Read the following carefully and answer the question that follows:
Five plays P, Q, R, S and T are to be staged from Monday to Friday of a week. On each day, only one play will be staged. Neither S nor T should be the first or the last to be staged. T should be immediately followed by R. Q should be staged immediately after S. One play is staged between P and Q.
Which is the first play to be staged?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → P
The conditions make two fixed pairs: T is followed at once by R (T R), and S is followed at once by Q (S Q). Place the pairs and P on the five days.
The two pairs fill four days and P the fifth. If Monday were not P's, it would hold the first play of a pair, S or T; but neither may be first. So P is on Monday.
The pairs then take Tuesday–Wednesday and Thursday–Friday.
One play lies between P and Q, so Q is on Wednesday; S Q takes Tuesday–Wednesday and T R takes Thursday–Friday.
T is on Thursday and S on Tuesday, so neither is first or last.
