Circular Seating Arrangement Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: Second to the right

Everyone faces the centre, so each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise.

Put G in place. The politician sits three to G’s right, and C beside G; of C’s two possible seats, only one leaves room for an architect two seats to C’s right without clashing with the politician. B three to H’s right, with H barred from both the politician’s and the architect’s seat, then leaves one workable placing, and A and F must be neighbours with neither of them the politician - which forces E into the politician’s seat and settles A and F. The banker two to A’s left and the doctor two to A’s right complete the picture.

Clockwise the table reads G (pilot) → C (engineer) → H (doctor) → F (teacher) → A (businessman) → E (politician) → D (banker) → B (architect). The teacher is two seats from C as required, the engineer three from D, and the pilot G is clear of the politician.

E is the politician. Counting two seats to E’s right - anticlockwise - gives A and then F.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Only the doctor

Everyone faces the centre, so each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise.

Put G in place. The politician sits three to G’s right, and C beside G; of C’s two possible seats, only one leaves room for an architect two seats to C’s right without clashing with the politician. B three to H’s right, with H barred from both the politician’s and the architect’s seat, then leaves one workable placing, and A and F must be neighbours with neither of them the politician - which forces E into the politician’s seat and settles A and F. The banker two to A’s left and the doctor two to A’s right complete the picture.

Clockwise the table reads G (pilot) → C (engineer) → H (doctor) → F (teacher) → A (businessman) → E (politician) → D (banker) → B (architect). The teacher is two seats from C as required, the engineer three from D, and the pilot G is clear of the politician.

The teacher is F and the engineer is C, and they have exactly one seat between them - H’s, and H is the doctor.

Answer: E

Correct answer: The doctor sits second to the right of the businessman.

Everyone faces the centre, so each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise.

Put G in place. The politician sits three to G’s right, and C beside G; of C’s two possible seats, only one leaves room for an architect two seats to C’s right without clashing with the politician. B three to H’s right, with H barred from both the politician’s and the architect’s seat, then leaves one workable placing, and A and F must be neighbours with neither of them the politician - which forces E into the politician’s seat and settles A and F. The banker two to A’s left and the doctor two to A’s right complete the picture.

Clockwise the table reads G (pilot) → C (engineer) → H (doctor) → F (teacher) → A (businessman) → E (politician) → D (banker) → B (architect). The teacher is two seats from C as required, the engineer three from D, and the pilot G is clear of the politician.

The businessman is A; two seats to his right - anticlockwise - gives F and then H, the doctor, so that statement holds. Of the others: D is not beside G, G is the pilot rather than the banker, the banker D and the teacher F are three seats apart, and the pilot G sits between the architect B and the engineer C rather than the businessman.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Pilot

Everyone faces the centre, so each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise.

Put G in place. The politician sits three to G’s right, and C beside G; of C’s two possible seats, only one leaves room for an architect two seats to C’s right without clashing with the politician. B three to H’s right, with H barred from both the politician’s and the architect’s seat, then leaves one workable placing, and A and F must be neighbours with neither of them the politician - which forces E into the politician’s seat and settles A and F. The banker two to A’s left and the doctor two to A’s right complete the picture.

Clockwise the table reads G (pilot) → C (engineer) → H (doctor) → F (teacher) → A (businessman) → E (politician) → D (banker) → B (architect). The teacher is two seats from C as required, the engineer three from D, and the pilot G is clear of the politician.

Once the other seven professions are placed, only the pilot is left for G - and the seat suits it, since the pilot may not sit beside the politician and G’s neighbours are B and C.

Answer: D

Correct answer: E- Politician

Everyone faces the centre, so each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise.

Put G in place. The politician sits three to G’s right, and C beside G; of C’s two possible seats, only one leaves room for an architect two seats to C’s right without clashing with the politician. B three to H’s right, with H barred from both the politician’s and the architect’s seat, then leaves one workable placing, and A and F must be neighbours with neither of them the politician - which forces E into the politician’s seat and settles A and F. The banker two to A’s left and the doctor two to A’s right complete the picture.

Clockwise the table reads G (pilot) → C (engineer) → H (doctor) → F (teacher) → A (businessman) → E (politician) → D (banker) → B (architect). The teacher is two seats from C as required, the engineer three from D, and the pilot G is clear of the politician.

G is the pilot, E the politician, H the doctor and D the banker - so G–Doctor, E–Architect, H–Businessman and D–Pilot are all mismatches. E–Politician is the one pairing that is actually correct, which is what makes it the odd one out.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Politician

Everyone faces the centre, so each person’s left is the next seat clockwise and their right the next seat anticlockwise.

Put G in place. The politician sits three to G’s right, and C beside G; of C’s two possible seats, only one leaves room for an architect two seats to C’s right without clashing with the politician. B three to H’s right, with H barred from both the politician’s and the architect’s seat, then leaves one workable placing, and A and F must be neighbours with neither of them the politician - which forces E into the politician’s seat and settles A and F. The banker two to A’s left and the doctor two to A’s right complete the picture.

Clockwise the table reads G (pilot) → C (engineer) → H (doctor) → F (teacher) → A (businessman) → E (politician) → D (banker) → B (architect). The teacher is two seats from C as required, the engineer three from D, and the pilot G is clear of the politician.

The politician sits three seats to G’s right, and that seat is E’s - the only occupant not excluded, since A, F, D and H are all barred from the post.

Answer: C

Correct answer: G

Five face the centre and three face outward, so “left” and “right” must be read from each person’s own seat: for someone facing the centre the left is clockwise, for someone facing outward it is anticlockwise.

C faces the centre, which fixes E three seats away; F three to E’s left only works if E faces outward, and B is then four seats from F, opposite. Since E’s neighbours face the centre and D’s face outward, D can only sit where one of his neighbours is E - and A three to D’s right then falls into a single seat. The sex constraints do the rest: B’s neighbours are female, E’s are male, and G may have no female beside him.

Clockwise the table reads C (m, centre) → A (m, outward) → F (f, centre) → H (f, outward) → D (m, centre) → E (f, outward) → B (m, centre) → G (f, centre) - four of each sex, and A, H and E the three facing outward.

E faces outward, so her right is the next seat clockwise. Two seats that way gives B and then G.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Two

Five face the centre and three face outward, so “left” and “right” must be read from each person’s own seat: for someone facing the centre the left is clockwise, for someone facing outward it is anticlockwise.

C faces the centre, which fixes E three seats away; F three to E’s left only works if E faces outward, and B is then four seats from F, opposite. Since E’s neighbours face the centre and D’s face outward, D can only sit where one of his neighbours is E - and A three to D’s right then falls into a single seat. The sex constraints do the rest: B’s neighbours are female, E’s are male, and G may have no female beside him.

Clockwise the table reads C (m, centre) → A (m, outward) → F (f, centre) → H (f, outward) → D (m, centre) → E (f, outward) → B (m, centre) → G (f, centre) - four of each sex, and A, H and E the three facing outward.

H faces outward, so her left is anticlockwise. Going that way from H we pass F and A before reaching C - two people in between.

Answer: A

Correct answer: The one who is second to the right of H is a female.

Five face the centre and three face outward, so “left” and “right” must be read from each person’s own seat: for someone facing the centre the left is clockwise, for someone facing outward it is anticlockwise.

C faces the centre, which fixes E three seats away; F three to E’s left only works if E faces outward, and B is then four seats from F, opposite. Since E’s neighbours face the centre and D’s face outward, D can only sit where one of his neighbours is E - and A three to D’s right then falls into a single seat. The sex constraints do the rest: B’s neighbours are female, E’s are male, and G may have no female beside him.

Clockwise the table reads C (m, centre) → A (m, outward) → F (f, centre) → H (f, outward) → D (m, centre) → E (f, outward) → B (m, centre) → G (f, centre) - four of each sex, and A, H and E the three facing outward.

H faces outward, so her right is clockwise: two seats that way gives D and then E, who is female - so that statement is true. The others fail: H faces outward, not the centre; H is female, not male; and her neighbours F and D both face the centre.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Third to the right

Five face the centre and three face outward, so “left” and “right” must be read from each person’s own seat: for someone facing the centre the left is clockwise, for someone facing outward it is anticlockwise.

C faces the centre, which fixes E three seats away; F three to E’s left only works if E faces outward, and B is then four seats from F, opposite. Since E’s neighbours face the centre and D’s face outward, D can only sit where one of his neighbours is E - and A three to D’s right then falls into a single seat. The sex constraints do the rest: B’s neighbours are female, E’s are male, and G may have no female beside him.

Clockwise the table reads C (m, centre) → A (m, outward) → F (f, centre) → H (f, outward) → D (m, centre) → E (f, outward) → B (m, centre) → G (f, centre) - four of each sex, and A, H and E the three facing outward.

G faces the centre, so her right is anticlockwise. Three seats that way gives B, E and then D.