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Difficulty: HardOrder and Ranking

Six historical monuments—Alhambra, Big Ben, Colosseum, Machu Picchu, Parthenon, and Stonehenge—are scheduled for renovation over a period of six months, from January (1st) to June (6th). The renovation schedule strictly follows these conditions:

- There is exactly one monument scheduled for renovation between Machu Picchu and Alhambra.
- Big Ben is scheduled immediately before the Parthenon.
- The Colosseum is scheduled somewhere after Machu Picchu, but it is not the final monument (6th) to be renovated.
- Stonehenge is scheduled immediately before Alhambra.
- Stonehenge is scheduled somewhere before the Parthenon.

Arrange the monuments in their correct renovation sequence from January (1st) to June (6th).

  1. 1Machu Picchu
  2. 2Stonehenge
  3. 3Alhambra
  4. 4Colosseum
  5. 5Big Ben
  6. 6Parthenon

Answer

Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Alhambra, Colosseum, Big Ben, Parthenon
The correct sequence is logically derived by assembling fixed blocks. Stonehenge is immediately before Alhambra, creating [Stonehenge, Alhambra]. Machu Picchu has exactly one monument between it and Alhambra, which must be Stonehenge, forming the continuous block [Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Alhambra]. Big Ben is immediately before the Parthenon, giving [Big Ben, Parthenon]. Because Stonehenge must be before the Parthenon, the [Big Ben, Parthenon] block must come later in the schedule. Placing the remaining monument (Colosseum) requires putting it after Machu Picchu but not in the 6th spot. Placing the Colosseum 4th, followed by [Big Ben, Parthenon] in 5th and 6th, perfectly satisfies all conditions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the definitive adjacent blocks of monuments based on the immediate sequence clues.
Two blocks are formed: [Stonehenge, Alhambra] and [Big Ben, Parthenon].
The clues explicitly state that Stonehenge is scheduled immediately before Alhambra, and Big Ben is scheduled immediately before the Parthenon.
2
Determine the relative placement of Machu Picchu in relation to the [Stonehenge, Alhambra] block.
Machu Picchu must be placed immediately before Stonehenge, forming the 3-monument block: [Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Alhambra].
There is exactly one monument between Machu Picchu and Alhambra. Since Stonehenge is immediately before Alhambra, the sequence must be either [Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Alhambra] or [Stonehenge, Alhambra, (gap), Machu Picchu]. If it were the latter, the gap would have to be the Colosseum. However, that sequence would put Colosseum before Machu Picchu, violating the clue that Colosseum is after Machu Picchu.
3
Position the remaining blocks to finalize the six-month sequence.
The final sequence is Machu Picchu (1), Stonehenge (2), Alhambra (3), Colosseum (4), Big Ben (5), Parthenon (6).
The [Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Alhambra] block must precede the [Big Ben, Parthenon] block because Stonehenge is before Parthenon. This leaves spots 4, 5, and 6. The Colosseum must come after Machu Picchu but cannot be 6th. Therefore, the Colosseum is 4th, Big Ben is 5th, and the Parthenon is 6th.

Key Concept

Positional arrangement using overlapping sequence blocks and negative constraints.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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