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Difficulty: HardSeating Arrangement

Six historic ships��Bounty, Cutty Sark, Discovery, Endeavour, Mayflower, and Victoria—are anchored in a single straight row facing North (towards the harbor). Their left-to-right positions are determined by the following conditions:

1. The Discovery is anchored at the extreme left end of the row.
2. The Victoria is anchored exactly midway between the Mayflower and the Endeavour.
3. The Bounty anchors immediately to the right of the Mayflower.
4. The Cutty Sark anchors immediately to the left of the Endeavour.
5. The Cutty Sark and the Victoria are anchored next to each other.

Arrange the ships in the correct order from the extreme left (1st position) to the extreme right (6th position).

  1. 1Discovery
  2. 2Mayflower
  3. 3Bounty
  4. 4Victoria
  5. 5Cutty Sark
  6. 6Endeavour

Answer

The correct sequence from left to right is: Discovery, Mayflower, Bounty, Victoria, Cutty Sark, Endeavour.
The correct sequence is established by recognizing how the adjacency rules merge into larger blocks. By deducing that the Cutty Sark and Endeavour form a 'C-E' pair, and Victoria must sit next to Cutty Sark to form 'V-C-E', we establish the exact distance between Victoria and Endeavour (2 positions). Because Victoria must be midway between Mayflower and Endeavour, the Mayflower must also be exactly 2 positions away on the opposite side. This forces the 'Mayflower-Bounty' pair to sit immediately left of Victoria, yielding a unified 5-ship block 'M-B-V-C-E' that perfectly slots in next to the Discovery.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Establish the given anchor.
Position 1 is Discovery (D). The sequence is currently D, _, _, _, _, _.
Condition 1 explicitly states Discovery is at the extreme left end.
2
Combine adjacency conditions to form fixed spatial blocks.
We identify a two-ship block (M - B) and a three-ship block (V - C - E).
Condition 4 requires Cutty Sark (C) to be immediately left of Endeavour (E), forming 'C - E'. Condition 5 requires Victoria (V) to be next to C. Since placing V to the right of C would break the 'C - E' block, V must be immediately to the left of C, forming 'V - C - E'. Condition 3 requires Bounty (B) to be immediately right of Mayflower (M), forming 'M - B'.
3
Apply the midway condition to combine the blocks into a single sequence.
The combined sequence becomes M - B - V - C - E.
Condition 2 states V is exactly midway between M and E. In our 'V - C - E' block, E is exactly two positions to the right of V. Therefore, M must be exactly two positions to the left of V. Placing the 'M - B' block immediately before V perfectly satisfies this midway requirement.
4
Finalize the arrangement by placing the unified block.
The final arrangement is D, M, B, V, C, E.
We have a solid 5-ship sequence (M - B - V - C - E). With Discovery anchored at position 1, the only way to fit the remaining 5 ships is consecutively in positions 2 through 6.

Key Concept

Linear seating arrangement combining relative positional blocks and distance/midpoint constraints.
Estimated Time:2m 30s
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Topics

Seating Arrangement

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