Study the following information carefully and answer the given questions:…

2024

Study the following information carefully and answer the given questions:
Seven persons A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are sitting around a circular table, but not necessarily in the same order. Some of them face towards the centre, and some face away from the centre. F sits third to the right of A. The immediate neighbours of A face the same direction but opposite as A. A faces the same direction as B but not towards the centre. One person sits between A and C. D sits 2nd to the left of C. E sits 2nd to the left of G and face in the same direction. F and D face opposite direction as E.

How many persons sit between B and F (counting clockwise from F)?

  1. A.

    One

  2. B.

    Three

  3. C.

    Four

  4. D.

    Two

  5. E.

    None

Attempted by 4 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A

Concept

In circular-seating direction puzzles, a person's left and right depend on which way they face. A person facing the centre has their right hand pointing in the anticlockwise direction and their left in the clockwise direction; a person facing away from the centre has this reversed (right = clockwise, left = anticlockwise). Fixing one person and applying each positional and direction clue in turn pins down a single seating order.

Applying the clues

  1. A faces away from the centre (“not towards the centre”), and B faces the same way as A, so B also faces outward.

  2. Place A and read “F sits third to the right of A” with A facing outward (right = clockwise): moving three seats clockwise from A lands on F. So A and F sit with two seats between them on that side.

  3. “The immediate neighbours of A face the same direction as each other but opposite to A”: since A faces outward, both seat-neighbours of A face inward — these turn out to be E and G.

  4. “One person sits between A and C” places C two seats from A; “D sits 2nd to the left of C” then fixes D relative to C using C's facing.

  5. “E sits 2nd to the left of G and faces the same direction”, and “F and D face opposite to E”, fix the remaining directions. These constraints are satisfied by exactly one arrangement.

The unique arrangement

Reading clockwise, the seating is: A (outward), E (inward), C (inward), F (outward), D (outward), B (outward), G (inward). Every clue checks out against this single layout.

Counting clockwise from F to B

Starting at F and moving clockwise, the next seat is D, and the seat after that is B. So between F and B (clockwise from F) there is just one person, namely D.

Cross-check

Counting the other way (anticlockwise from F to B) would pass G, A, E and C — four people — confirming that the short clockwise arc is the intended count and that exactly one person sits between them clockwise.

Answer: One.

Explore the full course: Niacl Ao It Specialist