Question

Instructions: Seven students, Priya, Ankit, Raman, Sunil, Tony, Deepak and Vicky, take a series of tests. No two students get similar marks. Vicky always scores more than Priya. Priya always scores more than Ankit. Each time, either Raman scores the highest and Tony gets the least, or alternatively Sunil scores the highest and Deepak or Ankit scores the least.

If Vicky is ranked fifth, which of the following must be true?

• A. Sunil scores the highest
• B. Raman is ranked second
• C. Tony is ranked third
• D. Ankit is ranked second

Hint:

Vicky at fifth forces Priya-6 and Ankit-7, which rules out Tony being the “least” student and forces Sunil to be the highest instead.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Place Priya and Ankit.
Since Vicky is ranked fifth and both Priya and Ankit must rank worse than Vicky (Vicky beats Priya beats Ankit), Priya and Ankit must occupy the only two ranks worse than fifth, namely sixth and seventh, in the order Priya-6, Ankit-7.

Step 2: Check which branch is possible.
The “Raman highest, Tony least” branch requires Tony to be at rank 7, but rank 7 is already taken by Ankit in this scenario, so that branch cannot apply here.

Step 3: Apply the other branch.
The only branch left is “Sunil highest, and Deepak or Ankit least”. Since Ankit is indeed at rank 7 (least) here, this branch's second condition is satisfied, which forces its first condition to also hold: Sunil must be ranked first (highest).

Step 4: Check the options.
Since Sunil being highest is forced by the only valid branch, option A must be true. Raman, Tony and Deepak simply fill the remaining ranks 2, 3 and 4 in any order, so nothing pins Raman specifically to second (option B) or Tony specifically to third (option C), and Ankit is fixed at seventh, not second (ruling out option D).

Step 5: Final Answer.
Option A, Sunil scores the highest, must be true.