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