Question

Directions: Each group of questions in this section is based on a set of conditions. In answering some of the questions, it may help to draw a rough diagram. Choose the response that most accurately and completely answers each question.

Questions 97 to 101: A company launches eight products, Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y, and Z, in one of the four metros of India. The products were launched one after the other over a period of six months in 2006. The order in which the products were launched is consistent with the following conditions:

• V is launched before both Y and Q.
• Q gets launched after Z.
• T gets launched before V but after R.
• S gets launched after V.
• R gets launched before W.

97. Which one of the following could be true?

• A. Y is the second product to be launched.
• B. R is the third product to be launched.
• C. Q is the fourth product to be launched.
• D. S is the fifth product to be launched.

Hint:

Chain the conditions together (R before T before V before S, and V before Y and Q, with Z before Q) to find the minimum number of products that must sit before or after each item.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Rather than testing options one by one from scratch, it helps to first spot the minimum distance each product needs from the start or the end of the order, based on the chains R before T before V, V before S, V before Y, V before Q, and Z before Q.

1. Option 1 (Y is 2nd): Y needs R, T, and V to all come before it (since R before T before V before Y), which is 3 products. Position 2 leaves room for only 1 product before it, so Y can never be 2nd. Ruled out.
2. Option 2 (R is 3rd): everything except Z is forced to sit after R (T, V, S, W directly or through the chain, and Q, Y indirectly through V). Only Z has no rule tying it to R, so at most 1 product (Z) can come before R. Position 3 needs 2 products before it, which is more than the 1 available. Ruled out.
3. Option 3 (Q is 4th): Q needs both Z and V before it, and V itself needs R and T before it, so R, T, V, Z (4 products) must all precede Q. Position 4 allows only 3 products before it. Ruled out.
4. Option 4 (S is 5th): build the order R, T, V, W, S, Y, Z, Q (positions 1 through 8). Every rule holds: R before T before V, V before S, V before Y, V before Q, Z before Q, and R before W. S sits at position 5. This works.
5. Option 5 (V is 6th): V needs S, Y, and Q all to come after it, 3 separate products, so position 6, which leaves only 2 slots after it, does not have enough room. Ruled out.

Four of the five choices fail a simple not-enough-room check once the chains are laid out; only the fifth-place slot for S survives, backed by an actual working order.

Let's summarize:

• The chain R, T, V, S plus the side links V before Y, V before Q, and Z before Q create firm minimum gaps around several products.
• Y needs 3 products before it, R can have at most 1 product before it, Q needs 4 products before it, and V needs 3 products after it, ruling out options 1, 2, 3, and 5 respectively.

So S launching fifth is the one arrangement that can actually happen, making option 4 correct.