Direction: Study the following information carefully and answer the question given below.
An algorithm rearranges a sequence of numbers following a specific rule in each step. Following is an illustration of input and the subsequent steps of rearrangement.
Input:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
New Input:
Which step will be ?
- AStep 1
- BStep 2
- CStep 3
- DStep 4
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
Let's trace the operation rule by examining the positions that swap:
In the illustration:
* Step 1 swaps the and elements ( and ).
* Step 2 swaps the and elements ( and ).
* Step 3 swaps the and elements ( and ).
* Step 4 swaps the and elements ( and ).
Let's apply these sequential step transformations to the new input:
New Input:
* Step 1 (Swap 3rd and 7th elements):
Elements are () and ().
Result:
* Step 2 (Swap 1st and 9th elements):
Elements are () and ().
Result:
* Step 3 (Swap 4th and 5th elements):
Elements are () and ().
Result:
This matches the target arrangement exactly at Step 3.
In the illustration:
* Step 1 swaps the and elements ( and ).
* Step 2 swaps the and elements ( and ).
* Step 3 swaps the and elements ( and ).
* Step 4 swaps the and elements ( and ).
Let's apply these sequential step transformations to the new input:
New Input:
* Step 1 (Swap 3rd and 7th elements):
Elements are () and ().
Result:
* Step 2 (Swap 1st and 9th elements):
Elements are () and ().
Result:
* Step 3 (Swap 4th and 5th elements):
Elements are () and ().
Result:
This matches the target arrangement exactly at Step 3.