Read the following information given below and answer the questions that…

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Read the following information given below and answer the questions that follow.

i. P, Q, R, S, T, U and V are seven friends and are sitting in a circle facing the centre of the circle.

ii. V is second to the left of S and is the neighbour of T and U.

iii. S is not a neighbour of R or T.

iv. P is a neighbour of Q and R.

Which of the following is correct?

  1. A.

    Q is between P and S.

  2. B.

    S is between U and P.

  3. C.

    T is to the immediate right of V.

  4. D.

    U is to the immediate left of V.

Attempted by 1 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A

In a circular seating arrangement where everyone faces the centre, 'left' and 'right' refer to two fixed opposite directions along the same rotation of the ring — moving one seat to a person's left always advances the arrangement the same way, and moving to their right reverses it. Each clue — a neighbour pair, an 'nth to the left/right' relation, or a negative constraint ruling out a pairing — eliminates possible orders until exactly one consistent circular seating remains; the puzzle is solved by anchoring one person, applying the positional clues in sequence, and using the negative clues to resolve any remaining ambiguity.

  1. Fix S as the reference point. Since V is second to the left of S, counting two seats in the left direction from S lands on V.

  2. V's two neighbours are given as T and U. The seat immediately to S's left (one step before reaching V) must be one of these two neighbours. Since S cannot be a neighbour of T, that shared seat must be U, which places T on the far side of V from S.

  3. This fixes four consecutive seats in order: S, then U, then V, then T.

  4. The remaining three seats hold P, Q and R. Since P is a neighbour of both Q and R, P must sit between them, so these three seats form the block Q-P-R or R-P-Q.

  5. One end of this three-seat block sits next to S (closing the circle) and the other end sits next to T. Since S cannot be a neighbour of R, R cannot take the seat next to S — so R must sit next to T, and Q must take the seat next to S.

  6. The complete arrangement, reading around the circle, is: S, U, V, T, R, P, Q, and back to S.

Cross-check against every clue:

  • V's neighbours are U and T, matching the given clue.

  • S's neighbours are U and Q — neither R nor T — matching the negative constraint.

  • P's neighbours are R and Q, matching the given clue.

  • V is exactly two seats to the left of S (S -> U -> V), matching the positional clue.

Q's two neighbours in this arrangement are P and S, so this is the correct statement.

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