Question:medium

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn and Bhim. During one week the council votes on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill and a tax bill. Each member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:
  • Each member votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.
  • Exactly two members vote for the recreation bill.
  • Exactly one member votes for the school bill.
  • Exactly one member votes for the tax bill.
  • Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.
  • Karn votes against the recreation bill.
  • Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If Karn votes for exactly two of the three bills, which one of the following statements must be true?

Show Hint

Only one of the three base worlds has Karn voting for exactly two bills (school and tax). Once you isolate that world, just read Karn's votes straight off it.
Updated On: Jul 13, 2026
  • Arjun votes for the tax bill.
  • Karn votes for the recreation bill.
  • Karn votes for the school bill.
  • Karn votes against the tax bill.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Filter the three base grids by "Karn has exactly two yes-votes," then read the answer straight off whichever grid is left, without re-deriving the puzzle from the original rules again.

Draw a 3-by-3 grid, one row per member (Arjun, Karn, Bhim) and one column per bill (recreation, school, tax), and fill in only what the passage states directly: Arjun is yes on recreation and no on school; Karn is no on recreation; Bhim is no on tax.

Recreation needs exactly two yes-votes overall. Arjun already supplies one of those two. Karn is a confirmed no, so the second yes on recreation cannot be Karn, which leaves only Bhim. Fill in Bhim as yes on recreation right away, before touching anything else.

School needs exactly one yes-vote overall, and Arjun's cell there is already a no, so the single yes on school belongs to either Karn or Bhim, not both. Tax needs exactly one yes-vote overall, and Bhim's cell there is already a no, so the single yes on tax belongs to either Arjun or Karn, not both.

Every row of the grid needs at least one yes and at least one no. Arjun's row already has a yes (recreation) and a no (school), so Arjun's tax cell can go either way without breaking this rule. Bhim's row already has a yes (recreation) and a no (tax), so Bhim's school cell can go either way too. Karn's row so far has only a no (recreation), so Karn's row needs at least one yes somewhere among school and tax, or the row rule breaks.

  1. Grid A: put the school yes on Karn, and the tax yes on Arjun. This forces Karn to no on tax (tax already has its one yes, from Arjun) and Bhim to no on school (school already has its one yes, from Karn). Row totals: Arjun yes on recreation and tax; Karn yes on school only; Bhim yes on recreation only.
  2. Grid B: put the school yes on Karn, and the tax yes on Karn as well. This forces Arjun to no on tax and Bhim to no on school. Row totals: Arjun yes on recreation only; Karn yes on school and tax; Bhim yes on recreation only.
  3. Grid C: put the school yes on Bhim instead of Karn. Since Karn's row still needs a yes somewhere, and school is now taken by Bhim, Karn's yes has to be on tax, which also forces Arjun to no on tax. Row totals: Arjun yes on recreation only; Karn yes on tax only; Bhim yes on recreation and school.

Every row in all three grids carries at least one yes and one no, and every column total matches the passage's counts, so all three grids are valid, and since the school/tax assignment choices above cover every possibility, no fourth grid exists.

Row totals for Karn in each grid: Grid A gives Karn 1 yes (school only). Grid B gives Karn 2 yes (school and tax). Grid C gives Karn 1 yes (tax only). Only Grid B has Karn at exactly two yes-votes, so Grid A and Grid C are both filtered out by this question's condition, leaving Grid B as the single surviving world.

Grid B in full: Arjun is yes only on recreation, Karn is yes on school and tax, Bhim is yes only on recreation.

  1. Arjun votes for the tax bill: Arjun is a no on tax in Grid B. False.
  2. Karn votes for the recreation bill: Karn is a no on recreation in every grid, Grid B included. False.
  3. Karn votes for the school bill: this is precisely Karn's row in Grid B. True.
  4. Karn votes against the tax bill: Karn is actually a yes on tax in Grid B, so this statement is false.

Since Grid B is the only grid consistent with "Karn has exactly two yes-votes," whatever holds in Grid B must hold whenever this question's condition is true. "Karn votes for the school bill" is the one statement confirmed by Grid B, so it is the statement that must be true.

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