Scheduling Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Chetan, Zoya, Aditi, Anjali, Tarun
The puzzle
Chetan, Zoya, Aditi, Anjali, Tarun — 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.
- Zoya's appointment is on a later day of the week than Anjali's.
- There is exactly 1 day between Chetan's and Zoya's appointments.
- Zoya's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Aditi's.
- Anjali's appointment is on Wednesday.
- Tarun's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Zoya's.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Monday: Tarun, Tuesday: Chetan, Wednesday: Anjali, Thursday: Zoya, Friday: Aditi.
- Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
- Clue 4 — "Anjali's appointment is on Wednesday." ⇒ Anjali → Wednesday (24 possibilities left).
- Clue 2 — "There is exactly 1 day between Chetan's and Zoya's appointments." narrows it to 4 possibilities.
- Clue 1 — "Zoya's appointment is on a later day of the week than Anjali's." ⇒ Chetan → Tuesday, Zoya → Thursday (2 possibilities left).
- Clue 3 — "Zoya's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Aditi's." ⇒ Aditi → Friday, Tarun → Monday (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?
Tarun's appointment is on Monday. The full schedule: Monday — Tarun, Tuesday — Chetan, Wednesday — Anjali, Thursday — Zoya, Friday — Aditi.
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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