Question

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on it.

An employee has been assigned the task of allotting offices to six of the staff members. The offices are numbered 1 to 6. The offices are arranged in a row and they are separated from each other by six foot high dividers. Hence voices, sounds and cigarette smoke flow easily from one office to another.

Miss Ruby needs to use the telephone quite often throughout the day. Mr. Minhas and Mr. Brar need adjacent offices as they need to consult each other often while working. Miss Harsha is a senior employee and has to be allotted office number 5, having the biggest window. Mr. Dongre requires silence in the offices next to his. Mr. Tanjore, Mr. Minhas and Mr. Dongre are all smokers. Miss Harsha finds tobacco smoke allergic and consequently the offices next to hers are to be occupied by non-smokers. Unless specifically stated, all the employees maintain an atmosphere of silence during office hours.

The ideal candidate to occupy the office furthest from Mr. Brar would be:

• A. Miss Harsha
• B. Mr. Minhas
• C. Mr. Tanjore
• D. Mr. Dongre

Hint:

First fix Miss Harsha in office 5, then use the smoke-allergy rule to force the non-smokers into offices 4 and 6, and the Minhas-Brar adjacency rule to place the rest.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Set up a 1 to 6 line and drop in the fixed person.
Draw six slots for offices 1 through 6. Miss Harsha goes straight into slot 5, since the passage gives her that office directly.

Step 2: Mark which slots must be non-smoking.
Because Miss Harsha reacts badly to smoke, slots 4 and 6, being right next to slot 5, are marked "non-smoker only". The smokers in this problem are Tanjore, Minhas and Dongre, so none of them can go in slot 4 or slot 6. That leaves Ruby and Brar as the only candidates for those two slots.

Step 3: Test both ways of placing Ruby and Brar.
Try Brar in slot 6: for Minhas to sit next to Brar, Minhas would need slot 5 or slot 7. Slot 5 is Harsha's and slot 7 does not exist, so this attempt fails.
Try Brar in slot 4 instead: now Minhas can take slot 3 or slot 5 to be adjacent; slot 5 is taken, so Minhas takes slot 3. This works, and it forces Ruby into slot 6.

Step 4: Drop the last two smokers into the last two slots.
Only slots 1 and 2 remain, for Dongre and Tanjore. Since Dongre needs quiet next to him and slots 3 to 4 are where Minhas and Brar will be talking often, giving Dongre the end slot 1 keeps him furthest from that noise. Tanjore takes slot 2.
Final row: Dongre, Tanjore, Minhas, Brar, Harsha, Ruby in slots 1 to 6.

Step 5: Measure distances from Brar's slot.
Brar is in slot 4. Counting slots away: slot 1 is 3 steps away, slot 6 is 2 steps away, and every other slot is closer still. Slot 1 wins as the furthest, and slot 1 belongs to Dongre.

Final Answer:
Mr. Dongre is the person best suited to the office farthest from Mr. Brar. \[ \boxed{\text{Mr. Dongre}} \]