MathLabs

Problem 6

Five students, A,B,C,D,EA,B,C,D,E, took part in a contest. One prediction was the order ABCDEABCDE. No contestant finished in the predicted position, and no two contestants predicted consecutively actually did so. A second prediction was DAECBDAECB. Exactly two contestants finished in their predicted positions, and two disjoint pairs predicted consecutively actually did so. Determine the actual order.
Step 1 of 4: Record the predictions
ABCDEandDAECBABCDE and DAECB
Detailed analysis

The first prediction is ABCDEABCDE, and the second is DAECBDAECB. We must enforce all conditions simultaneously.