Floor Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Varun, Vikram, Priya, Pooja, Isha, Kiran
The puzzle
Varun, Vikram, Priya, Pooja, Isha, Kiran — live on different floors — floor 1 is the lowest, floor 6 is the topmost. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Priya lives on neither the topmost nor the lowest floor.
- Isha and Kiran do NOT live on adjacent floors.
- Priya and Kiran do NOT live on adjacent floors.
- Pooja and Isha do NOT live on adjacent floors.
- Priya and Isha do NOT live on adjacent floors.
- Vikram and Priya do NOT live on adjacent floors.
- Kiran lives on neither the topmost nor the lowest floor.
- Varun and Isha do NOT live on adjacent floors.
- Pooja lives on neither the topmost nor the lowest floor.
- Isha lives on a floor somewhere above Vikram.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Floor 6: Isha (top) down to Floor 1: Varun (lowest).
- Start: 720 possible arrangements of 6 people.
- Clue 10 — "Isha lives on a floor somewhere above Vikram." narrows it to 360 possibilities.
- Clue 1 — "Priya lives on neither the topmost nor the lowest floor." narrows it to 240 possibilities.
- Clue 7 — "Kiran lives on neither the topmost nor the lowest floor." narrows it to 144 possibilities.
- Clue 9 — "Pooja lives on neither the topmost nor the lowest floor." narrows it to 72 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Isha and Kiran do NOT live on adjacent floors." narrows it to 48 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Priya and Kiran do NOT live on adjacent floors." narrows it to 20 possibilities.
- Clue 4 — "Pooja and Isha do NOT live on adjacent floors." narrows it to 14 possibilities.
- Clue 5 — "Priya and Isha do NOT live on adjacent floors." ⇒ Pooja → floor 3, Isha → floor 6 (4 possibilities left).
- Clue 6 — "Vikram and Priya do NOT live on adjacent floors." narrows it to 2 possibilities.
- Clue 8 — "Varun and Isha do NOT live on adjacent floors." ⇒ Varun → floor 1, Vikram → floor 5, Priya → floor 2, Kiran → floor 4 (1 possibility left).
- Exactly one arrangement survives every clue — that is the answer.
How to crack floor arrangement puzzles faster
- Floor puzzles are vertical rows — treat floor 1 as "leftmost" and floor N as "rightmost" in your mental model.
- "Lives above" means a higher floor number. "Immediately above" means exactly one floor apart.
- "Exactly k floors between" gives a fixed vertical gap — try it at each valid pair of floors.
- Write the floor numbers 1 to N on paper and fill names as you lock positions — the visual stack prevents errors.
FAQ
Who lives on the top floor?
Isha lives on the top floor. The full arrangement from top to bottom: Isha, Vikram, Kiran, Pooja, Priya, Varun.
How do you solve floor arrangement puzzles for bank exams?
Treat floors as a vertical stack: lock the topmost and lowest first, then place intermediate floors using 'above/below' clues. Transfer the stack to paper numbered 1 to N and fill names as each clue eliminates possibilities.
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