Question 1103146: Mary Anne is not the second.Faye comes after Alia.Alia is ahead of Mary Anne.Who is the 3rd?
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
We're given three facts
Fact 1: Mary Anne is not the second.
Fact 2: Faye comes after Alia.
Fact 3: Alia is ahead of Mary Anne.
Let
A = Alia
F = Faye
M = Mary Anne
Using the letters assigned above will help with shorthand notation.
There are 3*2*1 = 6 ways to order the three letters. The list of possible orderings (so far) is
A, F, M
A, M, F
F, A, M
F, M, A
M, A, F
M, F, A
Here is a table showing if each possible ordering is possible or not, based on the constraints of the given facts above
| Ordering | Is The Ordering Possible? | Why or Why not? |
|---|
| A, F, M | Yes | All three facts (see above) are satisfied | | A, M, F | No | Fact 1 is false (Mary Anne shouldn't be second) | | F, A, M | No | Fact 2 is false (Faye should come after Alia) | | F, M, A | No | Fact 1 is false (Mary Anne shouldn't be second) | | M, A, F | No | Fact 3 is false (Alia should be ahead of Mary Anne) | | M, F, A | No | Fact 2 is false (Faye should come after Alia) |
Every item but A, F, M is possible (based on the constraints given by fact 1, fact 2, fact 3 above)
So the only proper ordering is A, F, M meaning Alia is first, Faye is second and Mary Anne is third
Therefore, Mary Anne is the 3rd in the list
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