Ed is taller than Jane and Raphael is taller than Anthony.

Question

Ed is taller than Jane and Raphael is taller than Anthony. Jane is shorter than both Raphael and Anthony. Mildred and Anthony are the same height.

If the statements above are true, which of the following can be properly inferred?

A) Raphael and Ed are the same height.
B) Mildred is taller than Jane.
C) Anthony is shorter than Ed.
D) Ed is taller than Mildred.
E) Mildred is taller than Ed.

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Dereno · Answer

Given in the question stem. That there are five persons. Let’s denote each by their first letters for convenience.

E, J, R, A , M

E> J 
R> A 
R> A >J 
and finally, M = A

combining all statements, we have

R > A =M > J and we have E > J

We have the following possibilities:

E> R > A =M > J

E=R > A =M > J

R> E > A =M > J

R > A=M=E > J

R > A =M > E> J

From the following possibilities, we can definitely infer that M > J.  Option B

Abhiswarup · Answer

As per statements following cane be obtained:

Jane<Anthony=Mildred<Raphael
Jane<Ed

Thus, Statement B Mildred is taller than Jane can be clearly inferred. 
Answer is B.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

Identify the Question Type:  Since it asks for something that can be properly inferred, this is an Inference question.

Untangle the Stimulus:  On questions such as these it sometimes helps to reduce the statements into math-like inequalities. This stimulus could be expressed as E>J, R>A, R>J, A>J, and M=A.

Predict the Answer:  In an inference question like this, it's often not possible to predict an answer; simply keep the above inequalities in mind and look for the answer choice that must be true, not one that could possibly be true.

Evaluate the Choices:

(B) states that Mildred is taller than Jane. Looking at the inequalities, Anthony is taller than Jane. And because Mildred is the same height as Anthony, she must also be taller than Jane. This is the correct answer.

All of the remaining answers list Ed. The only thing known about Ed is that he is taller than Jane. There is no way to know how Ed relates to anyone else.

Raphael is also taller than Jane, but that doesn't mean that he and Ed are the same height, so (A) is out. Even though Anthony is shorter than Raphael, they could both be taller than Ed, as long as they're all taller than Jane. So, (C) is wrong. Similarly, with Mildred and Anthony at the same height, they could both be taller, shorter or the same height as Ed, as long as they're all taller than Jane. So, (D) and (E) are both out.

TAKEAWAY:  Don't hesitate to draw out a quick sketch to help evaluate the answer choices.

Ed is taller than Jane and Raphael is taller than Anthony.

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Ed is taller than Jane and Raphael is taller than Anthony.

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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