Question 89

While Balbir had his back turned, a dog ran into his butcher shop, snatched a piece of meat off the counter and ran out. Balbir was mad when he realised what had happened. He asked three other shopkeepers, who had seen the dog, to describe it. The shopkeepers really did not want to help Balbir. So each of them made a statement which contained one truth and one lie.

. Shopkeeper number 1 said: “The dog had black hair and a long tail.”

. Shopkeeper number 2 said: “The dog had a short tail and wore a collar.”

. Shopkeeper number 3 said: “The dog had white hair and no collar.”

Based on the above statements, which of the following could be a correct description?

Solution

We know that Shopkeeper 1 said: “The dog had black hair and a long tail.”. Lets consider the first part as false and other as true. So we have - dog didn't have black hair and the dog had a long tail. Shopkeeper 2 said: “The dog had a short tail and wore a collar.” Here first part has to be false and other consequently will be true. So the dog wore a collar. Shopkeeper 3 said: “The dog had white hair and no collar.” Here 2nd part has to be false and hence 1st part has to be true. Thus, our first assumption satisfies all required conditions. Hence, in this case, we have - The dog had white hair, long tail and a collar. Hence option b.

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