Seating Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Omkar, Kiran, Deepak, Varun, Chetan, Arjun
The puzzle
Omkar, Kiran, Deepak, Varun, Chetan, Arjun — sit in a single row, all facing north — seat 1 is the far-left end and seat 6 is the far-right end. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Omkar sits somewhere to the left of Kiran.
- Chetan sits somewhere to the right of Varun.
- Exactly 1 person sits between Omkar and Arjun.
- Kiran sits somewhere to the left of Deepak.
- Arjun sits immediately to the left of Deepak.
- Exactly 2 people sit between Kiran and Chetan.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Varun, Omkar, Kiran, Arjun, Deepak, Chetan (left to right).
- Start: 720 possible left-to-right orders of 6 people.
- Clue 1 — "Omkar sits somewhere to the left of Kiran." leaves 360 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Chetan sits somewhere to the right of Varun." leaves 180 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Omkar and Arjun." leaves 48 possibilities.
- Clue 4 — "Kiran sits somewhere to the left of Deepak." leaves 14 possibilities.
- Clue 5 — "Arjun sits immediately to the left of Deepak." leaves 3 possibilities.
- Clue 6 — "Exactly 2 people sit between Kiran and Chetan." leaves 1 possibility. The surviving order is Varun, Omkar, Kiran, Arjun, Deepak, Chetan (left to right).
- Exactly one order survives every clue: Varun, Omkar, Kiran, Arjun, Deepak, Chetan (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?
Kiran sits in seat 3. The full order: Varun, Omkar, Kiran, Arjun, Deepak, Chetan (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 for this puzzle type
This post is one worked example. The topic page for linear seating arrangement carries the full method, the clue-wording table, the mistakes that cost marks and more practice questions.
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