# Seating Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Sneha, Sanjay, Farhan, Isha, Zoya

> 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/2026-06-24-seating-arrangement-reasoning-sbi-clerk-reasoning-set

---

Published: 2026-06-24 · Difficulty: medium · 4 clues · 5 people
Exams: IBPS PO · SBI Clerk · SSC

## The puzzle

Sneha, Sanjay, Farhan, Isha, Zoya — 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. Farhan sits somewhere to the right of Zoya.
2. Zoya sits somewhere to the right of Sanjay.
3. Isha sits immediately to the left of Sanjay.
4. Sneha sits at the far-left (extreme) end of the row.

## Answer

Sneha, Isha, Sanjay, Zoya, Farhan (left to right).

Seat 1: Sneha · Seat 2: Isha · Seat 3: Sanjay · Seat 4: Zoya · Seat 5: Farhan

## Step-by-step solution

1. Start: 120 possible left-to-right orders of 5 people.
2. Clue 4 — "Sneha sits at the far-left (extreme) end of the row." ⇒ Sneha → seat 1 (24 possibilities left). Board (left → right): Sneha · _ · _ · _ · _
3. Clue 3 — "Isha sits immediately to the left of Sanjay." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (left → right): Sneha · _ · _ · _ · _
4. Clue 1 — "Farhan sits somewhere to the right of Zoya." narrows it to 3 possibilities. Board (left → right): Sneha · _ · _ · _ · _
5. Clue 2 — "Zoya sits somewhere to the right of Sanjay." ⇒ Sanjay → seat 3, Farhan → seat 5, Isha → seat 2, Zoya → seat 4 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Sneha · Isha · Sanjay · Zoya · Farhan
6. Exactly one order survives every clue: Sneha, Isha, Sanjay, Zoya, 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?

Sanjay sits in seat 3. The full order: Sneha, Isha, Sanjay, Zoya, 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

Play a fresh server-validated puzzle every day: https://deducepuzzles.com