Scheduling Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Deepak, Imran, Chetan, Sneha, Aditi, Vikram
The puzzle
Deepak, Imran, Chetan, Sneha, Aditi, Vikram — each have an appointment on a different day, Monday to Saturday — work out whose appointment falls on which day. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Vikram's appointment is NOT on the day immediately after Imran's.
- Imran's appointment is NOT on Monday.
- Aditi's appointment is on the day immediately before Sneha's.
- Chetan's appointment is on a later day of the week than Imran's.
- Aditi's appointment is on the day immediately after Vikram's.
- Sneha's appointment is on a later day of the week than Imran's.
- Deepak's appointment is NOT on the day immediately after Chetan's.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Monday: Deepak, Tuesday: Imran, Wednesday: Chetan, Thursday: Vikram, Friday: Aditi, Saturday: Sneha.
- Start: 720 possible schedules of 6 people across Monday–Saturday.
- Clue 3 — "Aditi's appointment is on the day immediately before Sneha's." narrows it to 120 possibilities.
- Clue 5 — "Aditi's appointment is on the day immediately after Vikram's." narrows it to 24 possibilities.
- Clue 4 — "Chetan's appointment is on a later day of the week than Imran's." narrows it to 12 possibilities.
- Clue 6 — "Sneha's appointment is on a later day of the week than Imran's." narrows it to 8 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Imran's appointment is NOT on Monday." ⇒ Deepak → Monday, Imran → Tuesday (2 possibilities left).
- Clue 1 — "Vikram's appointment is NOT on the day immediately after Imran's." ⇒ Chetan → Wednesday, Sneha → Saturday, Aditi → Friday, Vikram → Thursday (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?
Deepak's appointment is on Monday. The full schedule: Monday — Deepak, Tuesday — Imran, Wednesday — Chetan, Thursday — Vikram, Friday — Aditi, Saturday — Sneha.
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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