Which one of the following could be true?

avif on June 21, 2020

Explanation

At first I picked A. Is that wrong because this clause "Yamamoto must visit Ghana in a month immediately preceding a month in which Watts visits Ghana", that anytime there is a W you need a Y before it? I read it originally that Y must visit at least one time in a month before W, not any time before W. Please explain the language of the clause. Thanks.

Replies
Create a free account to read and take part in forum discussions.

Already have an account? log in

filozinni on June 29, 2020

Yes I am also wondering why A is wrong. Please explain.

Victoria on July 2, 2020

Hi @avif and @filozinni,

Happy to help!

We know there are four representatives - V, W, Y, and Z. Over the next four months, they will visit three factory sites - France, Ghana, and India. Exactly one representative will visit each site per month.

F: _ _ _ _
G: _ _ _ _
I: _ _ _ _

Let's quickly go through the conditions

Rule 1 - V must visit Ghana once and India twice, with Ghana visited at some time between the visits to India

Rule 2 - W must visit Ghana at least once

Rule 3 - Y must visit Ghana in a month immediately preceding a month in which W visits Ghana

Rule 4 - Y cannot visit any site in the fourth month

Rule 5 - Any representative who visits France cannot also visit India


So, Rule 3 tells us that Y must visit Ghana in a month immediately preceding a month in which W visits Ghana. This means that Y must visit Ghana the month before W visits Ghana. There can be no months in between. We also know from Rule 2 that W must visit Ghana at least once.

As Y visits Ghana once and V visits Ghana once, this means that the maximum number of times that W can visit Ghana is twice.

If we assume that W only visits Ghana once, then Y must visit Ghana in the month immediately before W visits Ghana. This means that W cannot visit Ghana in the first month as there is no month immediately preceding it.

If we assume that W visits Ghana twice, then there are two possibilities for order of visits.

Option 1:

F: _ _ _ _
G: W Y W V
I: _ _ _ _

This option does not work because Rule 1 tells us that V must visit Ghana in between their visits to India. Therefore, V cannot visit Ghana in the last month.

Option 2:

F: _ _ _ _
G: W V Y W
I: V

Rule 1 means that V must visit India in the first month and then either the third or fourth month.

Rule 4 tells us that Y cannot visit any site in the fourth month and Rule 5 tells us that any representative who visits France cannot also visit India.

This is where this option falls apart. V cannot visit France because they must visit India. Therefore, the fourth month is impossible because France and India would have to be visited by V and Z as Y cannot visit any site in the fourth month.

Hope this is helpful! Please let us know that you have any further questions.

avif on July 3, 2020

That is helpful. Thanks!