Double-Row Seating Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Kiran, Sanjay, Priya, Tarun
2026-07-02
Easy · 3 clues · 4 people
IBPS PO · SBI Clerk · SSC
The puzzle
Kiran, Sanjay, Priya, Tarun — sit in two rows facing each other — Row 1 faces south, Row 2 faces north, with 2 seats per row. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Kiran faces south.
- Sanjay sits immediately to the left of Priya (both facing north).
- Sanjay sits directly opposite Tarun (they face each other).
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Row 1 (facing south): Sanjay, Priya. Row 2 (facing north): Tarun, Kiran.
R1S1SanjayR1S2PriyaR2S1TarunR2S2Kiran
- Start: 24 ways to seat 4 people in two facing rows of 2.
- Clue 1 — "Kiran faces south." leaves 12 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Sanjay sits immediately to the left of Priya (both facing north)." leaves 2 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Sanjay sits directly opposite Tarun (they face each other)." leaves 1 possibility. The surviving seating is north row: Sanjay, Priya; south row: Tarun, Kiran.
- Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Sanjay, Priya; south row: Tarun, Kiran.
How to crack double-row seating puzzles faster
- Treat each row as an independent linear arrangement, then apply the cross-row clues last.
- "Faces" means the person opposite — use these clues as cross-row constraints to lock both rows at once.
- Draw two parallel rows on paper, fill each row independently, then check which cross-row pairs satisfy the remaining clues.
- "Immediately to the left/right of" applies within the same row only — cross-row facing is a different relationship.
FAQ
Who sits in the first seat of each row?
Sanjay, Priya sit in Row 1, and Tarun, Kiran sit in Row 2. Cross-reference with the facing clues to validate.
How do you solve double-row seating arrangement puzzles?
Solve each row independently first using linear-seating techniques, then apply cross-row constraints (facing, diagonally opposite) to find valid pairs. Draw two parallel rows and eliminate combinations that violate any clue.
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