Q, U, I, L, T and S live on six different floors of the same building. The…
2026
Q, U, I, L, T and S live on six different floors of the same building. The lowermost floor in the building is numbered 1, the floor above it is numbered 2 and so on till the topmost floor is numbered 6. Q lives on the topmost floor. Only three people live between Q and L. T lives on a floor below L. U lives on an even numbered floor. I lives on an odd numbered floor but not on floor number 5. How many people live between S and L?
Answer: B. Two — Concept. In a floor-arrangement puzzle, saying that exactly n people live between two residents means n floors lie strictly between them, so their floor…
- A.
One
- B.
Two
- C.
Four
- D.
Three
Attempted by 25 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept. In a floor-arrangement puzzle, saying that exactly n people live between two residents means n floors lie strictly between them, so their floor numbers differ by n + 1; the residents themselves are never counted. Such a puzzle is solved by first fixing the clue that pins an absolute position, then using each remaining clue to eliminate floors until only one assignment of people to floors survives.
Application. The six floors are numbered 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest), and each of Q, U, I, L, T and S occupies exactly one of them.
Q lives on the topmost floor, so Q is on floor 6.
Exactly three people live between Q and L, so the floor numbers of Q and L differ by 3 + 1 = 4. Counting down from floor 6 gives L on floor 6 − 4 = 2.
T lives on a floor below L, and floor 1 is the only floor below floor 2, so T is on floor 1.
Floors 3, 4 and 5 are left for U, I and S. U lives on an even-numbered floor, and 4 is the only even number among them, so U is on floor 4.
I lives on an odd-numbered floor but not on floor 5; of the remaining floors 3 and 5, only 3 satisfies both conditions, so I is on floor 3.
The single floor still free, floor 5, therefore belongs to S.
The arrangement.
Floor | Person |
|---|---|
6 | Q |
5 | S |
4 | U |
3 | I |
2 | L |
1 | T |
Cross-check. Every clue in the question holds for this arrangement:
Q on floor 6 is the topmost floor.
Floors 3, 4 and 5 lie between Q on floor 6 and L on floor 2 — exactly three people.
T on floor 1 is below L on floor 2.
U on floor 4 is on an even-numbered floor.
I on floor 3 is on an odd-numbered floor and is not on floor 5.
Result. S is on floor 5 and L is on floor 2, so the floors lying strictly between them are floors 4 and 3, occupied by U and I. Two people live between S and L.