Unit 2

Schedule and Timetable Matching

About this unit

Read complex timetables and match people, activities, or events to available slots. You will cross-reference preferences, availabilities, and constraints to find the single valid option that satisfies every condition simultaneously.

What types of questions will you face?

  • 1Given a timetable and a person's preferences/dislikes, identify which days they will or won't attend
  • 2Select the one activity a student can attend given a required schedule and exclusions
  • 3Cross-reference multiple schedules to find the only day all constraints are met
  • 4Determine the earliest or latest slot that fits all given requirements
  • 5Identify which event/option satisfies a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria

Skills you will build

  • Reading multi-column timetable tables accurately
  • Applying inclusion and exclusion rules simultaneously
  • Using elimination to narrow down valid options
  • Tracking multiple people's constraints at once
  • Handling "only attend if at least one liked option is available" style conditions

By the end of this unit, you will be able to

  • Navigate any complex timetable and pinpoint the valid slot instantly
  • Apply multiple simultaneous constraints to identify the unique solution
  • Quickly eliminate options that violate any single rule
  • Find the intersection of multiple schedules under real-world constraints

Difficulty profile

Questions are Very Easy to Easy. Success depends on careful table-reading and systematic elimination rather than advanced reasoning.

Exam tip: Schedule and Timetable Matching

Go column by column (or day by day) and mark each slot as valid or invalid. The answer is the only slot left standing after all constraints are applied.

Sample Questions

Lesson 1 of 2Schedule and Timetable MatchingIntermediate

Schedule and timetable questions on Selective often start with a grid: match what is offered each day against what someone will or will not attend.

Table-style preference matching appears regularly on Selective Thinking Skills papers — usually as a methodical early-to-mid question if you scan every row.

The examiner checks whether you can cross-reference a timetable of options against likes and dislikes and find the day with no acceptable choice — not just eliminate one wrong answer.

A holiday camp (or club) lists classes or activities by day. A student only attends on days when at least one option they like is available. You identify the day they skip.

Best approach: List what they enjoy, then go day by day through the table. The moment a day has at least one liked activity, mark it “attends”. The single day with zero liked options is the answer.

Question

The table below shows the lists of classes available each day at a holiday camp. Each student must take one class each day. This class can be either in the morning or in the afternoon.

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
morningsciencedramaartsciencechess
sportsciencehistorymathsscience
musicartscienceFrenchhistory
afternooncodingsportmathsdramahistory
artsportcodingchesscoding
dramasportartmathschess

Mia has chosen classes in science, French, music, drama, and coding. She wants to have Wednesday afternoon free.

On which day must Mia do drama?

  1. AMonday
  2. BTuesday
  3. CThursday
  4. DFriday

Decided on your answer? Check how you went below.

Lesson 2 of 2Schedule and Timetable MatchingIntermediate

Now try a scheduling puzzle with several “must” and “cannot” rules — you are not only reading a table, you are fitting choices into a tight plan.

Constraint scheduling items show up in the harder band of Selective TS; they punish students who guess instead of placing forced choices first.

You must satisfy planting rules (how many vegetables, which pairs cannot coexist, mandatory inclusions) and see which full set of three vegetables is still possible.

A character can choose exactly three items from five favourites, with rules about pairs that cannot be planted together and one vegetable that must be included.

Best approach: Apply forced constraints first (required vegetable, banned pairs). Test each remaining combination systematically against every rule before picking the viable set.

Question

Zinnia has a container garden and can plant exactly three vegetables each year.

Her five favourite vegetables are: beans, cabbage, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes.

Each vegetable must appear at least once across the two years.

  • Tomatoes are her favourite and she plants them every year.
  • Each year, she plants only one vegetable that begins with the letter C.
  • She never plants carrots and peppers in the same year.
  • She will plant cabbage in the second year.

In what order does she plant the vegetables across the next two years?

  1. AYear 1: tomatoes, carrots, cabbage — Year 2: tomatoes, peppers, beans.
  2. BYear 1: tomatoes, peppers, beans — Year 2: cabbage, carrots, tomatoes.
  3. CYear 1: tomatoes, carrots, peppers — Year 2: tomatoes, cabbage, beans.
  4. DYear 1: tomatoes, carrots, beans — Year 2: tomatoes, cabbage, peppers.

Decided on your answer? Check how you went below.

Up next: Unit 3

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Schedule and Timetable Matching | Thinking Skills | Selective Course | GoTestPrep