7 Students in School Reasoning Puzzle (Bank PO)

7 students in school reasoning puzzle: Seven students are in 3 standards in school and like 7 subjects. Answer five questions from eight clues.

7 Students in School Reasoning Puzzle description

A, B, C, D, E, G and I are seven friends who study in three different standards namely 5th, 6th and 7th such that not less than two friends study in the same standard. Each friend also has a different subject namely History, Civics, English, Marathi, Hindi, Maths and Economics but not necessarily in the same order.

Clues:

1. A likes Maths and studies in 5th standard with only one other friend who likes Marathi.
2. I studies with two other friends.
3. Both the friends who study with I like languages (here languages include only Hindi, Marathi and English).
4. D studies in the 6th standard with only one person and does not like Civics.
5. E studies with only one friend.
6. The one who likes History does not study in 5th or 6th standard.
7. E does not like languages.
8. C does not like English, Hindi or Civics.

Questions

Question 1. Which combination represents E’s favorite subject and standard in which he studies?

1. Civics and 7th
2. Economics and 5th
3. Civics and 6th
4. History and 7th
5. Economics and 7th

Question 2. Which of the following is I’s favorite subject?

1. History
2. Civics
3. Marathi
4. Either English or Marathi
5. Either English or Hindi

Question 3. Who among the following studies in the 7th standard?

1. G
2. C
3. E
4. D
5. Either D or B

Question 4. Which of the following combinations is definitely correct?

1. I and Hindi
2. G and English
3. C and Marathi
4. B and Hindi
5. E and Economics

Question 5. Which of the following subjects does G like?

1. Either Maths or Marathi
2. Either Hindi or English
3. Either Hindi or Civics
4. Either Hindi or Marathi
5. Either Civics or Economics

Time to answer: 30 minutes.

Hints:

• Think unconventionally. Design a simple convenient assignment table. Solution should be easier.
• To get a firm base of knowledge on how to solve reasoning puzzles, go through the Einstein's Puzzle Who Owns the Fish: A Masterclass Foundation.

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Solution to the 7 Students in School Reasoning puzzle (Bank PO)

Understand the problem and design the most convenient and simple assignment table

The usual candidate for the primary object as header of the assignment table is Student. But, this is not an usual straightforward type of reasoning puzzles. This has two specialties:

1. More than one student study in a Standard.
2. More than one subject are taken up by a Student.

• Result: Relationships are one to many.

To clear up the difficulties, let us understand what we have to do:

Seven three-valued triplets of Student-Standard-Subject are to correctly identified. Each such identification will create an assignment.

The simplest arrangement to record the assignments for further ease of analysis:

• The assignment table must have seven columns each having the ability to accommodate a unique triple-valued relationship.
• Student might be the first choice, but having Student as the header of the assignment table (or the Primary object) will make it impossible to record the assignments of a Standard-Subject pair of values.
• This is a rare breed of reasoning puzzles, in which the Primary object will just be seven unique positions from 1 to 7 in header, with Student, Standard, and Subject all three will be its properties to be correctly assigned.
• Student, Subject and Standard will be the properties of the virtual Primary object of Position number. Each of these will form a row in the assignment table.

At the start, all 21 cells of the table will have no assignments, as usual.

The simplest and most convenient assignment table at the start:

Stage 1: Assigning the values to the Standard property by analyzing the puzzle description and the Clues

As "not less than two friends study in the same standard", the break-up of 7 in three parts might be

• 1, 3, 3, or
• 2, 2, 3.

But,

• Clue 1: "A likes Maths and studies in 5th standard with only one other friend who likes Marathi" confirms two students in the Standard 5.
• This eliminates the 1, 3, 3 probable—the Student to Standard allocation will be 2, 2 and 3.

Next,

• Clue 4: "D studies in the 6th standard with only one person and does not like Civics" confirms two students are also in Standard 6.

Stage 1 assignment table with values of Standards assigned.

Stage 2: Solution to 7 Students in School Reasoning Puzzle: Assignments directly and by elementary logic analysis

Direct assignments:

• Clue 1. "A likes Maths and studies in 5th standard with only one other friend who likes Marathi".
• Results: Standard 5 and Subject Maths to A. Marathi to position 2 in Standard 5.
• Clue 4. "D studies in the 6th standard with only one person and does not like Civics".
• Results: Standard 6 for D who studies "not Civics". 5 and 6 have two students each with 3 students in 7.

Assignments by elementary logic analysis:

• Clue 2. "I studies with two other friends".
• Result: I assigned to one of the three 7s.
• Clue 3. "Both the friends who study with I like languages (here languages include only Hindi, Marathi and English)".
• Results: As Marathi studying student is in 5, both the students other than I in 7 study Hindi or English.

The Stage 2 assignment table:

Stage 3: Solution to 7 Students in School Reasoning Puzzle: Assignments by Logical analysis and default values

• Clue 6. "The one who likes History does not study in 5th or 6th standard".
• Results: I study History, Civics to 6 in position 3, because D in 6 does not like Civics. Economics to 6 in position 4 by default.

These assignments highlight the advantages of the virtual primary header object as position (not related to any other objects).

• Clue 8. "C does not like English, Hindi or Civics".
• Result: The first conclusion is: C is in Standard 5 or 6.
• Confirmed assignment: With subjects Marathi and Civics left for available positions 2 and 3, C is assigned to Standard 5 position 2.

The Stage 3 assignment table:

Ultimate Stage 4: Solution to 7 Students in School Reasoning Puzzle: Student assignments by Logical analysis

• Clue 5. "E studies with only one friend".
• Result: E in Standard 6 position 3.
• Clue 7. "E does not like languages".
• Result: Extra hint, not used, but reaffirms Civics for E.
• Default results: As no clue refers to Students B and G, the two can occupy either of the still vacant two Standard 7 positions as "B/G" in 5 and "G/B" in 6.

Achieving complete assignments using one less clue highlights the simplicity and efficiency of the assignment process.

The ultimate Stage 4 assignment table:

Answers to Questions

Question 1. Which combination represents E’s favorite subject and standard in which he studies?

1. Civics and 7th
2. Economics and 5th
3. Civics and 6th
4. History and 7th
5. Economics and 7th

Answer 1. Option 3: Civics and 6th.

Question 2. Which of the following is I’s favorite subject?

1. History
2. Civics
3. Marathi
4. Either English or Marathi
5. Either English or Hindi

Answer 2. Option 1: History.

Question 3. Who among the following studies in the 7th standard?

1. G
2. C
3. E
4. D
5. Either D or B

Answer 3. Option 1: G. Option 5 is incorrect because of the partially wrong "Either D or B".

Question 4. Which of the following combinations is definitely correct?

1. I and Hindi
2. G and English
3. C and Marathi
4. B and Hindi
5. E and Economics

Answer 4. Option 3: C and Marathi. Options 2 and 4 both are partially correct and so are "not definitely correct"—implied by Logic.

Question 5. Which of the following subjects does G like?

1. Either Maths or Marathi
2. Either Hindi or English
3. Either Hindi or Civics
4. Either Hindi or Marathi
5. Either Civics or Economics

Answer 5. Option 2: Either Hindi or English.

This tricky reasoning puzzle is from a Bank Probationary Officers' (Bank PO) recruitment exam and should be enjoyable to puzzle enthusiasts and puzzle lovers as well.

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Takeaways

Learning the importance of designing the simplest and most convenient assignment table is a valuable addition to the knowledge of how to solve reasoning puzzles (or assignment puzzles).

Logic analysis remains to be an important element in solving the reasoning puzzle as well.

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