NIMCET 2013 — Reasoning PYQ

• Known Positions: Office $5$ is occupied by Miss Hardy.

• Smoker Constraint: Mr. Mike is a smoker. Offices $4$ and $6$ must be non-smokers (due to Hardy's allergy). This eliminates Option $2$.

• Adjacency Constraint: Mr. Mike and Mr. Brown need adjacent offices.

• Donald's Constraint: Mr. Donald (the other smoker) requires silence next to him.

• Logic: 1. From Que. $61$, we know smokers (Mike and Donald) must be in Offices $1$ and $3$.

  2. If Mike is in Office $1$, his only neighbor is Office $2$.

  3. If Mike is in Office $3$, his neighbors are Office $2$ and Office $4$.

  4. Since Mike needs to be next to Brown, and Donald needs a silent neighbor, placing Mike in Office $3$ allows for a flexible arrangement where Brown can be in Office $2$ or $4$, and Donald can occupy Office $1$ with a "silent" neighbor or the edge of the row.

  5. Based on the puzzle's specific optimal configuration, Mike is placed in Office $3$.

Correct Option: $4$