Question:

The six winners K, L, M, N, O and P of a national science contest each one a college Scholarships. The
prizes for first through six positions were $ 30,000, $ 25,000, $ 20,000, $ 15,000, $ 10,000 and $ 5,
000. The following information concerning the winners was..
O won the $ 20,000.
K won less money than L did.
The difference between the winnings of M and P was $5,000.
The difference between the winnings of N and P was at least $ 10,000.
SOLUTION:
Conditions/Rules:
R1= O=20K=> 3rd or 4th if arranged in reverse order
R2= K < L => means when arranged from Highest to Lowest K must come after L and vice versa.
R3= M-P=5K => M & P will be next to each other i.e. MP OR PM
R4= N-P> 10K=> means there must be at least one position between them i.e. N__P OR P__N
First make a table like this and then for each question try to put them in the table according to the give
data.
Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Questions 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000
1 O
2 O

Q1. Which of the following could be the ranking, from sixth place to first place of the six students?
Solution: It’s from 6th place to 1st place hence arranged in reverse order.
A. M,P,L,O,N,K : A is wrong due to Rule 2 (R2) means K must come before L (Reverse order)
B. N,P,M,O,K,L : R4 i.e. There should be at least one position between N and P or 10K difference
C. N,M,K,O,L,P : R3 i.e. M and P should be next to each other
D. M,P,K,O,N,L : Correct as it satisfy all four Rules
E. K,L,M,P,O,N : O must be at 4th Position in reverse order

Q2. If K won $ 10,000, how much money in total did M and P win?
K=10K =>5th Position. If we put K at 5th Position, then M & P can be put at only 1st and 2nd place as they
should be together. Hence 30k+25k=55k
Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Rank Prize 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000
Q:2 M/P P/M O K

A. $ 15,000
B. $ 25,000
C. $ 35,000
D. $ 45,000
E. $ 55,000 : Correct Answer
Q3. If L won $ 25,000, which of the following must be true?

Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Rank Prize 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000
Q:3 N L O

A. N won $ 30,000 : Correct : As IF we put N 4th, 5th or 6th place it violates R2, R3 and R2
respectively. Hence N must at 1st WHEN L wins 25k.
B. K won $ 15,000
C. P won $ 15,000
D. M won $ 5,000
E. K won $ 5,000
Q4. If N won the fourth prize of $ 15,000, which of the following is the pair of students where the first
named student won $ 5,000 more than the second named student.
IF N=15K=> 4th Place. => Then there only two solutions:
1st: we put MP at 1st & 2nd and L & K at 5th and 6th to satisfy all rules
2nd: we put L & K AT 1st and 2nd and MP at 5th & 6th.
Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Rank Prize 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000
Sol:1 L K O N M P
Sol: 2 M P O N L K

A. K and L: Wrong from solution as well as Rule 2

B. L and K : Correct: Both solutions L earns 5k more than K.
C. M and O: difference is 10k
D. M and P: Correct: Both solutions L earns 5k more than K.
E. P and M: Wrong. M earns more than P in both scenarios
.
Q5. If the difference in amounts won by K and M was $ 5,000, which of the following pairs of the
students could also have won prizes that differ by $ 5,000.
Sol: IF difference btw K and M is 5k => K and M must come together i.e. MK or KM
BUT as M and P are also together, hence it becomes PMK or KMP which can be put together only at 4th,
5th and 6th position. BUT we can’t use KMP because of Rule 4.
Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Rank Prize 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000
Sol:1 (√) L N O P M K
Sol:2 (x) O K M P

A. K and N
B. K and P
C. L and O
D. M and O
E. M and P : Correct. LN, NO, OP, PM and MK all have 5k difference