Q8

[ShehryarB30]

Why is A wrong?

[ohthatpatrick]

~QS

( R ) /T
R/T __ Q/V __ __

A "fully determined / completely determined" question usually reduces to plug n' chug.

We can initially ask ourselves, "is there any floater that I should try to pin down?" or "Is there any really important character who affects more than one rule?"

(A) If Q is 3, we know S is 1st or 5th, (because it must be buffered from Q)
S __ Q __ __
__ __ Q __ S

If those both seem workable, then we know this answer contains flexibility. If we need to go a little further with the R and T implications, we'd see
S R Q V T
T R Q V S

(B) If R is first, T is 5th. That then forces V to be 3rd so that it can buffer Q and S, but it wouldn't matter whether Q or S was 2 or 4.

R q/s V s/q T

(C) If S is 2, then V must be 3, and R must be 1, and T must be 5. That forces Q into 4. This is our answer.
R S V Q T

(D) If T is 5th, then ... hmm, doesn't seem to say anything. R could still be 1 or 2 I think. Flexible, so move on. Or prove it if needed:
R S V Q T
S R V Q T

(E) If V is 4 then Q is 3, so S is 1 or 5.
S __ Q V __
__ __ Q V S

We can still accommodate T and R, so those both work.