DeduceEXAM-GRADE DAILY REASONING

Puzzle questions for bank exams, with worked answers

A prelims paper does not label its puzzles, so this set does not either. The twelve puzzle questions for bank exams below rotate through the six arrangement families IBPS and SBI actually set — floors, round tables, rows, parallel rows, box stacks and schedules — in the order you would meet them cold. Every one is engine-generated and proved single-solution before baking.

Download the PDF — 12 questions with answers

Free, ungated, no email. This is the reasoning puzzle questions with answers PDF — the same 12 questions as below, with every worked solution at the back, ready to print.

How to use this set

The 12 questions below are ordered the way an exam block is rather than easiest-first: two gentle openers, then a run of medium, and a hard one every sixth question — 2 of the 12 sit in the hard band. The set mixes floor arrangement, row seating, circular seating, box arrangement, scheduling puzzle and double-row (facing) seating, in the round-robin the paper itself sets rather than one form at a time.

Work each question on paper before you open its solution. The walkthrough is the solver's own elimination order, step for step, so reading it first turns a practice set into a reading exercise and teaches nothing. If you are stuck on the method rather than on one question, the method guide is a better place to start than the next question: All reasoning topics, with the method for each.

12 puzzle questions for bank exams with answers

Every question below was generated by the same engine that mints the Deduce daily puzzle round, and machine-checked before it reached this page — a puzzle only ships once the solver has confirmed exactly one valid arrangement exists, so a clue set admitting two answers, or none, cannot reach you. The walkthrough is the engine's own.

Question 1

4 people live in a 4-storey building, one person on each floor — floor 1 is the ground floor and floor 4 is the top.

  1. Sanjay lives on a floor somewhere above Jaya.
  2. There are exactly 2 floors between Jaya and Harsh.
  3. Sneha lives on an even-numbered floor.

Can you work out who lives on each floor?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible arrangements of 4 people.
  2. Clue 2 — "There are exactly 2 floors between Jaya and Harsh." narrows it to 4 possibilities. Board (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 3 — "Sneha lives on an even-numbered floor." ⇒ Sanjay → floor 3, Sneha → floor 2 (2 possibilities left). Board (top → bottom): _ · Sanjay · Sneha · _
  4. Clue 1 — "Sanjay lives on a floor somewhere above Jaya." ⇒ Jaya → floor 1, Harsh → floor 4 (1 possibility left). Board (top → bottom): Harsh · Sanjay · Sneha · Jaya
  5. Exactly one arrangement survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 2

4 people sit in a row, all facing the same way — seat 1 is the far left, seat 4 the far right.

  1. Varun sits somewhere to the left of Tanvi.
  2. Neha sits immediately to the right of Varun.
  3. Tanvi sits somewhere to the left of Geeta.

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
  2. Clue 2 — "Neha sits immediately to the right of Varun." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 1 — "Varun sits somewhere to the left of Tanvi." narrows it to 3 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Tanvi sits somewhere to the left of Geeta." ⇒ Neha → seat 2, Varun → seat 1, Geeta → seat 4, Tanvi → seat 3 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Varun · Neha · Tanvi · Geeta
  5. Exactly one order survives every clue: Varun, Neha, Tanvi, Geeta (left to right).

Question 3

6 people sit around a round table, all facing the centre.

  1. Imran sits 2nd to the right of Jaya (all facing the centre).
  2. Kiran sits immediately to the right of Imran (all facing the centre).
  3. Harsh sits immediately to the right of Pooja (all facing the centre).
  4. Jaya sits immediately to the left of Tarun (all facing the centre).

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 distinct seatings (up to rotation) of 6 people around the table. Fix Harsh at seat 1 and count clockwise — only rotations of the same seating differ.
  2. Clue 1 — "Imran sits 2nd to the right of Jaya (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Kiran sits immediately to the right of Imran (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Harsh sits immediately to the right of Pooja (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Jaya → seat 6, Pooja → seat 2, Tarun → seat 5, Imran → seat 4, Kiran → seat 3 (1 possibility left). Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · Pooja · Kiran · Imran · Tarun · Jaya
  5. Exactly one seating (up to rotation) survives every clue: Harsh, Pooja, Kiran, Imran, Tarun, Jaya clockwise.

Question 4

5 boxes are stacked one above another — position 1 is the bottom box and position 5 the top.

  1. Box C is kept somewhere above Box A.
  2. Box A is kept immediately below Box D.
  3. Box F is kept immediately below Box G.
  4. Box F is kept immediately above Box D.

Can you work out which box sits at each position?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible stackings of 5 boxes.
  2. Clue 2 — "Box A is kept immediately below Box D." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 3 — "Box F is kept immediately below Box G." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 4 — "Box F is kept immediately above Box D." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 1 — "Box C is kept somewhere above Box A." ⇒ Box F → position 3, Box C → position 5 (top), Box G → position 4, Box D → position 2, Box A → position 1 (bottom) (1 possibility left). Stack (top → bottom): Box C · Box G · Box F · Box D · Box A
  6. Exactly one stacking survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 5

5 events are scheduled in 5 ordered time slots, one event per slot.

  1. There are exactly 3 days between Meera's and Jaya's appointments.
  2. Uma's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Lata's.
  3. Rohan's appointment is on a later day of the week than Jaya's.
  4. Rohan's appointment is on a later day of the week than Lata's.

Can you work out which event falls in each slot?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
  2. Clue 1 — "There are exactly 3 days between Meera's and Jaya's appointments." narrows it to 12 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Uma's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Lata's." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Rohan's appointment is on a later day of the week than Jaya's." ⇒ Meera → Friday, Jaya → Monday (3 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): Jaya · _ · _ · _ · Meera
  5. Clue 4 — "Rohan's appointment is on a later day of the week than Lata's." ⇒ Rohan → Thursday, Lata → Wednesday, Uma → Tuesday (1 possibility left). Board (Monday → Friday): Jaya · Uma · Lata · Rohan · Meera
  6. Exactly one schedule survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 6

6 people sit in two parallel rows facing each other — one row faces north, the other faces south, and each person sits directly opposite exactly one other.

  1. Gauri sits immediately to the left of Uma (both facing north).
  2. Gauri sits 2nd to the left of Meera (both facing north).
  3. Imran sits 2nd to the left of Sanjay (both facing south).
  4. Uma faces north.
  5. Aditi does NOT sit directly opposite Imran.

Can you work out who sits in each seat, in both rows?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 720 ways to seat 6 people in two facing rows of 3.
  2. Clue 4 — "Uma faces north." narrows it to 360 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 1 — "Gauri sits immediately to the left of Uma (both facing north)." narrows it to 48 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 2 — "Gauri sits 2nd to the left of Meera (both facing north)." ⇒ Uma → the north-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Meera → the north-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Gauri → the north-facing row, column 1 (1 = west) (6 possibilities left). Board — North (W→E): Gauri · Uma · Meera | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 3 — "Imran sits 2nd to the left of Sanjay (both facing south)." ⇒ Aditi → the south-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Imran → the south-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Sanjay → the south-facing row, column 1 (1 = west) (1 possibility left). Board — North (W→E): Gauri · Uma · Meera | South (W→E): Sanjay · Aditi · Imran
  6. Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Gauri, Uma, Meera; south row: Sanjay, Aditi, Imran.

Question 7

4 people live in a 4-storey building, one person on each floor — floor 1 is the ground floor and floor 4 is the top.

  1. Manish lives on the floor immediately above Uma.
  2. There is exactly 1 floor between Uma and Divya.
  3. Divya lives on a floor somewhere above Isha.

Can you work out who lives on each floor?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible arrangements of 4 people.
  2. Clue 1 — "Manish lives on the floor immediately above Uma." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "There is exactly 1 floor between Uma and Divya." narrows it to 3 possibilities. Board (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Divya lives on a floor somewhere above Isha." ⇒ Isha → floor 1, Uma → floor 2, Divya → floor 4, Manish → floor 3 (1 possibility left). Board (top → bottom): Divya · Manish · Uma · Isha
  5. Exactly one arrangement survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 8

4 people sit in a row, all facing the same way — seat 1 is the far left, seat 4 the far right.

  1. Neha sits immediately to the right of Pooja.
  2. Neha sits immediately to the left of Uma.
  3. Uma sits at the far-right (extreme) end of the row.
  4. Anjali sits at the far-left (extreme) end of the row.

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
  2. Clue 4 — "Anjali sits at the far-left (extreme) end of the row." ⇒ Anjali → seat 1 (6 possibilities left). Board (left → right): Anjali · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 3 — "Uma sits at the far-right (extreme) end of the row." ⇒ Uma → seat 4 (2 possibilities left). Board (left → right): Anjali · _ · _ · Uma
  4. Clue 1 — "Neha sits immediately to the right of Pooja." ⇒ Neha → seat 3, Pooja → seat 2 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Anjali · Pooja · Neha · Uma
  5. Exactly one order survives every clue: Anjali, Pooja, Neha, Uma (left to right).

Question 9

6 people sit around a round table, all facing the centre.

  1. Varun sits 3rd to the left of Kiran (all facing the centre).
  2. Vikram sits immediately to the right of Tanvi (all facing the centre).
  3. Exactly 1 person sits between Manish and Varun (the shorter way).
  4. Varun sits next to Vikram.
  5. Tarun sits 2nd to the right of Vikram (all facing the centre).

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 distinct seatings (up to rotation) of 6 people around the table. Fix Kiran at seat 1 and count clockwise — only rotations of the same seating differ.
  2. Clue 1 — "Varun sits 3rd to the left of Kiran (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Varun → seat 4 (24 possibilities left). Table (clockwise from Kiran): Kiran · _ · _ · Varun · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Vikram sits immediately to the right of Tanvi (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 4 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Kiran): Kiran · _ · _ · Varun · _ · _
  4. Clue 5 — "Tarun sits 2nd to the right of Vikram (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Kiran): Kiran · _ · _ · Varun · _ · _
  5. Clue 3 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Manish and Varun (the shorter way)." ⇒ Manish → seat 2, Tanvi → seat 6, Tarun → seat 3, Vikram → seat 5 (1 possibility left). Table (clockwise from Kiran): Kiran · Manish · Tarun · Varun · Vikram · Tanvi
  6. Exactly one seating (up to rotation) survives every clue: Kiran, Manish, Tarun, Varun, Vikram, Tanvi clockwise.

Question 10

5 boxes are stacked one above another — position 1 is the bottom box and position 5 the top.

  1. Box H is kept immediately above Box A.
  2. Box F is kept immediately above Box C.
  3. Box G is kept somewhere below Box H.
  4. Box C is kept somewhere below Box G.

Can you work out which box sits at each position?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible stackings of 5 boxes.
  2. Clue 1 — "Box H is kept immediately above Box A." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Box F is kept immediately above Box C." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Box G is kept somewhere below Box H." narrows it to 3 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 4 — "Box C is kept somewhere below Box G." ⇒ Box C → position 1 (bottom), Box G → position 3, Box H → position 5 (top), Box F → position 2, Box A → position 4 (1 possibility left). Stack (top → bottom): Box H · Box A · Box G · Box F · Box C
  6. Exactly one stacking survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 11

5 events are scheduled in 5 ordered time slots, one event per slot.

  1. There is exactly 1 day between Zoya's and Isha's appointments.
  2. Uma's appointment is on a later day of the week than Zoya's.
  3. Uma's appointment is on Thursday.
  4. Varun's appointment is on Monday.
  5. Varun's appointment is on an earlier day of the week than Rohan's.

Can you work out which event falls in each slot?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
  2. Clue 3 — "Uma's appointment is on Thursday." ⇒ Uma → Thursday (24 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · Uma · _
  3. Clue 4 — "Varun's appointment is on Monday." ⇒ Varun → Monday (6 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): Varun · _ · _ · Uma · _
  4. Clue 1 — "There is exactly 1 day between Zoya's and Isha's appointments." ⇒ Rohan → Tuesday (2 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): Varun · Rohan · _ · Uma · _
  5. Clue 2 — "Uma's appointment is on a later day of the week than Zoya's." ⇒ Zoya → Wednesday, Isha → Friday (1 possibility left). Board (Monday → Friday): Varun · Rohan · Zoya · Uma · Isha
  6. Exactly one schedule survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 12

6 people sit in two parallel rows facing each other — one row faces north, the other faces south, and each person sits directly opposite exactly one other.

  1. Lata does NOT sit directly opposite Sanjay.
  2. Esha sits 2nd to the left of Bhavna (both facing north).
  3. Esha sits immediately to the left of Lata (both facing north).
  4. Meera sits immediately to the left of Sanjay (both facing south).
  5. Bhavna faces north.
  6. Exactly 1 person sits between Neha and Sanjay in the same row.

Can you work out who sits in each seat, in both rows?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 720 ways to seat 6 people in two facing rows of 3.
  2. Clue 5 — "Bhavna faces north." narrows it to 360 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Esha sits 2nd to the left of Bhavna (both facing north)." ⇒ Esha → the north-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Bhavna → the north-facing row, column 3 (1 = west) (24 possibilities left). Board — North (W→E): Esha · _ · Bhavna | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Esha sits immediately to the left of Lata (both facing north)." ⇒ Lata → the north-facing row, column 2 (1 = west) (6 possibilities left). Board — North (W→E): Esha · Lata · Bhavna | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 4 — "Meera sits immediately to the left of Sanjay (both facing south)." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): Esha · Lata · Bhavna | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  6. Clue 6 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Neha and Sanjay in the same row." ⇒ Neha → the south-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Meera → the south-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Sanjay → the south-facing row, column 1 (1 = west) (1 possibility left). Board — North (W→E): Esha · Lata · Bhavna | South (W→E): Sanjay · Meera · Neha
  7. Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Esha, Lata, Bhavna; south row: Sanjay, Meera, Neha.
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Where these questions come from

Most free practice for this topic is a scanned upload or a blog quiz, and neither can tell you a question has exactly one answer. That is the one thing this set can promise: it is minted, not typed. The engine behind it serves Deduce's daily puzzle round, so the questions here are the same shape as the ones a live round would give you — and there is an unlimited supply of them, which is why this page can be regenerated rather than padded.

If you want the method rather than more questions, All reasoning topics, with the method for each covers the approach, the traps and a worked table. This page and that one deliberately answer different questions: that one is how do I solve these, this one is give me puzzle questions for bank exams with the answers.

FAQ

How many puzzle sets appear in a bank prelims paper?

IBPS and SBI prelims typically carry two or three arrangement sets of five questions each, so roughly a third of the reasoning section hangs on this one skill. Mains papers go further and often build a set on two constraints at once, such as a floor plus a flat number.

Which puzzle type should I practise first?

Linear rows, then floors. Both are single-axis, so a wrong placement shows up quickly and you learn to spot it. Circular tables and parallel rows add a facing direction, which is where most avoidable mistakes come from, and they are worth attempting only once the single-axis method is automatic.

Why does every puzzle here have exactly one answer?

Because it is checked. The generator counts the solutions a clue set admits and discards anything that is not exactly one before the puzzle is written to the page. Most free practice online is a scanned upload that nobody can make that promise about.

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