Row Seating Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Kiran, Lata, Rohan, Uma, Aditi
2026-07-03
Medium · 4 clues · 5 people
IBPS PO · SBI Clerk · SSC
The puzzle
Kiran, Lata, Rohan, Uma, Aditi — 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.
- Lata sits somewhere to the left of Aditi.
- Kiran sits immediately to the left of Uma.
- Kiran sits somewhere to the left of Lata.
- Rohan sits immediately to the right of Lata.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Kiran, Uma, Lata, Rohan, Aditi (left to right).
Seat 1KiranSeat 2UmaSeat 3LataSeat 4RohanSeat 5Aditi
- Start: 120 possible left-to-right orders of 5 people.
- Clue 1 — "Lata sits somewhere to the left of Aditi." leaves 60 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Kiran sits immediately to the left of Uma." leaves 12 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Kiran sits somewhere to the left of Lata." leaves 4 possibilities.
- Clue 4 — "Rohan sits immediately to the right of Lata." leaves 1 possibility. The surviving order is Kiran, Uma, Lata, Rohan, Aditi (left to right).
- Exactly one order survives every clue: Kiran, Uma, Lata, Rohan, Aditi (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?
Lata sits in seat 3. The full order: Kiran, Uma, Lata, Rohan, Aditi (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.
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