Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: Prem
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This is an ordering and comparison problem from verbal or arithmetic reasoning. You are given relational information about the relative amounts of land owned by five people and must deduce who has the largest share. No actual numerical values are provided, so you must rely entirely on inequalities and logical ordering.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- There are five boys: Prem, Raju, Sundar, Hari and Ompal.
- Raju has more land than Sundar but less than Prem.
- Ompal has the least share of land.
- Hari has less land than Sundar.
- All comparisons are consistent and there are no ties unless explicitly stated.
Concept / Approach:
We translate each verbal statement into an inequality and then combine them to form a complete ordering from highest to lowest share of land. The person at the top of this order will have the highest share. Careful reading is important to avoid misplacing people in the sequence.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: From the statement Raju has more land than Sundar but less than Prem, we write Prem > Raju > Sundar.
Step 2: From Ompal has the least share, we conclude that Ompal is at the very bottom of the order.
Step 3: From Hari has less land than Sundar, we write Sundar > Hari.
Step 4: Combine all information: Prem is above Raju, Raju is above Sundar, Sundar is above Hari, and Ompal is below everyone.
Step 5: The resulting order from highest to lowest is: Prem > Raju > Sundar > Hari > Ompal.
Step 6: The person at the top of this chain, Prem, has the highest share of land.
Verification / Alternative Check:
You can assign hypothetical numerical values consistent with the inequalities, such as Prem = 50, Raju = 40, Sundar = 30, Hari = 20 and Ompal = 10. These numbers preserve all the given relations and clearly show Prem as having the largest share. The exact numbers do not matter, only the order does.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (Sundar) is wrong because Raju has more land than Sundar, and Prem has more than Raju, so Sundar cannot be at the top.
Option B (Raju) is wrong because the given condition states that Prem has more land than Raju, so Raju is not the highest.
Option C (Hari) is wrong because Hari has less land than Sundar, who in turn has less than Raju and Prem.
Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to misread the comparative phrases or overlook the fact that Ompal has the least share. Another pitfall is jumping to conclusions without writing the inequalities explicitly. Drawing a simple order diagram helps prevent errors.
Final Answer:
The boy with the highest share of land is Prem.
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