IPMAT Indore 2026 · Quantitative Ability · Question 10

IPMAT Indore 2026 previous year question on Deductive Reasoning, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Deductive ReasoningLogical Reasoning - Cat Set TypesType in the answer (TITA)Medium

Set 1: Five friends – Countryside Sightseeing, Shopping and Adventure Sports — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 3 questions →

Five friends A, B, C, D, and E go on a trip together. Each of them likes at least one of the following three activities: Countryside Sightseeing, Shopping, and Adventure Sports such that:

No two friends like exactly the same set of activities.

A, B and E like exactly two activities each.

D likes only Countryside Sightseeing.

C likes more number of activities compared to D.

The number of friends who like both Shopping and Adventure Sports is _______________
Answer & solution

Answer: 2

Step 1 — list what is possible. With three activities, a person can like one, two or all three. The two-activity subsets are exactly three:

\{\text{CS},\text{SH}\}, \{\text{CS},\text{AS}\}, \{\text{SH},\text{AS}\}

Step 2 — place A, B and E. All three like exactly two activities, and no two friends share the same set. There are only three two-activity sets, so A, B and E take all three of them, one each (in some order we cannot determine — and never need to).

Step 3 — place D. Given directly: D likes only Countryside Sightseeing, a one-activity set.

Step 4 — place C. C likes more activities than D, so C likes two or three. But every two-activity set is already used by A, B and E, and no two friends may match. Therefore

\text{C likes all three activities.}

Step 5 — the complete picture.

Friend

Activities liked

How many

A, B, E

the three two-activity sets, one each

2 each

C

Countryside Sightseeing, Shopping, Adventure Sports

3

D

Countryside Sightseeing only

1

Although we cannot say which pair each of A, B and E likes, every question below depends only on counts, which are fully determined.

Who likes both Shopping and Adventure Sports?

Among the two-activity sets, exactly one is \{\text{SH},\text{AS}\} — so one of A, B, E.

C likes all three, so C also likes both.

D likes only Countryside Sightseeing — no.

1+1=2

Answer: 2

Shortcut. “Both” includes the person who likes all three — forgetting C is the standard slip. One two-activity set plus C gives 2.

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