# Seating Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Esha, Arjun, Harsh, Bhavna, Farhan

> Solve this 5-person linear seating arrangement puzzle for IBPS PO, SBI Clerk, SSC exam practice. 4 logic clues, one answer. Free daily reasoning puzzle.

Source: https://deducepuzzles.com/blog/2026-06-06-seating-arrangement-reasoning-five-friends-seating

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Published: 2026-06-06 · Difficulty: medium · 4 clues · 5 people
Exams: IBPS PO · SBI Clerk · SSC

## The puzzle

Esha, Arjun, Harsh, Bhavna, Farhan — sit in a single row, all facing north — seat 1 is the far-left end and seat 5 is the far-right end. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.

1. Exactly 1 person sits between Esha and Bhavna.
2. Bhavna sits immediately to the left of Harsh.
3. Exactly 3 people sit between Bhavna and Farhan.
4. Arjun sits somewhere to the left of Farhan.

## Answer

Bhavna, Harsh, Esha, Arjun, Farhan (left to right).

Seat 1: Bhavna · Seat 2: Harsh · Seat 3: Esha · Seat 4: Arjun · Seat 5: Farhan

## Step-by-step solution

1. Start: 120 possible left-to-right orders of 5 people.
2. Clue 2 — "Bhavna sits immediately to the left of Harsh." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
3. Clue 1 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Esha and Bhavna." narrows it to 10 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
4. Clue 3 — "Exactly 3 people sit between Bhavna and Farhan." ⇒ Esha → seat 3, Arjun → seat 4, Harsh → seat 2, Bhavna → seat 1, Farhan → seat 5 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Bhavna · Harsh · Esha · Arjun · Farhan
5. Exactly one order survives every clue: Bhavna, Harsh, Esha, Arjun, Farhan (left to right).

## How to crack row seating puzzles faster

- Lock the **ends first** — any "far-left / far-right" clue fixes a seat instantly.
- Convert "immediately to the left/right" into **adjacent pairs** and slide them along.
- "Exactly _k_ people between" gives a **fixed gap** — try it at each valid position.
- Eliminate, don't guess: each clue should cut the possibilities until one order remains.

## FAQ

### Who sits in the middle (seat 3) in this seating arrangement?

Esha sits in seat 3. The full order: Bhavna, Harsh, Esha, Arjun, Farhan (left to right).

### How do you solve linear seating arrangement puzzles for bank exams?

Fix direct positions first (far-left / far-right ends), then apply relative clues (left of, immediately left, exactly k between). Eliminate impossible orders until a single arrangement satisfies every clue.

## Learn the method

This post is one worked example. The topic page for linear seating arrangement carries the full method,
the clue-wording table and the mistakes that cost marks: https://deducepuzzles.com/reasoning/seating-arrangement

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