Question

Children are in pursuit of a dog whose leash has broken. Krishnarajan is directly behind the dog. Rangarajan is behind Krishnarajan. Natrajan is behind Rangarajan. Premrajan is ahead of the dog walking down the street in the opposite direction. As the children and dog pass, Premrajan turns around and joins the pursuit. He runs in behind Rangarajan. Krishnarajan runs faster and is alongside the dog on the left. Rangarajan runs faster and is alongside the dog on the right. Which child is directly behind the dog?

• A. Krishnarajan
• B. Rangarajan
• C. Natrajan
• D. Premrajan

Hint:

Redraw the line of pursuit after each move described in the passage; once the two children ahead of the last spot move to flank the dog, whoever was next in line becomes the one directly behind it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

We can also settle this by checking each named child against the final positions described in the passage, instead of redrawing the whole line at once.

1. Krishnarajan: The passage states directly that "Krishnarajan runs faster and is alongside the dog on the left." Alongside means beside the dog, not behind it, so he cannot be the one directly behind.
2. Rangarajan: Likewise, "Rangarajan runs faster and is alongside the dog on the right" places him beside the dog too, not behind it.
3. Natrajan: Natrajan started at the very back of the original three children, behind Rangarajan. When Premrajan joined in "behind Rangarajan," he took a spot ahead of Natrajan in the line, so Natrajan ends up fourth, not directly behind the dog.
4. Premrajan: Premrajan joined the chase behind Rangarajan, which put him third from the dog at that point, right after Krishnarajan and Rangarajan. Once those two both moved out to flank the dog, Premrajan is the only one left in the direct trailing position.

So Premrajan is the child directly behind the dog.

Let's summarize:

• Two children, Krishnarajan and Rangarajan, explicitly moved beside the dog, ruling themselves out of the "directly behind" spot.
• Between Natrajan and Premrajan, Premrajan's later entry point behind Rangarajan placed him closer to the dog than Natrajan.

The correct answer is Premrajan.