Who among the following plays on Thursday?

Study the following information carefully and answer the given questions below:

Six persons plays different sports on six different days from Monday to Saturday of a week. The sports are- Football, Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Golf and Squash (but not played in the same order as given).

Only two persons play between the one who plays football and O. Not more than two persons play after O. As many persons play before the one who plays football as after the one who plays basketball. P plays just after M but three persons before the one who plays basketball. The one who plays squash plays three persons before R but after M. Q doesn’t paly squash and plays after the one who plays cricket. N doesn’t play football. The one who plays golf play before R.

Correct Answer: The one who plays golf

Step-by-Step Explanation:

Let's analyze the given clues step-by-step to determine the schedule from Monday to Saturday, including the person playing on each day and their respective sport.

1. Days of the week:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

2. Analyze O's position and Football:

- "Not more than two persons play after O." This means O can play on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

- "Only two persons play between the one who plays football and O."

3. Analyze P, M, and Basketball:

- "P plays just after M but three persons before the one who plays basketball."

- "three persons before" means there are 2 persons between P and the Basketball player (i.e., P is at position x, Basketball player is at position x + 3).

- Since M is just before P, the order is: M, P, [Person], [Person], Basketball.

- This sequence takes 5 consecutive days! Therefore, M must be on Monday or Tuesday.

Let's test the positions for M, P, and Basketball:

Case 1: M on Monday, P on Tuesday.

- Then Basketball is on Friday (Tuesday + 3 days = Friday).

- "As many persons play before the one who plays football as after the one who plays basketball."

- Since 1 person plays after Basketball (on Saturday), 1 person must play before Football. So, Football is on Tuesday.

- If Football is on Tuesday, O must be on Friday (2 persons between Tuesday and Friday: Wednesday and Thursday). But Friday is already occupied by Basketball, and O plays a sport, so this is consistent.

- Wait, let's check P: P is on Tuesday. So P plays Football!

- Now let's check O: Football (Tuesday) and O have two persons between them (Wednesday, Thursday), so O is on Friday.

Let's check Squash, R, Q, N, Golf, and Cricket for Case 1:

- "The one who plays squash plays three persons before R but after M."

- "three persons before R" means Squash is at position y and R is at position y + 3 (2 persons between them).

- Since Squash is after M (Monday), Squash can be on Wednesday or Thursday.

- If Squash is on Wednesday, R is on Saturday (Wednesday + 3 = Saturday).

- If Squash is on Thursday, R would be on Sunday (which doesn't exist).

- Thus, Squash must be on Wednesday, and R plays on Saturday!

Now we have the days filled as follows:

- Monday: M

- Tuesday: P (Football)

- Wednesday: [Person] (Squash)

- Thursday: [Person] ([Sport])

- Friday: O (Basketball)

- Saturday: R ([Sport])

Now let's place the remaining persons (N and Q):

- The remaining days for persons are Wednesday and Thursday.

- "N doesn’t play football" (satisfied, Football is P on Tuesday).

- "Q doesn’t play squash" -> So Q cannot be on Wednesday. Thus, Q plays on Thursday!

- Therefore, N plays on Wednesday.

Let's complete the persons on each day:

- Monday: M

- Tuesday: P

- Wednesday: N

- Thursday: Q

- Friday: O

- Saturday: R

Now let's place the remaining sports (Cricket, Golf, Tennis):

- "The one who plays golf play before R."

- "Q doesn’t play squash and plays after the one who plays cricket."

- Q is on Thursday, so Cricket must be played before Thursday (Monday or Tuesday). Since Tuesday is Football, Cricket must be played on Monday (M)!

- Now we need to place Golf and Tennis for Thursday and Saturday.

- Since "The one who plays golf play before R" (R is on Saturday), Golf must be played before Saturday. Thus, Golf is played on Thursday (by Q)!

- The remaining sport, Tennis, is played on Saturday by R.

Final Schedule:

- Monday: M (Cricket)

- Tuesday: P (Football)

- Wednesday: N (Squash)

- Thursday: Q (Golf)

- Friday: O (Basketball)

- Saturday: R (Tennis)

The question asks: "Who among the following plays on Thursday?"

On Thursday, Q plays Golf. Matching with the options given, Thursday corresponds to "The one who plays golf".