Reasoning Ability: Seating Arrangement Puzzles Solved Step by Step
How to draw linear and circular seating puzzles, fix the definite clue first, and keep two cases until one dies.
On this page
Seating puzzles are drawing tests. The paragraph is a list of constraints. Your page should become a row or a circle with names, not a second copy of the paragraph. Fix the clue that has no “or” in it. Keep two sketches when a clue says left or right without a facing direction you have settled.
Linear row
Eight people face north. A sits at an end. B sits second to the right of A. C sits immediately left of B. Those three are fixed once you choose A’s end. If A is at the left end, positions from the left are A, someone, B, and C is immediately left of B, so C is between A’s neighbour and B. Write positions 1 to 8 and stop rereading until the next clue fails. If it fails, A was at the other end. That is one case, not a guess.
Circle, facing the centre
When everyone faces the centre, “right” is clockwise if you imagine standing in their place, but the safer habit is to draw arrows. Pick one definite neighbour pair, place them, and move clockwise as you add “second to the left”. Immediate neighbours close a gap. A clue that contradicts the sketch kills that case. Do not erase the dead case; a line through it stops you from rebuilding it.
Practice MCQs
1. The first clue to place is usually: (a) the one with two alternatives (b) a definite position or a fixed pair (c) the last sentence (d) a question about blood relations
Answer: (b).
2. If a sketch contradicts a later clue, you should: (a) ignore the clue (b) drop that case (c) add a ninth person (d) change left to right silently
Answer: (b).
3. In a row facing north, “second to the right” depends on: (a) the reader’s mood (b) the direction the people face (c) the alphabet (d) the question number
Answer: (b).
4. Keeping two cases is useful when: (a) the first clue is an either-or (b) you want four drawings (c) the puzzle is a syllogism (d) all clues are definite and already drawn
Answer: (a).
5. A finished puzzle should show: (a) only the paragraph (b) every person in a position that satisfies every clue (c) the fastest option letter with no sketch (d) blood relations of the invigilator
Answer: (b).
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