Read the given instructions carefully and answer the related questions:
Six persons – A, B, C, D, E and F – bought six different types of cars – Sedan, SUV, Hatchback, Limousine, Coupe, and Convertible – one after the other, but not necessarily in the same order.
The one who bought Sedan purchased it three persons before F. As many persons bought car before F as after the one who purchased Hatchback. Two persons bought cars between the ones who purchased Hatchback and SUV. E bought the car before the one who purchased SUV but immediately before A. Coupe was bought two persons after A but immediately bought before convertible. Convertible was bought before B but after D.
Sedan was purchased by who among the following person?
Correct Answer :
E
Solution :
The correct answer is E.
Let's analyze the clues step-by-step to determine the order of the six persons (A, B, C, D, E, F) and the cars they bought (Sedan, SUV, Hatchback, Limousine, Coupe, Convertible).
There are 6 positions, numbered 1 to 6 from first to last.
Step 1: Analyze the Sedan and F's positions
"The one who bought Sedan purchased it three persons before F."
This means if Sedan is bought at position , then F bought their car at position .
So, the possible pairs for (Sedan, F) are:
- Sedan at 1, F at 4
- Sedan at 2, F at 5
- Sedan at 3, F at 6
Step 2: Analyze Hatchback's position
"As many persons bought car before F as after the one who purchased Hatchback."
Let's analyze the cases based on F's position:
- If F is at 4 (3 persons before F): Hatchback must have 3 persons after it, so Hatchback is at 3.
- If F is at 5 (4 persons before F): Hatchback must have 4 persons after it, so Hatchback is at 2.
- If F is at 6 (5 persons before F): Hatchback must have 5 persons after it, so Hatchback is at 1.
Step 3: Analyze SUV's position
"Two persons bought cars between the ones who purchased Hatchback and SUV."
Let's see where SUV can be placed in each case:
- Case 1: Hatchback is at 3. SUV can be at 6 (since persons between them).
- Case 2: Hatchback is at 2. SUV can be at 5.
- Case 3: Hatchback is at 1. SUV can be at 4.
Step 4: Analyze E and A's positions
"E bought the car before the one who purchased SUV but immediately before A."
This means E and A are adjacent, in the order E then A (i.e., E is immediately followed by A), and both are placed before the SUV.
Let's test our cases with this condition:
- Case 1: Hatchback is at 3, SUV is at 6, Sedan is at 1, F is at 4.
The SUV is at 6. E and A must be before 6. Also, A cannot be F (since F is at 4).
The available positions for the block [E, A] before 6 are:
If [E, A] is at [2, 3], then A is at 3 (which has Hatchback).
If [E, A] is at [4, 5], but F is at 4, so E cannot be at 4.
If [E, A] is at [1, 2], E is at 1 (Sedan). This is possible. Let's see: E is at 1, A is at 2. F is at 4. SUV is at 6. Hatchback is at 3.
Let's check the next clue: "Coupe was bought two persons after A but immediately bought before convertible."
"Two persons after A" means if A is at 2, Coupe is at (since "two persons after" means 2 positions in between, or position ). Let's check: two persons after A (who is at 2) would mean positions 3 and 4 are in between, so Coupe is at 5. Since "immediately bought before convertible", Convertible must be at 6. But SUV is at 6, which conflicts (Convertible cannot be at 6 if SUV is at 6).
Wait, does "two persons after" mean or ? Let's read carefully: "Coupe was bought two persons after A". Usually this means there is 1 person between them (so position ) or 2 persons between them (position ). Let's test both options.
Let's try Case 2: Hatchback is at 2, SUV is at 5, Sedan is at 2, F is at 5.
This is invalid because Hatchback and Sedan would both be at position 2, and SUV and F would both be at position 5.
Let's try Case 3: Hatchback is at 1, SUV is at 4, Sedan is at 3, F is at 6.
SUV is at 4. E and A must be before SUV (before position 4) and immediately adjacent [E, A].
So [E, A] must be at [2, 3].
Thus:
Position 1: Hatchback
Position 2: E
Position 3: A (who bought Sedan, since Sedan is at 3)
Position 4: SUV
Position 6: F
Let's check the Coupe clue: "Coupe was bought two persons after A but immediately bought before convertible."
Since A is at 3, "two persons after A" means Coupe is at (so one person at 4 is in between, or two persons after means position 5). If Coupe is at 5, and it is immediately before convertible, then Convertible is at 6. This fits perfectly since F is at 6, so F bought Convertible.
Let's verify the last clue: "Convertible was bought before B but after D."
Since Convertible is at 6, it cannot be bought before B (as position 6 is the last position). This means this configuration has an issue if Convertible is at 6.
Let's re-evaluate the interpretation of "two persons after A". If "two persons after A" means there are 2 persons between them, then if A is at 2, Coupe is at 5, and Convertible is at 6. But SUV was at 6. Let's see if there is another configuration.
What if [E, A] is at [1, 2] in Case 1?
Let's check: E at 1, A at 2, Hatchback at 3, F at 4, Coupe at 5, Convertible at 6. Wait, if Convertible is at 6, it is still at the last position and cannot be before B.
Wait! Let's check: "E bought the car before the one who purchased SUV but immediately before A."
This means E is immediately before A, and E is before SUV. A does not necessarily have to be before SUV.
Let's check if we can place E immediately before A, with E before SUV, but A after SUV.
For example, in Case 1 (Hatchback = 3, SUV = 6, Sedan = 1, F = 4):
If E is at 2 and A is at 3. Here E is before SUV (2 is before 6), and immediately before A. This is valid! But A is at 3, so A bought Hatchback.
Let's check: Coupe is two persons after A. If A is at 3, then Coupe is at (or ). If Coupe is at 5, Convertible is at 6. Again, Convertible is at 6, which cannot be before B.
What if the order of F and Hatchback is different? Let's re-verify: "The one who bought Sedan purchased it three persons before F."
Let's write down the positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Let Sedan be at and F be at . .
Let Hatchback be at . "As many persons bought car before F as after the one who purchased Hatchback."
Number of persons before F is .
Number of persons after Hatchback is .
So, .
"Two persons bought cars between the ones who purchased Hatchback and SUV."
So .
"E bought the car before the one who purchased SUV but immediately before A."
So and .
"Coupe was bought two persons after A but immediately bought before convertible."
This means Coupe is at (one person between them) or (two persons between them). Let's assume first. Since Coupe is immediately before Convertible, .
"Convertible was bought before B but after D."
So .
Since , Convertible cannot be at position 6. Thus, .
If , then .
Since and , we must have and .
If and :
Then and .
Since , SUV can be any position .
Now let's check :
- If , then . But Coupe is already at 4. So this is not possible.
- If , then . But Convertible is already at 5. So this is not possible.
- If , then . Let's check this:
If , then since , we have . But , so F cannot be at 2.
- If , then .
Let's check this:
If , then . But , so F cannot be at 1.
What if "two persons after A" means ?
Then .
Since , we must have , which is impossible since and .
Let's reconsider the positions of Sedan and F. .
If , then .
Since , we have .
Since , and , we must have (since is invalid).
Now, E is before SUV () and immediately before A ().
Also, "Coupe was bought two persons after A but immediately bought before convertible."
If , and Convertible is at :
If and , then Coupe is at 5 and Convertible is at 6. But SUV is at 6, so Convertible cannot be at 6.
If (two persons after A, meaning position ):
If and , then Coupe is at 4 and Convertible is at 5.
Let's check if this is compatible:
- Sedan is at 1 (so E bought Sedan).
- E is at 1, A is at 2, Hatchback is at 3, F is at 4 (F bought Coupe), Convertible is at 5, SUV is at 6.
- Since Convertible is at 5, and it is bought before B but after D:
We must have . Thus, B must be at 6.
Since , D can be at 3 (since 1 is E, 2 is A, 4 is F, 5 is Convertible, 6 is B). Thus, D is at 3.
This leaves position 5 for C.
Let's check the complete table:
1. E - Sedan
2. A - Limousine (since it's the remaining car type)
3. D - Hatchback
4. F - Coupe
5. C - Convertible
6. B - SUV
This layout satisfies all the constraints perfectly! Therefore, Sedan was purchased by E.
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