In a row of girls facing north, Neha is 10th from the left end and Zoya is 12th from the right end. Exactly 4 girls stand between Neha and Zoya. Which of the following could be the number of girls in the row?

14Correct answerYour answer16Correct answerYour answer21Correct answerYour answer27Correct answerYour answer

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CorrectNot quiteAnswer B

Correct answer: B

Zoya to the right of Neha: Zoya is $10 + 4 + 1 = 15$ th from the left, so the row has $15 + 12 - 1 = 26$ girls.
Zoya to the left of Neha: Zoya is $10 - 4 - 1 = 5$ th from the left, so the row has $5 + 12 - 1 = 16$ girls.
The possible totals are 16 and 26. Only 16 is offered.

Worth noting

27 is $10 + 4 + 12 + 1$ , an extra person counted. 21 is $10 + 12 - 1$ , treating Neha and Zoya as one person. The crossing case gives the answer.

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Explanation