Ordering Friends by Height

We are given information about the relative heights of five friends: Param, Nikhil, Bobby, Hemu, and Lalit. We need to find the second tallest friend.

Analyzing Height Comparisons

• Bobby is the tallest. Let's denote this as: $ \text{Bobby} > \text{All Others} $
• Hemu is shorter than Nikhil and taller than Param. This gives us: $ \text{Nikhil} > \text{Hemu} > \text{Param} $
• Param is shorter than Nikhil but taller than Lalit. This gives us: $ \text{Nikhil} > \text{Param} > \text{Lalit} $

Establishing the Height Order

Combining the inequalities:

• From $ \text{Nikhil} > \text{Hemu} > \text{Param} $ and $ \text{Nikhil} > \text{Param} > \text{Lalit} $, we confirm the order among these four: $ \text{Nikhil} > \text{Hemu} > \text{Param} > \text{Lalit} $.
• Since Bobby is the tallest overall, the complete order from tallest to shortest is: $ \text{Bobby} > \text{Nikhil} > \text{Hemu} > \text{Param} > \text{Lalit} $.

Identifying the Second Tallest

Based on the established order:

• Tallest: Bobby
• Second Tallest: Nikhil
• Third Tallest: Hemu
• Fourth Tallest: Param
• Shortest: Lalit

Therefore, Nikhil is the second tallest friend.