Linear Seating Arrangement Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Correct answer: T

All eight face the centre, so each person’s right is the next seat anticlockwise. Put T in place; P sits two to T’s right, and R and V take the seats on either side of T. V must have U beside her, which fixes V’s side and puts U next along. Of the three seats left, S may not touch P, and the conditions about Q and W then leave one filling. Clockwise the circle reads T → V → U → S → W → Q → P → R.

V’s right is the next seat anticlockwise, which belongs to T.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Q is to the immediate left of W

All eight face the centre, so each person’s right is the next seat anticlockwise. Put T in place; P sits two to T’s right, and R and V take the seats on either side of T. V must have U beside her, which fixes V’s side and puts U next along. Of the three seats left, S may not touch P, and the conditions about Q and W then leave one filling. Clockwise the circle reads T → V → U → S → W → Q → P → R.

W’s left is the next seat clockwise, and Q occupies it, so that statement holds. Of the others: P’s right is Q’s seat rather than the reverse, R is not between U and V, and U does not sit between W and S.

Answer: C

Correct answer: To the immediate right of W

All eight face the centre, so each person’s right is the next seat anticlockwise. Put T in place; P sits two to T’s right, and R and V take the seats on either side of T. V must have U beside her, which fixes V’s side and puts U next along. Of the three seats left, S may not touch P, and the conditions about Q and W then leave one filling. Clockwise the circle reads T → V → U → S → W → Q → P → R.

W’s right is the next seat anticlockwise, and S occupies it. The arrangement is fully determined, so the data are not inadequate.

Answer: D

The statement that is not true is K is in the farthest East.

Build the order from West to East. A is West of P, and T is between them: A, T, P. K is West of both T and A, and East of B: B, K, A. Combining:

West: B, K, A, T, P :East

So P is farthest East, T is West of P, and B is West of A and K, all true. K is second from the West end, not the farthest East.

Answer: C

Vibha is sitting at the south end. People facing east have north on their left and south on their right, so the south end is the right-hand end of the row. Ria is second to the left of Sweta, so Sweta cannot be in the first two seats. If Sweta is in seat 4 (counting from the north end) then Ria is in seat 2, and Bhumi must sit next to Sweta with Vibha on Bhumi's far side, which fails because the seats are taken or run out. If Sweta is in seat 5, Bhumi would be in seat 4 and Vibha in seat 3, which is Ria's seat. Only Sweta in seat 3 works: Ria is in seat 1, Bhumi in seat 4, Vibha in seat 5, and Arun in seat 2. The row from north to south is Ria, Arun, Sweta, Bhumi, Vibha, so the south end is Vibha, not Sweta, Bhumi or Arun.

Answer: D

S is sitting to the left of P. All face north, so left is the west side and the line from west to east reads as the order of left to right. R is immediately to the left of U, giving R U. Q is at an extreme end with U as a neighbour, so Q is at the east end: R U Q. Only T is between R and P, so P T R U Q. The remaining person S cannot be between R and P, so S takes the west end: S P T R U Q. The person to the left of P is therefore S, not T, R or U.

Answer: B

Three persons face south. G sits second to the right of H, who faces north and so has east on the right. G is at an extreme end, so H is second from the other end. E is not next to G, so E is at the far end and F is between H and G.

F's two neighbours, H and G, face opposite directions, so G faces south. E faces the same way as G, which is south. H's neighbours E and F face the same way, so F is south too. So E, F and G face south, and H faces north.

Answer: A

Two friends stand between S and Q. Only P is taller than R, so P is tallest and R is second tallest. Only S is shorter than T, so S is shortest and T is second shortest. Q is taller than U, and the two places left are the middle ones, so U is third and Q is fourth.

The row from shortest to tallest is S, T, U, Q, R, P. Between S (first) and Q (fourth) stand T and U, which is two people. One, zero and three do not match this order.

A quick check: from the row S, T, U, Q, R, P read from shortest to tallest, S is shortest and has T only above it among the two lowest places, and P is the only one taller than R, so every given condition holds with this single order.

Answer: C

P is at one of the extreme ends. Facing west, a person's right is north, so P stands immediately north of T. Only N is between K and T, so the order from north to south must be P, T, N, K. Only J is between L and K, so J and L follow K: P, T, N, K, J, L.

P is at the north end, so (C) is true. P is not between L and T, L is at the south extreme end, and the person at T's immediate right is P, not N.

A check on the order P, T, N, K, J, L: N is the only person between T and K, J is the only person between K and L, and P is immediately to the right of T, so every clue is met.

Answer: B

Number the seven places 1 to 7 from the left, which is the west side for people facing north. C is immediately left of E, so C and E are in neighbouring places; G is a neighbour of E and A, so G sits on E's other side with A beyond it, and F is third to the right of E. That gives C, E, G, A, F in a row. D must have four people between itself and E, so D is at the far right end and the remaining boy B sits between F and D. The row is C, E, G, A, F, B, D. The boys between C and D are E, G, A, F and B, which makes 5. The answer is 5, option (B); 2, 4 and 3 count too few of them.