Saira, Mumtaz and Zeenat have a ball, a pen and a pencil, and each girl has just one object in hand. Among the following statements, only one is true and the other two are false.
I. Saira has a ball.
II. Mumtaz does not have the ball.
III. Zeenat does not have the pen.
Who has the ball?
Solution:
If statement (I) is true, the other 2 should be false. In
other words it implies that both Saira and Mumtaz
have the ball. This is not possible.
If statement (II) is true, then statements (I) and (III) are
false, then Saira and Mumtaz does not have the ball
and even Zeenat does not have the ball as she has
the pen. This is contradictory.
Hence, the only possibility that is statement (III) is true
and (I) and (II) are false. This implies that Mumtaz has
the ball, Zeenat has the pencil and Saira has the pen.
