Who sits in the middle (seat 2) in this seating arrangement?

Farhan sits in seat 2. The full order from far-left to far-right is: Isha, Farhan, Karan, Gauri (left to right).

How do you solve linear seating arrangement puzzles for bank exams?

Fix any direct positions first (far-left / far-right ends), then apply the relative clues (left of, immediately left, exactly k between). Eliminate impossible orders until a single arrangement satisfies every clue.

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Seating Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Isha, Gauri, Farhan, Karan

2026-05-21 IBPS PO · SBI Clerk · SSC 3 clues · 4 people

The puzzle

Isha, Gauri, Farhan, Karan 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.

Karan sits somewhere to the left of Gauri.
Isha sits somewhere to the left of Karan.
Isha sits immediately to the left of Farhan.

Question: What is the seating order from far-left to far-right?

Reveal the answer

Answer: Isha, Farhan, Karan, Gauri (left to right).

Seat 1IshaSeat 2FarhanSeat 3KaranSeat 4Gauri

Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
Clue 1 — "Karan sits somewhere to the left of Gauri." leaves 12 possibilities.
Clue 2 — "Isha sits somewhere to the left of Karan." leaves 4 possibilities.
Clue 3 — "Isha sits immediately to the left of Farhan." leaves 1 possibility.
Exactly one order survives every clue — that is the answer.

How to crack linear seating puzzles faster

Lock the ends first — any "far-left / far-right" clue fixes a seat instantly.
Convert "immediately to the left/right" into adjacent pairs and slide them along the row.
"Exactly k people between" gives a fixed gap — try it at each valid position.
Eliminate, don't guess: each clue should cut the possibilities until one order remains.

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