College of Admission Tests Multan

Placement Arrangements

Solve the question of and select the option from the choices A through D/E. Check your Answer and view the explanation.

Four couples—J, K, L, M—are standing in a line. Their positions are numbered consecutively from 1 to 8, and each person is holding hands with the persons on either side of him or her.

J and J are holding hands.

K and K are not holding hands.

L and L are holding hands.

One of the Ls is at one end of the line, and one of the Ms is at the other end.

Question: 4

If the Ks are separated by at most one other person, then which one of the following groups could be standing in the four even-numbered positions in one arrangement?
  • The two Js and the two Ls.
  • The two Ks and the two Ls.
  • The two Js and the two Ms.
  • One J, one K, one L, and one M.
  • One J, the two Ks, and one L.

  Show/Hide Explanation 

Correct Answer: E

The conditions “J and J are holding hands” and “L and L are holding hands” are naturally symbolized as JJ and LL, respectively. The condition “K and K are not holding hands” can be symbolized as K...K. [The symbol ~(KK) would also work well, but the symbol K...K is more descriptive because it shows the space between the Ks.] The condition “One of the Ls is at one end of the line, and one of the Ms is at the other end” can be symbolized as L=1st/last and M=1st/last. The diagram will consist of eight dashed lines numbered 1 through 8, from left to right:

JJ

LL

K ... K

L = First / Last

M = First / Last

1to8line -27320368

No significant conditions can be derived from the given information, and no conditions can be placed on the diagram. So we attack the questions.

This is a moderately hard problem. The condition “the Ks are separated by at most one other person” is somewhat obscure. It is more clearly expressed as “exactly one person separates the Ks.”

Since the two Js must be next to each other, they cannot both be in even-numbered positions. This eliminates both (A) and (C). The same is true for the Ls, which eliminates (B).

Since the Ks are separated by exactly one person, they must either both occupy even-numbered positions or both occupy odd-numbered positions. But choice (D) places only one K in an even-numbered position. This eliminates (D).

As a matter of test-taking strategy, this is sufficient analysis of the question to mark the answer (E). However, it is instructive to work out a valid order for (E).

To this end, place an M in position 1 and the Ls in positions 7 and 8:

41arrangementq -43650664

Next, place the Ks in positions 2 and 4, with M separating them:

42arrangementq -25745662

Finally, place the Js in positions 5 and 6:

43arrangementq -91172632

This diagram satisfies all the conditions, which verifies that (E) is the answer.