A word arrangement machine, when given an input line of words, rearranges them step by step following a particular rule. An illustration of an input and its rearrangement is given below.
Input: plateau compass goat switch panda almond
Step I: panda plateau compass goat switch almond
Step II: panda almond plateau compass goat switch
Step III: panda almond switch plateau compass goat
Step IV: panda almond switch compass plateau goat
Step V: panda almond switch compass goat plateau
Step V is the last step of this input.
Step II of another input is: papaya breeze pumpkin rabbit wolf duck
Following the same rule, which of the following can be that input?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → pumpkin breeze papaya rabbit wolf duck
Compare each step of the illustration with the one before it. In each step, the word whose last letter comes first in the alphabet, among the words not yet arranged, moves to the next place from the left end, and all the other words keep their order.
Step I: ‘panda’ ends in ‘a’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the first place from the left
Step II: ‘almond’ ends in ‘d’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the second place from the left
Step III: ‘switch’ ends in ‘h’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the third place from the left
Step IV: ‘compass’ ends in ‘s’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the fourth place from the left
Step V: ‘goat’ ends in ‘t’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the fifth place from the left
After Step V the words stand in the alphabetical order of their last letters, so the arrangement is complete.
Apply the rule to each option and see which one gives the given line as Step II. For the input pumpkin breeze papaya rabbit wolf duck:
Step I: ‘papaya’ ends in ‘a’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the first place from the left, giving papaya pumpkin breeze rabbit wolf duck
Step II: ‘breeze’ ends in ‘e’, the earliest last letter among the words left, so it moves to the second place from the left, giving papaya breeze pumpkin rabbit wolf duck
This is the given line, so pumpkin breeze papaya rabbit wolf duck can be that input.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) pumpkin breeze papaya wolf rabbit duck — Incorrect. For this input Step II is papaya breeze pumpkin wolf rabbit duck, not the given line.
Option (2) pumpkin breeze papaya rabbit duck wolf — Incorrect. For this input Step II is papaya breeze pumpkin rabbit duck wolf, not the given line.
Option (4) rabbit breeze papaya pumpkin wolf duck — Incorrect. For this input Step II is papaya breeze rabbit pumpkin wolf duck, not the given line.