| 1. Out of the following word list, one of the words is a password: SUE PIE SOP OLA YAE It is also known that if any one letter of the password is known, then the number of vowels in the password can be known. Which of these words is the password? |
Medium |
| A. PIE B. OLA C. YAE D. SOP |
View Answer
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Discover a pattern w.r.t the number of vowels in each of the words. The only exception is SOP, which has only one vowel as compared to other words, all of which have two vowels each. Thus, SOP becomes our starting point for analysis.
The password will not have any letter from the word SOP, because in that case the number of vowels in the password will be either 1 or 2, and therefore one cannot be sure about the exact number of vowels in that word.
For example, if we assume that the letter ‘S’ is present in the password, then there are two possibilities for the password – SOP and SUE, the former with 1 vowel and the latter with 2.
The only word with no letter from the word SOP is YAE.
-> YAE is the password.
| 2. Company XYZ sells three items – A, B and C. These items are sold through three sales representatives – P, Q and R. • P says, “7 items of A together with 5 items of B have the same value as 6 items of C” • Q says, “4 items of A together with 9 items of C have the same value as 5 items of B” • R says, “6 items of C together with 3 items of B have the same value as 4 items of A” It was subsequently revealed that exactly one of the three sales representatives was lying. Identify the one who was lying. |
Medium |
| A. P B. Q C. R D. Can’t be determined |
View Answer
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
7A+5B = 6C —– ❶ (as per P)
4A+9C = 5B —– ❷ (as per Q)
6C+3B = 4A —– ❸ (as per R)
From ❶ and ❷ 7A+4A+9C = 6C -> 11A+9C = 6C —– ❹
Equation ❹ is not feasible because LHS is definitely more than RHS, so they can’t be equal.
-> One out of P and Q is lying
From ❶ and ❸ 7A+5B+3B = 4A -> 7A+8B = 4A —– ❺
Equation ❺ is not possible because LHS is definitely more than RHS.
-> One out of P and R is lying
Now we know that one out of P and Q is lying, and one out of P and R is lying. Also, we know that exactly one of the three sales representatives is lying -> P is lying
| 3. Four people – P, Q, R, S – went out for a picnic, where they got into furious arguments and one of them got murdered in the process. The police carried out an investigation and the following facts were revealed: a. All four were married, comprising two couples. Each couple comprised one man and one woman. b. P and Q were the only two men in the group. c. P’s sister argued with R’s legal husband after the murder. d. Q’s sister argued with the victim’s legal spouse after the murder. Who was murdered? |
Difficult |
| A. P B. Q C. R D. S |
View Answer
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Case I: P’s sister is R
In this case R’s legal husband is Q and from c, R argues with Q, which implies that both R and Q are not the ones to be murdered. Further, S has to be Q’s sister in this case and from d, S argues with the victim’s legal spouse. But this is not possible because if R, Q and S are not murdered, then it is P who is murdered and is therefore the victim. The only person who can be P’s spouse is S and S can not get into an argument with self. Hence case I is not possible.
Case II: P’s sister is S
In this case R’s legal husband is P and from c, S argues with P. So, both S and P can’t be the ones murdered. Further, Q’s sister will be R, and from d, R gets into an argument with the victim’s legal spouse. Since S, P and R are involved in post-murder arguments, Q is the victim. So, R gets into an argument with Q’s legal spouse, who has to be S.
Thus, we conclude the following:
• P is married to R
• Q is married to S
• P’s sister is S
• Q’s sister is R
• Q is the victim
Answer is Q