Analyze the following detailed information carefully to answer the question that follows.
Seven executives—P, Q, R, S, T, U, and V—occupy individual floors of a seven-story regional office building, numbered 1 (bottom floor) through 7 (top floor). Each executive decorates their workspace with a different theme: Botanical, Cyberpunk, Minimalist, Rustic, Industrial, Vintage, and Nautical.
S occupies an odd-numbered floor above floor 3, but does not use the Minimalist or Vintage themes.
Exactly three executives reside between S and the one who chose the Industrial theme.
There is exactly one floor between the executive using the Industrial theme and the one using the Cyberpunk theme.
U stays on a floor below the Cyberpunk-themed workspace, though not immediately below it.
U does not use the Vintage or Industrial themes.
The count of individuals staying below P is equal to the count of individuals staying above U.
R occupies a floor somewhere above the Vintage-themed workspace, but not immediately above it.
The Botanical-themed workspace is located on a floor higher than the Nautical-themed workspace.
Q occupies a floor higher than V.
U does not use the Nautical theme.
Correct Answer :
P
Solution :
The correct answer is P.
Step 1: Analyze the Floor Structure and Given Clues
The building consists of 7 floors numbered 1 (bottom floor) through 7 (top floor).
Seven executives—P, Q, R, S, T, U, and V—each occupy one floor, decorated with distinct themes: Botanical, Cyberpunk, Minimalist, Rustic, Industrial, Vintage, and Nautical.
Step 2: Derive the Relationship Between P and U
We are given the following condition:
"The count of individuals staying below P is equal to the count of individuals staying above U."
Let represent the floor number of P, and represent the floor number of U.
The number of executives staying below P is equal to:
The number of executives staying above U is equal to:
Equating these two values:
Rearranging the terms:
Step 3: Determine the Highest Floor
To find who occupies the top floor (Floor 7), we set :
- With U on Floor 1, there are 6 people above U (Floors 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7).
- With P on Floor 7, there are 6 people below P (Floors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6).
This maintains complete symmetry and satisfies the equality condition.
Conclusion:
Executive P occupies Floor 7, which is the highest floor of the office building.
Access expert-curated educational resources and study materials—completely free.
Create, conduct, and manage professional online assessments with Mindyard. Perfect for teachers and institutes.
Copyright © 2026 Mindyard. All Rights Reserved.
