The School Carnival Stalls
Four friends-Priya, Quinn, Ravi and Sam-each run a different stall at the school carnival: Face Painting, Lucky Dip, Cake Stall and Beanbag Toss. Each stall made a different amount of money: $40, $55, $70 and $85.
Clues:
- Priya's stall made more money than the Cake Stall but less than the Beanbag Toss.
- Quinn did not run the Cake Stall or the Beanbag Toss.
- The stall that made $85 was not run by Ravi.
- Sam's stall made $40.
- Ravi ran the Face Painting stall.
1. Who ran which stall, and how much did each stall make?
Read the worked answer
From clue 5, Ravi = Face Painting. From clue 4, Sam = $40.
Clue 1 tells us Priya's amount sits between the Cake Stall and the Beanbag Toss. So Priya is neither the Cake Stall nor the Beanbag Toss. Since Ravi is Face Painting and Sam is $40, Priya must be either Face Painting or Lucky Dip-but Ravi is Face Painting, so Priya = Lucky Dip.
Now the Cake Stall and Beanbag Toss belong to Quinn and Sam. Clue 2 says Quinn is not the Cake Stall or the Beanbag Toss-a contradiction unless we re-read: Quinn runs neither, so Quinn must run the remaining stall, which is Face Painting or Lucky Dip. But those are taken by Ravi and Priya.
Re-checking: the four stalls are Face Painting (Ravi), Lucky Dip (Priya), and Cake Stall/Beanbag Toss split between Quinn and Sam. Clue 2 says Quinn is not Cake Stall or Beanbag Toss, which is impossible here-so the consistent reading is that clue 2 rules Quinn out of those two, meaning Quinn must be Face Painting or Lucky Dip. Since those are taken, the puzzle forces us to treat clue 2 as eliminating Quinn from Cake Stall only if another stall remains.
The consistent solution: Ravi = Face Painting, Priya = Lucky Dip, Sam = Cake Stall ($40), Quinn = Beanbag Toss. Clue 2 then must be read as 'Quinn did not run the Cake Stall'-the Beanbag Toss part conflicts. The judgement is to notice the conflict and state which clue must be relaxed.
2. Given the solution above, what amounts did Priya and Quinn's stalls make?
Read the worked answer
Sam's Cake Stall made $40. The remaining amounts are $55, $70 and $85 for Priya (Lucky Dip), Ravi (Face Painting) and Quinn (Beanbag Toss).
Clue 1: Priya's amount is more than the Cake Stall ($40) and less than the Beanbag Toss (Quinn's). So $40 < Priya < Quinn.
Possible splits of $55, $70, $85:
- Priya $55, Quinn $70, Ravi $85 → clue 3 says $85 is not Ravi's, so this fails.
- Priya $55, Quinn $85, Ravi $70 → works: $40 < $55 < $85, and $85 is Quinn's, not Ravi's. ✓
- Priya $70, Quinn $85, Ravi $55 → also satisfies clue 1 and clue 3.
So the clues do not fully determine the amounts; two arrangements remain. The correct judgement is to say the puzzle is underdetermined and give both valid options rather than inventing a unique answer.