Box Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Box A, Box F, Box C, Box E, Box H, Box D
The puzzle
Box A, Box F, Box C, Box E, Box H, Box D — are kept one above another in a stack — position 1 is the bottom, position 6 the top. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Box C is NOT kept adjacent to Box H.
- Box F is NOT kept adjacent to Box D.
- Box A is NOT kept adjacent to Box D.
- Box F is NOT kept adjacent to Box H.
- Box E is NOT kept adjacent to Box H.
- Box E is kept neither at the top nor at the bottom of the stack.
- Box C is kept neither at the top nor at the bottom of the stack.
- Box E is NOT kept adjacent to Box D.
- Box C is NOT kept adjacent to Box D.
- Box A is NOT kept adjacent to Box E.
- Box A is kept somewhere below Box H.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Position 6: Box D (top) down to Position 1: Box F (bottom).
- Start: 720 possible stackings of 6 boxes.
- Clue 11 — "Box A is kept somewhere below Box H." narrows it to 360 possibilities.
- Clue 6 — "Box E is kept neither at the top nor at the bottom of the stack." narrows it to 240 possibilities.
- Clue 7 — "Box C is kept neither at the top nor at the bottom of the stack." narrows it to 144 possibilities.
- Clue 1 — "Box C is NOT kept adjacent to Box H." narrows it to 90 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Box F is NOT kept adjacent to Box D." narrows it to 70 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Box A is NOT kept adjacent to Box D." narrows it to 52 possibilities.
- Clue 4 — "Box F is NOT kept adjacent to Box H." narrows it to 33 possibilities.
- Clue 5 — "Box E is NOT kept adjacent to Box H." narrows it to 18 possibilities.
- Clue 8 — "Box E is NOT kept adjacent to Box D." narrows it to 9 possibilities.
- Clue 9 — "Box C is NOT kept adjacent to Box D." ⇒ Box A → position 4, Box F → position 1 (bottom), Box H → position 5, Box D → position 6 (top) (2 possibilities left).
- Clue 10 — "Box A is NOT kept adjacent to Box E." ⇒ Box C → position 3, Box E → position 2 (1 possibility left).
- Exactly one stacking survives every clue — that is the answer.
How to crack box arrangement puzzles faster
- A box stack is a vertical row — number positions 1 (bottom) to N (top) on paper before reading a single clue.
- Lock the ends first — "at the top / at the bottom / k-th from the top" fixes a position instantly.
- "Exactly k boxes between" gives a fixed vertical gap — try it at each valid pair of positions, in both directions.
- "Kept above" only means somewhere higher — never assume adjacency unless the clue says "immediately".
FAQ
Which box is kept at the top of the stack?
Box D is kept at the top. The full stack from top to bottom: Box D, Box H, Box A, Box C, Box E, Box F.
How do you solve box arrangement puzzles for bank exams?
Treat the stack as a vertical line numbered 1 (bottom) to N (top). Place the absolute clues first (top, bottom, k-th from an end), then apply above/below and exactly-k-between clues, eliminating positions until a single stacking satisfies every clue.
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