Whenever a question gives you a new rule, you should draw it. Then combine the new rule with existing rules.
We know 6 and 5 have to be one group apart. So if 6 is on the bottom, 5 is in the middle:
The vertical line by 6 indicates that shelf is full.
Only two groups are open now. We know 1 and 4 are in different groups, so they’re split across top and middle:
There are two dishes left, 2 and 3. The middle shelf can’t have four dishes (rule 1), so at least one more dish is on top.
So one of 2/3 definitely goes on top, and the other one can go top or middle:
The hovering 2/3 indicates it can go in either open group.
The question asks who could go on the fifth shelf.
We know five has to be on the middle shelf. So the answer has to be D or E.
1 or 4 also has to be in the middle.
So E is CORRECT.
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MemberCatherine says
the question asks who can go on the “middle” shelf, not the “5th”
David says
Thanks a mill for that response darest Graeme! It cleared everything up!
Dave says
Hi, what confuses me about this question, is that it neither asks for the COMPLETE LIST of dishes that can go in the middle nor does it says which one of the following MUST be, but says what could go? As a result D works as well – Because, you can surely have 3 & 5 on the middle shelf, who said you can’t put them there? Sure if you put them there you need either 1/4 there as well, but isn’t that besides the point???
FounderGraeme says
If I say “the dishes that are on the middle shelf”, then grammatically that means ALL the dishes. So the answers are complete lists.
If you said “give me a list of the students that are in the class”, you’d be disappointed if I returned with a list of 2 out of the 30 students in the class, right? Such phrasing refers to the whole list.