In the square grid shown on the left, a person standing at P2 position is required to move to P5 position. The only movement allowed for a step involves, “two moves along one direction followed by one move in a perpendicular direction”. The permissible directions for movement are shown as dotted arrows in the right. For example, a person at a given position Y can move only to the positions marked X on the right. Without occupying any of the shaded squares at the end of each step, the minimum number of steps required to go from P2 to P5 is
The problem involves moving from position P2 to position P5 on a grid, following a specific movement rule. The rule is to move “two steps in one direction followed by one step in a perpendicular direction”. Shaded squares cannot be occupied at the end of any step.
Let's analyze the possible moves:
- Start at P2. The person can move to R2 or Q4 following the movement rules.
- From R2, move to T1 by going two steps down and one left.
- From T1, move to T3 by going two steps right and one step up.
- From T3, move to R5 by going two steps up and one step right.
- From R5, move to P5 by going two steps up and one step left.
There are 5 steps in total.
Therefore, the minimum number of steps required to go from P2 to P5 is 5.
| Step | Position |
|---|---|
| 1 | P2 to R2 |
| 2 | R2 to T1 |
| 3 | T1 to T3 |
| 4 | T3 to R5 |
| 5 | R5 to P5 |
Hence, the correct answer is Option 2: 5.
Important Questions from Puzzles
The diagram below shows a river system consisting of 7 segments, marked P, Q, R, S, T, U, and V. It splits the land into 5 zones, marked Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, and Z5. We need to connect these zones using the least number of bridges. Out of the following options, which one is correct?
Note: The figure shown is representative.
- A thin wire is used to construct all the edges of a cube of $1 \text{ m}$ side by bending, cutting and soldering the wire. If the wire is $12 \text{ m}$ long, what is the minimum number of cuts required to construct the wire frame to form the cube?
In the $4 \times 4$ array shown below, each cell of the first three columns has either a cross (X) or a number, as per the given rule.
1 1 2 2 X 3 2 X 4 1 2 X Rule: The number in a cell represents the count of crosses around its immediate neighboring cells (left, right, top, bottom, diagonals).
As per this rule, the maximum number of crosses possible in the empty column is
In the 4 x 4 array shown below, each cell of the first three rows has either a cross (X) or a number.
1 X 4 3 X 5 5 4 3 X 6 X
The number in a cell represents the count of the immediate neighboring cells (left, right, top, bottom, diagonals) NOT having a cross (X). Given that the last row has no crosses (X), the sum of the four numbers to be filled in the last row is- The corners and mid-points of the sides of a triangle are named using the distinct letters P, Q, R, S, T and U, but not necessarily in the same order. Consider the following statements:
• The line joining P and R is parallel to the line joining Q and S.
• P is placed on the side opposite to the corner T.
• S and U cannot be placed on the same side.
Which one of the following statements is correct based on the above information?
