**Direction:** Read the following information carefully and answer the given questions. Ten employees Ava, Brooke, Charles, Daniel, Emma, Fraklin, Gloria, Harper, Ivan, and Jacob sit at two rectangular tables X and Y. Three of them like action novels, three like drama novels and the remaining like comedy novels. Four employees sit at table X and the remaining sit at table Y. The person sitting in the middle faces outside the center and the person sitting in the corner faces inside the center. People sitting at Table X sit in the middle of the table and at Table Y four persons sit in the middle and four sit in the corner. Two seats are vacant in Table Y. Daniel sits at table X. Jacob does not sit at table Y. Gloria sits immediately left of Jacob and neither of them like drama. The one who likes comedy does not sit in the middle of table Y. Daniel likes comedy and sits opposite Gloria. Emma likes comedy and sits at table Y. Both the immediate neighbors of Emma like drama. Ava sits immediately left of the one who likes drama. Fraklin sits third to the right of Ava. Charles sits at table X. Brooke does not like drama and comedy. Two persons sit between Daniel and the one who likes drama. Ivan sits 2nd to the right of a vacant seat. Both the vacant seats are not adjacent to each other. One of the persons who likes action sits the immediate right of the one who likes comedy. After the arrangement: I. Ivan, Jacob and Harper change their novels. II. Fraklin and Gloria change their novels. III. Daniel changes his novel with the one who sits immediately left of Ava. IV. Brooke and Emma change their place but not the novels. Note: The final arrangement is obtained after the I, II, III, and IV changes are done. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way and hence form a group. Which among the following one does not belong to the group?
Verbal Reasoning
Seating Arrangement
Difficulty: Hard
Choose an option
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AEmma
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BFraklin
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CHarper
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DIvan
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EAva
Answer
Correct Answer: Ivan
Explanation
### Concept & Logic
Analyze the final seating arrangement of the listed individuals at Table Y to find a unique distinguishing characteristic, such as facing direction, novel preference, or neighbor properties.
### Step-by-Step Solution
1. **Analyze Final Positions at Table Y:** Based on the puzzle deductions, the vacant seats are at the Bottom-Right corner (C2) and Left-Middle (M4). Let's check everyone's neighbors:
* **Emma:** Moved to the Bottom-Left corner (C3) after Change IV. Her immediate neighbors are M3 (Fraklin) and M4 (Vacant).
* **Fraklin:** Sits at the Bottom-Middle (M3). His neighbors are C3 (Emma) and C2 (Vacant).
* **Harper:** Sits at the Right-Middle (M2). His neighbors are C1 (Brooke) and C2 (Vacant).
* **Ava:** Sits at the Top-Left corner (C4). Her neighbors are M1 (Ivan) and M4 (Vacant).
* **Ivan:** Sits at the Top-Middle (M1). His neighbors are C4 (Ava) and C1 (Brooke).
2. **Identify the Pattern:** Emma, Fraklin, Harper, and Ava all have exactly **one vacant seat** as an immediate neighbor.
3. Ivan's neighbors are Ava and Brooke, meaning he is the only person in this list who does NOT sit adjacent to a vacant seat.
### Exam Strategy & Shortcut
Odd-one-out questions based on seating arrangements almost always rely on one of three things: Corner vs. Middle, Inside vs. Outside, or Proximity to a unique element (like a vacant seat). Quickly check these three metrics before trying to find complex novel-based patterns.
### Common Pitfall
Trying to group them based on their final novels. Because of the ambiguous wording in "change their novels", their final novels might not form a perfect 4-to-1 definitive group, leading to confusion.
### Final Answer
Therefore, the correct answer is **Ivan**.