Seating arrangement and puzzle questions

Reasoning Updated 11 Oct 2026

These seating arrangement and puzzle questions cover linear rows, circular tables, floor and box stacks, day and month scheduling, and ranking puzzles. They follow the pattern used in bank, SSC, railway and placement reasoning tests, starting easy and moving to bank exam level.

Every question has four options and an explanation that walks through the arrangement step by step. Draw the seats or floors on paper as you read each clue, and check your diagram against the explanation.

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Linear seating arrangement questions (easy)

Q1. Five friends A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. C sits in the middle. A sits at the extreme left end. B sits immediately to the right of C. E is not an immediate neighbour of A. Who sits at the extreme right end?
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Answer: D. E
A is 1st and C is 3rd, so B is 4th. Places 2 and 5 are left for D and E; E cannot be next to A, so E is 5th (extreme right) and D is 2nd.
Q2. Six people P, Q, R, S, T and U sit in a row facing north. R sits second from the left end. Exactly two people sit between R and T. P sits immediately to the right of T. Q sits at one of the ends. S is an immediate neighbour of T. Who sits immediately to the right of R?
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Answer: A. U
R is 2nd, so T is 5th and P is 6th. Q takes the free end, 1st. S must be next to T, so S is 4th and U is 3rd, immediately right of R.
Q3. Five people J, K, L, M and N sit in a row facing south. K sits at the extreme right end. L sits second to the left of K. J and N are immediate neighbours, and N does not sit at an end. Who sits at the extreme left end?
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Answer: B. J
Facing south, their right is our left. From their right end the order is K, M, L, N, J, because J and N must sit together in the last two seats with N not at the end. So J is at their extreme left.
Q4. Six students F, G, H, I, J and K sit in a row facing north. G sits third from the right end. H sits immediately to the left of G. F sits at the extreme left end and K at the extreme right end. I is not an immediate neighbour of K. Who sits second to the right of H?
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Answer: A. J
G is 4th from the left and H is 3rd. I cannot be 5th (next to K), so I is 2nd and J is 5th. Second to the right of H is the 5th seat, J.
Q5. In a row of seven people facing north, Asha sits fourth from the left end and Ravi sits second from the right end. How many people sit between Asha and Ravi?
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Answer: A. 1
Ravi, second from the right in a row of 7, is 6th from the left. Between positions 4 and 6 there is only position 5, so one person.
Q6. In a row of nine people facing north, Kiran sits exactly in the middle. Vijay sits third to the right of Kiran and Sunil sits second to the left of Vijay. What is Sunil's position from the left end?
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Answer: A. 6th
Kiran is 5th from the left, Vijay is 5 + 3 = 8th and Sunil is 8 - 2 = 6th from the left.

Linear seating arrangement questions (bank exam level)

Q7. Seven people M, N, O, P, Q, R and S sit in a row facing north. P sits third from the left end. Exactly two people sit between P and S. Q sits immediately to the left of S. N sits at one of the ends, immediately to the left of O. R is not an immediate neighbour of P. M sits somewhere to the right of O. Who sits exactly in the middle of the row?
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Answer: B. M
P is 3rd, so S is 6th and Q is 5th. N at an end with O to its right means N is 1st and O is 2nd. R cannot be 4th (next to P), so R is 7th and M is 4th, the middle seat.
Q8. Seven people A, B, C, D, E, F and G sit in a row facing north. D sits in the middle. A sits second to the right of D. F sits at one of the ends and B is an immediate neighbour of F. G sits second to the right of C. E sits somewhere to the left of C. Who sits immediately to the left of D?
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Answer: C. E
D is 4th and A is 6th. If F were 7th, B would have to be 6th, which is taken, so F is 1st and B is 2nd. C and G need seats two apart among 3, 5 and 7, with E to the left of C, so C is 5th, G is 7th and E is 3rd.
Q9. Eight people P, Q, R, S, T, U, V and W sit in a row facing north. S sits third from the left end. Exactly three people sit between S and V. U sits immediately to the right of V. P sits at one of the ends and T is an immediate neighbour of P. Q is an immediate neighbour of S. W sits somewhere to the left of R. Who sits fifth from the left end?
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Answer: D. W
S is 3rd, V is 7th and U is 8th, so P is 1st and T is 2nd. Q must be next to S, so Q is 4th. W and R take the 5th and 6th seats with W to the left, so W is 5th.
Q10. Eight people A to H sit in a row facing north. E sits fifth from the left end. B sits third to the left of E. H sits at an end next to B. A sits second to the right of E and C sits at the extreme right end. G sits immediately to the right of E. D sits somewhere to the left of F. Who sits immediately to the left of E?
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Answer: D. F
E is 5th, B is 2nd, H is 1st, G is 6th, A is 7th and C is 8th. D and F take the 3rd and 4th seats with D on the left, so F is 4th, just left of E.

Circular seating arrangement questions

Q11. Six friends A, B, C, D, E and F sit around a circular table facing the centre. D sits opposite A. B sits immediately to the right of A. E sits immediately to the right of D. C is not an immediate neighbour of A. Who sits opposite B?
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Answer: C. E
Going to the right (anticlockwise) from A the seats are A, B, _, D, E, _. C cannot sit next to A, so C takes the seat after B and F sits to the left of A. The seat opposite B is E.
Q12. Eight people P, Q, R, S, T, U, V and W sit around a circular table facing the centre. T sits opposite P. R sits second to the right of P, and V sits opposite R. Q sits immediately to the right of T. S sits immediately to the right of P, and U sits between R and T. Who sits immediately to the left of P?
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Answer: C. W
Moving right from P the order is P, S, R, U, T, Q, V and one empty seat. W fills the last seat, which is immediately to the left of P.
Q13. Six people J, K, L, M, N and O sit around a circular table facing away from the centre. M sits opposite J. K sits immediately to the right of J. N sits immediately to the right of M. L is not an immediate neighbour of J. Who sits immediately to the left of J?
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Answer: A. O
When people face outward, their right is clockwise. With K on J's right and L not beside J, the only person left for the seat on J's left is O.
Q14. Eight people A to H sit around a circular table facing the centre. E sits opposite A. C sits second to the right of A, and G sits opposite C. B sits immediately to the right of E. H sits immediately to the left of A. D sits immediately to the right of C. Who sits immediately to the right of A?
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Answer: C. F
Moving right from A the seats are A, _, C, D, E, B, G, H. The only person not yet placed is F, so F sits immediately to the right of A.
Q15. Five friends P, Q, R, S and T sit around a circular table facing the centre. Q sits immediately to the right of P. S sits second to the left of Q. T sits immediately to the left of S. Who sits immediately to the right of Q?
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Answer: B. R
Second to the left of Q is the seat just left of P, so S sits there and T sits left of S. The only seat left is to the right of Q, which goes to R.
Q16. Ten children stand in a circle facing the centre. Rahul is fourth to the right of Sameer. How many children stand between them on the shorter side?
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Answer: B. 3
Fourth to the right means three children lie between them on that side. The other side has 10 - 2 - 3 = 5 children, so the shorter side has 3.

Floor and box puzzle reasoning questions

Q17. Five people A, B, C, D and E live on different floors of a five-storey building, where the lowest floor is 1 and the top floor is 5. C lives on the top floor and A lives immediately below C. E lives on an odd-numbered floor below B. D does not live on floor 1, and B lives above D. Who lives on floor 2?
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Answer: B. D
C is on 5 and A on 4. E must be on 1 or 3 and below B, so E is on 1. B above D leaves B on 3 and D on 2.
Q18. Six people P, Q, R, S, T and U live in a six-storey building, one on each floor, numbered 1 (lowest) to 6 (top). Q lives on floor 4. Exactly two people live between Q and T. S lives immediately above T. R lives on an even-numbered floor. P lives above U. Who lives on the top floor?
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Answer: C. R
T cannot be on floor 7, so T is on floor 1 and S on floor 2. The free floors are 3, 5 and 6. R needs an even floor, so R is on 6; then U is on 3 and P on 5.
Q19. Five boxes V, W, X, Y and Z are stacked one above another. Y is at the bottom. X is immediately above W. Z is not placed immediately above Y. V is somewhere above X, and Z is immediately below V. Which box is at the top?
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Answer: D. V
Only W in 2nd and X in 3rd place leaves room for V above X. Z must sit immediately below V, so Z is 4th and V is on top.
Q20. Seven people A to G live in a seven-storey building, one per floor, numbered 1 (lowest) to 7 (top). D lives on the top floor. B lives two floors below D, and F lives three floors below B. C lives immediately above F. A lives on an odd-numbered floor. E lives above G. Who lives on floor 4?
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Answer: A. G
D is on 7, B on 5, F on 2 and C on 3. The only free odd floor is 1, so A is there. E and G share floors 4 and 6 with E higher, so G is on floor 4.

Day and month scheduling puzzles

Q21. Five friends A, B, C, D and E each have a dentist appointment on a different day from Monday to Friday. C goes on Wednesday and A goes the day after C. B goes before D, and D goes after A. E does not go on Monday. Who goes on Tuesday?
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Answer: C. E
C is on Wednesday and A on Thursday. D must come after A, so D is on Friday. E cannot take Monday, so E is on Tuesday and B on Monday.
Q22. Six lectures, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, English and History, are held from Monday to Saturday, one each day. Maths is on Thursday. English is two days before Maths and History is the day after Maths. Physics is the day after English. Biology is not on Monday. Which lecture is held on Saturday?
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Answer: A. Biology
English is on Tuesday, Physics on Wednesday, Maths on Thursday and History on Friday. Monday and Saturday remain, and Biology cannot be on Monday, so Biology is on Saturday.
Q23. Five friends K, L, M, N and O were born in January, March, May, July and September of the same year, one in each month. M was born in May and N in September. K was born before M, and L was born in the next of these months after K. Who was born in July?
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Answer: B. O
K must be in January or March, and L in the following listed month; since May is taken, K is in January and L in March. July is left for O.

Ordering, ranking and logic puzzles

Q24. Among five friends, A is taller than B but shorter than C. D is taller than C, and E is shorter than B. Who is the tallest?
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Answer: D. D
Joining the clues gives D > C > A > B > E, so D is the tallest.
Q25. P is heavier than Q, R is lighter than Q, S is heavier than P and T is lighter than R. Who is the second lightest?
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Answer: D. R
The order from heaviest is S > P > Q > R > T, so R is second lightest.
Q26. In a row of students, Ravi is 12th from the left end and 18th from the right end. How many students are there in the row?
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Answer: B. 29
Total = left position + right position - 1 = 12 + 18 - 1 = 29.
Q27. In a row, A is 7th from the left and B is 9th from the right. When they swap places, A becomes 13th from the left. How many people are in the row?
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Answer: C. 21
A's new place is B's old place, which is 13th from the left and 9th from the right. Total = 13 + 9 - 1 = 21.
Q28. In a class of 40 students, Neha ranks 15th from the top. What is her rank from the bottom?
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Answer: D. 26
Rank from bottom = total - rank from top + 1 = 40 - 15 + 1 = 26.
Q29. In a queue, Meena is 10th from the front and 6 people stand behind her. How many people are in the queue?
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Answer: B. 16
Meena and the 9 people ahead of her make 10; adding the 6 behind her gives 16.
Q30. Amit, Bina and Chetan each like a different colour: red, blue or green. Amit likes neither red nor blue, and Bina does not like red. Who likes red?
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Answer: A. Chetan
Amit must like green. Bina cannot like red, so she likes blue, which leaves red for Chetan.

How to prepare

Start every seating or puzzle question by drawing the frame: a row of numbered seats, a circle with marked positions, or a column of floors. Place fixed clues first, such as who sits in the middle, at an end or on the top floor, then use relative clues like 'second to the right' or 'immediately above'. Leave the negative clues, such as 'is not a neighbour of', for last; they usually decide between two remaining cases.

Direction is the most common trap. In a row facing north your right is the viewer's right, but facing south it reverses. Around a table facing the centre, right means anticlockwise; facing outward, right means clockwise. When a clue allows two cases, draw both and cancel the one that breaks a later clue.

Study tips

Place the fixed clues first and the negative clues last.
Mark the facing direction on your diagram before reading any left or right clue.
When two cases are possible, draw both side by side and eliminate one.

Questions people ask

How do I solve seating arrangement questions quickly?

Draw the seats first, place the definite clues (ends, middle, opposite), and then add relative clues. Keep negative clues for the end, since they usually decide between the last few possibilities.

What does right and left mean in circular seating arrangement?

If people face the centre, their right is anticlockwise and their left is clockwise. If they face away from the centre, it is the other way round.

Are puzzle reasoning questions important for bank exams?

Yes. Seating arrangement and puzzles carry a large share of the reasoning marks in bank prelims and mains, usually as sets of five questions based on one arrangement.

How should I practise puzzle questions for exams?

Solve a few puzzles daily with a timer, always drawing the diagram. After each one, read the explanation to see which clue should have been used first.

Every question on this page is written and fact-checked by the GK Quizzes team. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it. How we make our questions.