In a car exhibition, seven cars of seven different companies, namely Cadillac,…
2021
In a car exhibition, seven cars of seven different companies, namely Cadillac, Ambassador, Fiat, Maruti, Mercedes, Bedford and Fargo, were displayed in a row facing east, such that:
Cadillac was to the immediate right of Fargo.
Fargo was fourth to the right of Fiat.
Maruti was between Ambassador and Bedford.
Fiat, which was third to the left of Ambassador, was at one of the ends.
Which cars are on the immediate either side of the Cadillac car?
- A.
Ambassador and Maruti
- B.
Maruti & Fiat
- C.
Fiat & Mercedes
- D.
None of these
Attempted by 7 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
A linear-arrangement puzzle is solved by fixing the most constrained element first and then placing the others relative to it using the given adjacency and distance clues. "Fourth to the right" means three seats lie between the two named items, while "immediate right" means the very next seat. Anchoring an element at an end removes the ambiguity and lets every other clue resolve to a single layout.
Application
Number the seven positions 1 to 7 from left to right. Resolve the clues in order:
Fiat is at one end and is third to the left of Ambassador. If Fiat were at position 7, there would be no room three seats further; so Fiat is at position 1, which fixes Ambassador at position 4.
Fargo is fourth to the right of Fiat (position 1), so Fargo is at position 5.
Cadillac is to the immediate right of Fargo, so Cadillac is at position 6.
Maruti is between Ambassador (position 4) and Bedford, and the only adjacent open seats are 2 and 3; placing Bedford at 2 and Maruti at 3 makes Maruti sit between Ambassador and Bedford.
The single remaining seat, position 7, takes Mercedes.
The completed row is:
Position | Car |
|---|---|
1 | Fiat |
2 | Bedford |
3 | Maruti |
4 | Ambassador |
5 | Fargo |
6 | Cadillac |
7 | Mercedes |
Cross-check
Cadillac sits at position 6, so its immediate neighbours are position 5 (Fargo) and position 7 (Mercedes). The cars on either side of Cadillac are therefore Fargo and Mercedes. This pair does not match "Ambassador and Maruti", "Maruti and Fiat", or "Fiat and Mercedes", so the correct response is "None of these". (The result is independent of which side is called the right, since reversing the row only swaps the two neighbours, still leaving Fargo and Mercedes.)