CAT 2018 Question Paper | CAT LR DI

CAT Questions

It is advisable to start your mocks as early as possible; even before you finish your CAT syllabus. This will provide you insights into the pattern of the CAT exam. Also make sure to be aware of the CAT blueprint. Now, solve this simple, yet interesting question from the sports-based DILR puzzle from slot 2 of the CAT 2018 question paper.

CAT DILR : CAT 2018 Question Paper Slot 2

Set 6 : Job Interview

Seven candidates, Akil, Balaram, Chitra, Divya, Erina, Fatima, and Ganeshan, were invited to interview for a position. Candidates were required to reach the venue before 8 am. Immediately upon arrival, they were sent to one of three interview rooms: 101, 102, and 103. The following venue log shows the arrival times for these candidates. Some of the names have not been recorded in the log and have been marked as ‘?’.



Additionally here are some statements from the candidates:
Balaram: I was the third person to enter Room 101.
Chitra: I was the last person to enter the room I was allotted to.
Erina: I was the only person in the room I was allotted to.
Fatima: Three people including Akil were already in the room that I was allotted to when I entered it.
Ganeshan: I was one among the two candidates allotted to Room 102.

Question 4 : If Ganeshan entered the venue before Divya, when did Balaram enter the venue?

1. 7:25 am
2. 7:45 am
3. 7:10 am
4. 7:15 am

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Video Explanation

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Explanatory Answer

Method of solving this CAT Question on CAT DILR

Look at the statements given by Erina and Ganeshan.
Think about the number of candidates in the rooms.
One room has only one candidate, one room has 2 candidates, so the third room should have 4 candidates.
So, number of candidates should be distributed as 4, 2, 1.
But which room has 2 candidates and which one has 4?
Room number 102 has 2 candidates. G plus one more. Balaram was the third one to enter 101, so 101 should have had at least 3 candidates.
This implies 103 has only one candidate.
Fatima is the 4th one into a room. What does this mean? Akhil should also be in the same room as Fatima.

A, B and F go to room number 101. C should go to 102, E should go to 103.
Fatima is the 4th one into a room. Chitra is the last to enter her room.
So, the one at 7:45 should be entering a different room. Who is this?

A, B and F go to room number 101. C should go to 102, E should go to 103. E should be the one who goes at 7:45 am.
We have B, D and G remaining. B and D go into 101, G goes to 102. B comes after D as B is the third to go into 101.
Write down the different combinations.

7:10, 7:15 and 7:25 could be D, B, G or D, G, B or G, D, B.
Let us move on to questions.
If Ganeshan entered the venue before Divya, we are looking at possibility 3 from the table.
Therefore Balaram entered the venue at 7:25 am

The question is "If Ganeshan entered the venue before Divya, when did Balaram enter the venue?"

Hence, the answer is 7:25 am

Choice A is the correct answer