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