | F | Iron |
3 | B | Leather |
2 | A | Wood |
1 (bottom) | E | Steel |
Cross-check
D (top, position 6) is three places above leather B (position 3) - correct. D sits at the very top so no box is above it, and steel E sits at the very bottom so no box is below it - zero above D equals zero below steel, so the symmetry clue holds. F (4) is just above B (3) which is just above wood A (2). Iron F (4) is two places above A (2). C (5) has four boxes below it and brass D above it. Every clue is satisfied, so the arrangement is unique.
Reading the statements
Reading the five statements against this single valid stack: E is the bottommost box, B is the leather box, D is above F, and A and B sit next to each other - each of these four describes the stack accurately. The remaining statement claims C is the brass box, but in the stack C is the jute box and brass belongs to D, so that one statement disagrees with the arrangement.