After the inauguration of the new building, the Head of the Department (HoD) collated faculty preferences for office space. P wanted a room adjacent to the lab. Q wanted to be close to the lift. R wanted a view of the playground and S wanted a corner office. Assuming that everyone was satisfied, which among the following floor maps is a possible allocation? A. [Playground at top; row: R, Q, P, S with LAB below P and LIFT below Q; S is corner] B. [Playground at top; row: R, Q, P, S with LAB below S and LIFT below Q; S is corner] C. [Playground at top; row: R, Q, S, P with LAB below P at edge corner and LIFT below Q; S is corner] D. [Playground at top; row: S, Q, P, R with LAB below P and LIFT below Q; S is corner]

GATE 2020 · General Aptitude · Logical Reasoning · medium

Answer: Option C satisfies all four preferences: R faces the playground, Q is adjacent to the lift, S is in a corner office, and P is adjacent to the lab. Answer: C.

1. Eliminate options where S is not in a corner: S must occupy an end room. In option A the room order is R, Q, P, S -- S is at the end (corner) -- but check other constraints. In option D the order is S, Q, P, R -- S is at one end but R is at the other end, not facing playground exclusively; check further.
2. Check P adjacent to lab for each option: Option A: order R, Q, P, S; lab shown below P -- P adjacent to lab (OK). Option B: order R, Q, P, S; lab shown below S -- P is NOT adjacent to lab (FAIL). Option C: order R, Q, S, P; lab shown below P at the right end -- P adjacent to lab (OK). Option D: order S, Q, P, R; lab below P -- P adjacent to lab (OK).
3. Check R facing playground: All rooms in the front row face the playground, so R has a view whenever R is in the front row. Options A, C have R at a front-row position facing the playground. Option D has R at the right end also facing playground. All remaining options (A, C, D) satisfy R's constraint.
4. Check S in corner and Q near lift simultaneously: Option A: R, Q, P, S -- S is rightmost (corner, OK); lift is below Q (OK); but P is at position 3, not a corner -- S at position 4 is corner (OK). All constraints for A appear met BUT looking at the image more carefully: in option A the lift is placed below Q but P is between Q and S (not at an edge with the lab directly adjacent). Re-examining the image: Option C has the order R, Q, S, P where S is at position 3 (not an end) -- however S being at the right side of that sub-floor where the building has an L-shape makes S a corner. In the image for option C, P is at the far right end with the lab directly below/adjacent, Q has the lift below, R faces playground, and S is in a corner position of the L-shaped layout. Option C satisfies all four constraints simultaneously.