Scheduling Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Chetan, Lata, Uma, Vikram, Esha
The puzzle
Chetan, Lata, Uma, Vikram, Esha — each have an appointment on a different day, Monday to Friday — work out whose appointment falls on which day. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Uma's appointment is on Thursday.
- Esha's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Uma's.
- Chetan's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Lata's.
- There are exactly 2 days between Vikram's and Esha's appointments.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Monday: Chetan, Tuesday: Esha, Wednesday: Lata, Thursday: Uma, Friday: Vikram.
- Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
- Clue 1 — "Uma's appointment is on Thursday." ⇒ Uma → Thursday (24 possibilities left).
- Clue 4 — "There are exactly 2 days between Vikram's and Esha's appointments." narrows it to 4 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Esha's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Uma's." ⇒ Vikram → Friday, Esha → Tuesday (2 possibilities left).
- Clue 3 — "Chetan's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Lata's." ⇒ Chetan → Monday, Lata → Wednesday (1 possibility left).
- Exactly one schedule survives every clue — that is the answer.
How to crack scheduling puzzles faster
- Write the days in a column first — a fixed frame beats re-reading "Monday to Saturday" per clue.
- Lock every direct day anchor ("P's appointment is on Wednesday") before touching a relative clue.
- "Immediately before/after" is an adjacent pair — slide it along the free days like a block.
- "Exactly k days between" works in both directions — test the earlier AND the later placement.
FAQ
Whose appointment is on Monday in this puzzle?
Chetan's appointment is on Monday. The full schedule: Monday — Chetan, Tuesday — Esha, Wednesday — Lata, Thursday — Uma, Friday — Vikram.
How do you solve scheduling puzzles for bank exams?
Draw the days as a column (Monday downward), fix the direct day anchors first, then place immediately-before/after pairs and count 'days between' gaps in both directions. Eliminate until one schedule satisfies every clue.
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