P, Q, R, S, T, U, V & W are eight friends sitting in a circle, facing towards…
2025
P, Q, R, S, T, U, V & W are eight friends sitting in a circle, facing towards the centre. (i) W is to the immediate left of P, but is not the neighbour of T and S. (ii) U is to the immediate right of Q, and V is a neighbour of T. (iii) R is between T and U. What is the position of V?
- A.
To the immediate right of W
- B.
Between T and U
- C.
Third to the right of U
- D.
Second to the left of S
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: When people sit in a circle facing the centre, each person's LEFT hand points in the clockwise (CW) direction around the circle, and their RIGHT hand points in the counter-clockwise (CCW) direction. So "immediate left of X" means the very next person moving clockwise from X, and "nth to the right of X" means the person reached by counting n steps in the counter-clockwise direction from X.
From clue (i), W is the immediate left of P: since left means clockwise, moving clockwise P is immediately followed by W, giving the sequence …, P, W, … .
From clue (ii), U is the immediate right of Q: since right means counter-clockwise, moving clockwise U is immediately followed by Q, giving the sequence …, U, Q, … .
From clue (iii), R is between T and U. Since U's clockwise-next seat is already fixed as Q, R must be U's other neighbour, and T must be R's other neighbour, giving: …, T, R, U, Q, … .
Clue (ii) also states V is a neighbour of T. T's one neighbour is already R, so V must be T's other neighbour, extending the block to: …, V, T, R, U, Q, … — five friends are now fixed consecutively.
The remaining three seats, for P, S and W, lie consecutively between Q and V (going clockwise). Clue (i) requires P immediately followed by W, and clue (i) also forbids W from being a neighbour of T or S.
Testing the possible orders of S, P, W in those three seats, only Q, S, P, W, (V) keeps W away from both T and S; placing W next to S in any other order breaks that condition.
This gives the complete clockwise seating: V, T, R, U, Q, S, P, W (and back to V), equivalently, starting from P: P, W, V, T, R, U, Q, S.
Counting to the right (counter-clockwise) from U: one step reaches R, two steps reach T, three steps reach V.
Cross-check: Reading this order clockwise from P confirms every clue at once — P is followed by W (clue i), W sits away from both T and S (clue i), V is next to T (clue ii), T-R-U appear consecutively (clue iii), and U is followed by Q (clue ii). So V is third to the right of U.