The puzzle
Esha, Karan, 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.
- Harsh sits immediately to the left of Bhavna.
- Exactly 1 person sits between Karan and Bhavna.
- Bhavna sits at the far-right (extreme) end of the row.
- Esha sits somewhere to the left of Bhavna.
Question: What is the seating order from far-left to far-right?
Reveal the answer
Answer: Esha, Karan, Harsh, Bhavna (left to right).
Seat 1EshaSeat 2KaranSeat 3HarshSeat 4Bhavna
- Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
- Clue 1 — "Harsh sits immediately to the left of Bhavna." leaves 6 possibilities.
- Clue 2 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Karan and Bhavna." leaves 3 possibilities.
- Clue 3 — "Bhavna sits at the far-right (extreme) end of the row." leaves 1 possibility.
- Clue 4 — "Esha sits somewhere to the left of Bhavna." leaves 1 possibility.
- Exactly one order survives every clue — that is the answer.