Circular Seating Arrangement Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: T

Facing the centre, each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix P; V sits two to P’s left and W two beyond V. Of the two ways to place Q with T three seats to Q’s right, only one keeps T off V’s shoulder, and R and S then fit in one way only. Clockwise the circle reads P → Q → V → S → W → T → R.

R’s right is the next seat anticlockwise, which belongs to T. The arrangement is fully determined, so the data are not inadequate.

Answer: E

Correct answer: None of these

Facing the centre, each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix P; V sits two to P’s left and W two beyond V. Of the two ways to place Q with T three seats to Q’s right, only one keeps T off V’s shoulder, and R and S then fit in one way only. Clockwise the circle reads P → Q → V → S → W → T → R.

Taking each group in turn: R sits between T and P, not between P and Q; T between W and R; Q between P and V; and Q again between P and V, not between V and S. No group has its first member between the other two, so the answer is none of these.

Answer: A

Correct answer: T

Facing the centre, each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix P; V sits two to P’s left and W two beyond V. Of the two ways to place Q with T three seats to Q’s right, only one keeps T off V’s shoulder, and R and S then fit in one way only. Clockwise the circle reads P → Q → V → S → W → T → R.

Counting three seats to V’s left - clockwise - gives S, W and then T.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Only B

Facing the centre, each friend’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix E; D sits three to E’s left and A two to D’s left. B is two to G’s right, H three to B’s right and C three to G’s right, so choosing G’s seat fixes three others - and only one choice leaves G clear of E. F takes the seat left over. Clockwise the table reads E → C → B → D → G → A → F → H.

Between D and C, counting the short way round, sits B alone. The other side of the table holds five people, so B is the only person between them.

Answer: B

Correct answer: F

Facing the centre, each friend’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix E; D sits three to E’s left and A two to D’s left. B is two to G’s right, H three to B’s right and C three to G’s right, so choosing G’s seat fixes three others - and only one choice leaves G clear of E. F takes the seat left over. Clockwise the table reads E → C → B → D → G → A → F → H.

Counting two seats to E’s right - anticlockwise - gives H and then F.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Second to the right

Facing the centre, each friend’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix E; D sits three to E’s left and A two to D’s left. B is two to G’s right, H three to B’s right and C three to G’s right, so choosing G’s seat fixes three others - and only one choice leaves G clear of E. F takes the seat left over. Clockwise the table reads E → C → B → D → G → A → F → H.

Counting two seats to H’s right - anticlockwise - gives F and then A. Two seats to H’s left would reach C instead.

Answer: C

Correct answer: DA

Facing the centre, each friend’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix E; D sits three to E’s left and A two to D’s left. B is two to G’s right, H three to B’s right and C three to G’s right, so choosing G’s seat fixes three others - and only one choice leaves G clear of E. F takes the seat left over. Clockwise the table reads E → C → B → D → G → A → F → H.

In CH, FG, BE and GB the second person named sits second to the right of the first - two seats anticlockwise. In DA the second person sits two seats the other way, to D’s left, so that pair does not belong.

Answer: E

Correct answer: None of these

Facing the centre, each friend’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix E; D sits three to E’s left and A two to D’s left. B is two to G’s right, H three to B’s right and C three to G’s right, so choosing G’s seat fixes three others - and only one choice leaves G clear of E. F takes the seat left over. Clockwise the table reads E → C → B → D → G → A → F → H.

To sit on someone’s immediate left is to occupy the next seat clockwise from them. B sits on D’s right, not his left; H on E’s right; A on F’s right; and D on G’s right. No pair matches, so the answer is none of these.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Data inadequate

Facing the centre, each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix B; H sits two to B’s left and A three to B’s right. D may touch neither B nor H, which leaves only one seat for D once F is placed two seats to D’s left, and E takes the seat beside B. Clockwise the circle reads B → E → H → ? → D → A → F → ?, the two open seats being directly opposite each other. C is fourth to G’s right - which in a circle of eight means simply opposite - so C and G fill those two seats, but which takes which is not fixed.

The seat on B’s right is one of the two undecided seats, so it holds either C or G and the question cannot be answered - the data are inadequate.

Answer: B

Correct answer: F

Facing the centre, each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise. Fix B; H sits two to B’s left and A three to B’s right. D may touch neither B nor H, which leaves only one seat for D once F is placed two seats to D’s left, and E takes the seat beside B. Clockwise the circle reads B → E → H → ? → D → A → F → ?, the two open seats being directly opposite each other. C is fourth to G’s right - which in a circle of eight means simply opposite - so C and G fill those two seats, but which takes which is not fixed.

Counting three seats to E’s right - anticlockwise - gives B, then the undecided seat, then F. The count passes over the ambiguous seat without landing on it, so the answer is certain.