The puzzle
Farhan, Bhavna, Divya, Isha sit in a single row, all facing north. Seat 1 is the far-left end and seat 4 is the far-right end. Using the clues below, work out the order from left to right.
- Bhavna sits at the far-left (extreme) end of the row.
- Isha sits at the far-right (extreme) end of the row.
- Bhavna sits immediately to the left of Farhan.
- Farhan sits somewhere to the left of Divya.
Question: What is the seating order from far-left to far-right?
Reveal the answer
Answer: Bhavna, Farhan, Divya, Isha (left to right).
Seat 1BhavnaSeat 2FarhanSeat 3DivyaSeat 4Isha
- Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
- Clue 1 — "Bhavna sits at the far-left (extreme) end of the row." leaves 6 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Isha sits at the far-right (extreme) end of the row." leaves 2 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Bhavna sits immediately to the left of Farhan." leaves 1 possibility.
- Clue 4 — "Farhan sits somewhere to the left of Divya." leaves 1 possibility.
- Exactly one order survives every clue — that is the answer.