The puzzle
Arjun, Farhan, Gauri, 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.
- Isha sits somewhere to the left of Arjun.
- Arjun sits somewhere to the left of Farhan.
- Exactly 1 person sits between Arjun and Farhan.
- Arjun sits immediately to the left of Gauri.
Question: What is the seating order from far-left to far-right?
Reveal the answer
Answer: Isha, Arjun, Gauri, Farhan (left to right).
Seat 1IshaSeat 2ArjunSeat 3GauriSeat 4Farhan
- Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
- Clue 1 — "Isha sits somewhere to the left of Arjun." leaves 12 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Arjun sits somewhere to the left of Farhan." leaves 4 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Arjun and Farhan." leaves 1 possibility.
- Clue 4 — "Arjun sits immediately to the left of Gauri." leaves 1 possibility.
- Exactly one order survives every clue — that is the answer.