Floor Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Jaya, Esha, Varun, Pooja, Manish
The puzzle
Jaya, Esha, Varun, Pooja, Manish — live on different floors — floor 1 is the lowest, floor 5 is the topmost. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Jaya lives on an even-numbered floor.
- There are exactly 2 floors between Varun and Pooja.
- Esha lives on the lowest floor.
- Pooja lives on an odd-numbered floor.
- There is exactly 1 floor between Esha and Manish.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Floor 5: Pooja (top) down to Floor 1: Esha (lowest).
- Start: 120 possible arrangements of 5 people.
- Clue 3 — "Esha lives on the lowest floor." ⇒ Esha → floor 1 (24 possibilities left).
- Clue 2 — "There are exactly 2 floors between Varun and Pooja." narrows it to 4 possibilities.
- Clue 5 — "There is exactly 1 floor between Esha and Manish." ⇒ Jaya → floor 4, Manish → floor 3 (2 possibilities left).
- Clue 4 — "Pooja lives on an odd-numbered floor." ⇒ Varun → floor 2, Pooja → floor 5 (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?
Pooja lives on the top floor. The full arrangement from top to bottom: Pooja, Jaya, Manish, Varun, Esha.
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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