Hemant is older than Bipin but younger than Mamta. Vinod is older than…

2017

Hemant is older than Bipin but younger than Mamta. Vinod is older than Sudhanshu. Mamta is not as old as Vinod but is older than Bipin. Sudhanshu is not as old as Bipin. Who is the youngest?

  1. A.

    Mamta

  2. B.

    Bipin

  3. C.

    Sudhanshu

  4. D.

    Hemant

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Concept

In a linear ordering (ranking) problem, each statement gives a relative comparison between two people. Translate every "older than" / "not as old as" into a single one-directional inequality, then chain the inequalities into one continuous order from oldest to youngest. The person at the bottom of the chain is the youngest.

Application

Convert each clue into an inequality (read "X is not as old as Y" as X is younger than Y):

  1. Hemant is older than Bipin, and younger than Mamta -> Mamta > Hemant > Bipin.

  2. Mamta is not as old as Vinod, but older than Bipin -> Vinod > Mamta.

  3. Vinod is older than Sudhanshu -> Vinod > Sudhanshu.

  4. Sudhanshu is not as old as Bipin -> Bipin > Sudhanshu.

Merge these links into one chain. Mamta > Hemant > Bipin sits below Vinod (Vinod > Mamta), and Sudhanshu falls below Bipin, giving the full order:

Vinod > Mamta > Hemant > Bipin > Sudhanshu.

Cross-check

Re-test each original clue against this order: Vinod > Sudhanshu (yes), Bipin > Sudhanshu (yes), Vinod > Mamta (yes), Mamta > Bipin (yes), Mamta > Hemant > Bipin (yes). Every statement holds, so the order is consistent and the youngest person is Sudhanshu.

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