If Greta left the fifth message, then which one of the following messages CANNOT have been left by Theodore?
September 9, 2020
Another possible answer choice?
If Greta (G) is fifth, then Fleure (F) and Pasquale (P) must both have left a message. If F left a message, then P's messages must precede Theodore's (T) messages. Additionally, if P left a message, then Hildy's (H) messages must precede T's messages.
Wouldn't this mean that T could not be first or second since both P and H's messages would have to precede T?
In other words, wouldn't first and second both be correct answers?
Replies
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I think you've confused a couple of the conditions. We know that if G left a message, then both F and P also left messages.
Rule 5 tells us that if F left a message, then both P and T also left messages, with all of P's messages preceding any of T's.
Rule 6 tells us that if P left a message, then both H and L also left messages, with all of H's messages preceding any of L's.
G --> F and P > T
G --> P --> H > L
There is no condition telling us that H's messages must precede any of T's messages.
P T H L G F 1 2 3 4 5 6
Notice that the above scenario meets all of our conditions:
1) No one left more than one message. 2) No one left more than three messages. 3) The first message is not H's, so this condition is irrelevant. 4) G left a message and so did both F and P. 5) F left a message and so did both P and T. P's message (first) precedes T's message (second). 6) P left a message and so did both H and L. H's message (third) precedes L's message (fourth).
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any questions.
Cameron-DurhamNovember 3, 2020
Wouldn't answer C also be correct? Because if P is preceding T, then would there not be a space for H to precede L?
VictoriaNovember 11, 2020
Hi @Cameron-Durham,
Happy to help!
Preceding simply means "coming before." You would be correct if the conditions said that P's message had to "immediately precede" T's and H's message had to "immediately precede" L's as this would mean we would have two blocks: |PT| and |HL|.
However, the way the condition is written simply means that P's message(s) must be left before T's. Therefore, it is entirely possible to have T leave the third message and still satisfy all our conditions.
P H T L G F 1 2 3 4 5 6
This scenario still meets all our conditions:
1) No one left more than one message. 2) No one left more than three messages. 3) The first message is not H's, so this condition is irrelevant. 4) G left a message and so did both F and P. 5) F left a message and so did both P and T. P's message (1) precedes T's message (3). 6) P left a message and so did both H and L. H's message (2) precedes L's message (4).
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
