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Reasoning practice

Seating Arrangement Questions with Answers

Seating arrangement questions describe how people sit in a row, a circle or around a table, and ask who sits where or next to whom. Bank prelims and mains give them the most weight, and SSC and RRB papers include shorter ones. The clues can be direct or conditional. The main tip is to start from the clue that fixes one person's exact seat and build the diagram from there.

Rules to remember

  • Row facing north: your left is west. In a row facing south, left and right are swapped. Always note which way the people face.
  • Two rows facing each other: the left of the people in one row is the right of the people in the other row.
  • Circle facing the centre: a person's left is clockwise and right is anticlockwise. Circle facing outside: left is anticlockwise.
  • Immediate right or left means the seat right next to the person. Second to the right means one person sits in between.
  • In a row of n people, position from left + position from right = n + 1.
  • Number of people between two seats = difference of their positions - 1.
  • In a circle of n people (n even), the person opposite position p sits at position p + n/2.
  • Begin with fixed clues (extreme ends, middle seat, opposite seat). Keep conditional clues for later and use 'not' clues to cross out options.

Worked examples

Q1. Five friends A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. B sits at the extreme left. D sits immediately to the right of B. A sits at the extreme right. E sits immediately to the left of A. Who sits in the middle?

  1. Number the seats 1 to 5 from the left. B is in seat 1.
  2. D is immediately right of B, so D is in seat 2.
  3. A is at the extreme right, so A is in seat 5. E is immediately left of A, so E is in seat 4.
  4. Only seat 3 is left, and only C remains. So C sits in seat 3, the middle.

Answer: C

Q2. Six persons A, B, C, D, E and F sit around a circular table facing the centre. A sits opposite D. B sits second to the left of A. C sits immediately to the right of A. E sits immediately to the left of D. Who sits between A and B?

  1. Number the seats 0 to 5 in clockwise order. Facing the centre, left is clockwise and right is anticlockwise.
  2. Place A in seat 0. D is opposite, so D is in seat 3.
  3. B is second to the left of A, so B is two seats clockwise: seat 2.
  4. C is immediately right of A, so C is one seat anticlockwise: seat 5.
  5. E is immediately left of D, so E is one seat clockwise from D: seat 4.
  6. F takes the last seat, seat 1. Seat 1 lies between A (seat 0) and B (seat 2).
  7. Check the order clockwise: A, F, B, D, E, C. All four clues hold.

Answer: F

Q3. Seven persons P, Q, R, S, T, U and V sit in a row facing north. V sits exactly in the middle. Q sits immediately to the right of T. Exactly one person sits between S and T. P sits immediately to the left of S. R sits at the left end. Who sits at the right end?

  1. Number seats 1 to 7 from the left. V is in seat 4.
  2. Exactly one person sits between S and T. V is in seat 4, so S and T must be on the two sides of V, in seats 3 and 5.
  3. Case 1: S in seat 3, T in seat 5. P is immediately left of S, so P is in seat 2. Q is immediately right of T, so Q is in seat 6.
  4. Case 2: S in seat 5, T in seat 3. P must then be in seat 4, but V is there. This case fails.
  5. So case 1 holds. R sits at the left end, seat 1.
  6. Seats now: R, P, S, V, T, Q, and seat 7 is left for U.
  7. So U sits at the right end.

Answer: U

Shortcuts that save time

  • Draw the seats first, then fill them. Write every confirmed name in pen on your rough sheet and every possibility in pencil. This avoids a clash between clues that leads to a wrong answer.
  • Read all the clues once before placing anyone. Pick out the clue that fixes an exact seat (end, middle, opposite) and place it first. Cases that need guessing should wait until the end.
  • When two cases are possible, test each against every clue instead of choosing one. A case that breaks a single clue is out. Mark an answer only when exactly one case survives.

Where this appears

IBPS PO PrelimsReasoning Ability section
IBPS PO MainsReasoning & Computer Aptitude section
SBI PO PrelimsReasoning Ability section
SSC CGL Tier-1General Intelligence & Reasoning section
RRB NTPC CBT-1General Intelligence & Reasoning section

Seating Arrangement

Practice Set
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There are 27 people standing in a queue. Sanjay is 8th from the front. How many people are standing behind him?

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Seating Arrangement questions with answers

10 sample questions from this topic with the correct option and the solution.

  1. Q1. In a row of children, Aman is 18th from the left end and 17th from the right end. How many children are there in the row?

    1. 30
    2. 35
    3. 34
    4. 38

    Answer: (C) 34

    Solution
    Total = Position from left + Position from right − 1 = 18 + 17 − 1 = 34.

  2. Q2. In a row of 15 people, Meera is 14th from the right end. What is her position from the left end?

    1. 3
    2. 0
    3. 4
    4. 2

    Answer: (D) 2

    Solution
    Position from left = Total − Position from right + 1 = 15 − 14 + 1 = 2.

  3. Q3. In a line of 16 students, Priya is 13th from the left end. How many students are standing to her left?

    1. 16
    2. 12
    3. 14
    4. 11

    Answer: (B) 12

    Solution
    Students to the left = Position from left − 1 = 13 − 1 = 12.

  4. Q4. In a row of children, Aman is 9th from the left end and 16th from the right end. How many children are there in the row?

    1. 24
    2. 27
    3. 25
    4. 23

    Answer: (A) 24

    Solution
    Total = Position from left + Position from right − 1 = 9 + 16 − 1 = 24.

  5. Q5. In a row, Karan is 15th from the left end and Suresh is 26th from the left end. How many people are sitting between them?

    1. 10
    2. 9
    3. 7
    4. 12

    Answer: (A) 10

    Solution
    Both are counted from the same left end, so the number of people between them is the difference of positions minus 1. Here, 26 - 15 = 11, and 11 - 1 = 10. So 10 people are sitting between Karan and Suresh.

  6. Q6. There are 17 people standing in a queue. Sanjay is 16th from the front. How many people are standing behind him?

    1. 4
    2. 0
    3. 3
    4. 1

    Answer: (D) 1

    Solution
    People behind = Total − Position from front = 17 − 16 = 1.

  7. Q7. In a row of 29 people, Meera is 6th from the right end. What is her position from the left end?

    1. 23
    2. 22
    3. 21
    4. 24

    Answer: (D) 24

    Solution
    Position from left = Total − Position from right + 1 = 29 − 6 + 1 = 24.

  8. Q8. In a row of 27 people, Meera is 3th from the right end. What is her position from the left end?

    1. 25
    2. 23
    3. 24
    4. 28

    Answer: (A) 25

    Solution
    Position from left = Total − Position from right + 1 = 27 − 3 + 1 = 25.

  9. Q9. In a row of 18 students, Rohan is 5th from the left end. What is his position from the right end?

    1. 14
    2. 13
    3. 10
    4. 12

    Answer: (A) 14

    Solution
    Position from right = Total − Position from left + 1 = 18 − 5 + 1 = 14.

  10. Q10. In a row of 28 students, Rohan is 20th from the left end. What is his position from the right end?

    1. 9
    2. 8
    3. 12
    4. 11

    Answer: (A) 9

    Solution
    Position from right = Total − Position from left + 1 = 28 − 20 + 1 = 9.