The puzzle
Arjun, Harsh, Farhan, 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.
- Arjun sits immediately to the left of Farhan.
- Arjun sits somewhere to the left of Harsh.
- Isha sits immediately to the left of Harsh.
Question: What is the seating order from far-left to far-right?
Reveal the answer
Answer: Arjun, Farhan, Isha, Harsh (left to right).
Seat 1ArjunSeat 2FarhanSeat 3IshaSeat 4Harsh
- Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
- Clue 1 — "Arjun sits immediately to the left of Farhan." leaves 6 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Arjun sits somewhere to the left of Harsh." leaves 3 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Isha sits immediately to the left of Harsh." leaves 1 possibility.
- Exactly one order survives every clue — that is the answer.