Five students — Neha, Arjun, Kavya, Rishi, and Tanvi — are scheduled to deliver their speeches on five consecutive days, one after another, but not necessarily in that order.

The following conditions are known:

Neha speaks before the person who presents immediately after Kavya.

Rishi is the third to speak.

Tanvi speaks exactly after three others have spoken.

Who is scheduled to speak last?

(a) Kavya

(b) Arjun

(c) Rishi

(d) Tanvi

Question

Five students &mdash; Neha, Arjun, Kavya, Rishi, and Tanvi &mdash; are scheduled to deliver their speeches on five consecutive days, one after another, but not necessarily in that order.

The following conditions are known:

Neha speaks before the person who presents immediately after Kavya.

Rishi is the third to speak.

Tanvi speaks exactly after three others have spoken.

Who is scheduled to speak last?

(a) Kavya

(b) Arjun

(c) Rishi

(d) Tanvi

ONLiNE UPSC · Accepted Answer

We have 5 people: Neha (N), Arjun (A), Kavya (K), Rishi (R), Tanvi (T)
Speeches are on 5 consecutive days &rarr; Positions: 1st to 5th

Given:

Neha speaks before the person who presents immediately after Kavya
Let&rsquo;s say Kavya is on Day x, so the person after her is on Day x+1
Neha must be before Day x+1

Rishi is 3rd &rarr; R is on Day 3

Tanvi speaks exactly after three others &rarr; T is on Day 4

Now:

R is Day 3

T is Day 4

Remaining people: N, A, K

Remaining days: 1, 2, 5

Try placing Kavya on Day 2:
Then the person after her is on Day 3 &rarr; That&rsquo;s Rishi
So Neha must be before Day 3 &rarr; i.e., Day 1 or Day 2
But Day 2 is taken by Kavya &rarr; So Neha must be Day 1 

Now assigned:

Day 1: Neha

Day 2: Kavya

Day 3: Rishi

Day 4: Tanvi

Day 5: Arjun

All conditions are satisfied.

Hence option b is correct.

Seating Arrangement

Linear Arrangement

Website Link

Test Your Knowledge

Student Resources