Seven candidates, Kirti, Lalit, Madhav, Nidhi, Oshin, Parth and Rhea, are ranked from 1st to 7th in a merit list, with no two sharing a rank. Madhav is ranked 3rd. Exactly two candidates are ranked between Madhav and Rhea. Oshin is ranked below Rhea. Nidhi is ranked above Madhav but is not ranked 1st. Kirti is ranked just above Parth. Who is ranked 5th?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Parth
Start from Madhav’s fixed rank and test the two possible places for Rhea; then fill the gaps with the remaining clues.
Madhav is 3rd. With exactly two candidates between them, Rhea is 6th (the other side would need rank 0, which does not exist)
Oshin is below Rhea: Oshin is 7th
Nidhi is above Madhav but not 1st: Nidhi is 2nd
Ranks 1, 4 and 5 are left for Kirti, Parth and Lalit. Kirti is just above Parth, and only 4th and 5th are next to each other, so Kirti is 4th and Parth is 5th
Lalit is 1st. Order: Lalit, Nidhi, Madhav, Kirti, Parth, Rhea, Oshin
The candidate ranked 5th is Parth
