The puzzle
Farhan, Divya, Harsh, Bhavna 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 somewhere to the left of Farhan.
- Bhavna sits somewhere to the left of Divya.
- Exactly 1 person sits between Farhan and Divya.
- Harsh sits somewhere to the left of Farhan.
Question: What is the seating order from far-left to far-right?
Reveal the answer
Answer: Bhavna, Divya, Harsh, Farhan (left to right).
Seat 1BhavnaSeat 2DivyaSeat 3HarshSeat 4Farhan
- Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
- Clue 1 — "Bhavna sits somewhere to the left of Farhan." leaves 12 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Bhavna sits somewhere to the left of Divya." leaves 8 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Farhan and Divya." leaves 2 possibilities.
- Clue 4 — "Harsh sits somewhere to the left of Farhan." leaves 1 possibility.
- Exactly one order survives every clue — that is the answer.