Amy, Tyrone, Nina, Jake, and Mandy are standing in line at the grocery store. Each one is wearing a different color shirt: red, green, orange, blue, and purple. Use the following information to answer the questions.
Tyrone and Nina have only two people standing between them.
The person wearing the orange shirt is not standing next to Mandy or Nina.
Jake is wearing green.
Mandy is in line at some point after Jake.
The person wearing purple is either 2nd or 4th in line.
Nina and Mandy are standing next to each other.
Mandy is not wearing red.
The person wearing the orange shirt is first in line.
Tyrone is standing next to the person wearing green.
Amy cannot be first or last in line.
Who is wearing the purple shirt?
The correct answer and explanation is :
Correct Answer: Amy is wearing the purple shirt.
Step-by-Step Explanation:
Let’s analyze the clues and deduce the order and shirt colors.
Step 1: Start with clear positional clues.
- “The person wearing the orange shirt is first in line.”
✅ So, Position 1 = Orange Shirt. - “The person wearing purple is either 2nd or 4th in line.”
✅ So, Purple = Position 2 or 4. - “Amy cannot be first or last in line.”
✅ So, Amy ≠ Position 1 or 5.
Step 2: Assign known shirt colors.
- “Jake is wearing green.”
✅ So, wherever Jake is, he has the green shirt. - “Tyrone is standing next to the person wearing green.”
✅ So Tyrone must be adjacent to Jake. - “Mandy is in line at some point after Jake.”
✅ So Jake must be before Mandy. - “Nina and Mandy are standing next to each other.”
✅ Nina and Mandy are side-by-side. - “The person wearing the orange shirt is not standing next to Mandy or Nina.”
✅ So neither Mandy nor Nina is in Position 2. - “Tyrone and Nina have only two people standing between them.”
✅ So if Tyrone is in Position 1, Nina must be Position 4; or if Tyrone is 2, Nina is 5; etc. - “Mandy is not wearing red.”
Step 3: Use logical placement.
Let’s assume:
- Position 1 = Orange shirt (from clue)
Try placing Jake (Green) in Position 2: - Tyrone must be next to him ⇒ could be Position 1 or 3.
- But if Tyrone = 1, he’d be in the orange shirt. That’s fine.
Now test placements:
| Position | Person | Shirt |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyrone | Orange |
| 2 | Jake | Green |
| 3 | Amy | Purple |
| 4 | Mandy | ??? |
| 5 | Nina | ??? |
- Tyrone and Jake are adjacent ✅
- Nina and Mandy are adjacent ✅
- Mandy is after Jake ✅
- Orange shirt not next to Nina or Mandy ✅
- Purple is in 3rd or 4th position ⇒ Amy is 3rd ✅
- Amy is not 1st or last ✅
- Mandy ≠ red ✅
Thus, Amy is in Position 3 and wears the purple shirt.