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