In Goa beach, there are three small picnic tables. Tables 1 and 2 each seat…
2025
In Goa beach, there are three small picnic tables. Tables 1 and 2 each seat three people. Table 3 seats only one person, since two of its seats are broken. Akash, Babu, Chitra, David, Eesha, Farooq, and Govind all sit at seats at these picnic tables. Who sits with whom and at which table are determined by the following constraints:
Chitra does not sit at the same table as Govind.
Eesha does not sit at the same table as David.
Farooq does not sit at the same table as Chitra.
Akash does not sit at the same table as Babu.
Govind does not sit at the same table as Farooq.
Which of the following is a list of people who could sit together at table 2?
- A.
Govind, Eesha, Akash
- B.
Babu, Farooq, Chitra
- C.
Chitra, Govind, David
- D.
Farooq, David, Eesha
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
In a grouping/distribution puzzle built from ‘cannot sit together’ rules, an offered group of people is valid only if none of the stated forbidden pairs occurs inside it — and the group must also leave a workable seating for everyone else once it is fixed. So the method is: eliminate every option that contains a forbidden pair, then confirm the survivor actually allows a complete, rule-consistent seating of the remaining people.
Applying it here — Table 2 (a group of three) must avoid all five listed restrictions:
Rule | Cannot sit together |
|---|---|
(a) | Chitra, Govind |
(b) | Eesha, David |
(c) | Farooq, Chitra |
(d) | Akash, Babu |
(e) | Govind, Farooq |
Govind, Eesha, Akash — no pair from this trio matches any restriction in the table, so it survives the first check.
Babu, Farooq, Chitra — contains Farooq and Chitra, which violates rule (c), so this option is eliminated.
Chitra, Govind, David — contains Chitra and Govind, which violates rule (a), so this option is eliminated.
Farooq, David, Eesha — contains David and Eesha, which violates rule (b), so this option is eliminated.
Confirm the survivor is workable: place Govind, Eesha, Akash at Table 2. The remaining four — Babu, Chitra, David, Farooq — must fill Table 1 (three seats) and Table 3 (one seat). Seating Farooq alone at Table 3 and Babu, Chitra, David together at Table 1 satisfies every one of the five rules at once (rule (c), Farooq–Chitra, is the only one that could still bite among these four, and it doesn't because they are now on different tables).
Rules (a) and (c) — both part of the Chitra/Farooq/Govind triangle of mutual restrictions — eliminate the options that pair Chitra with Govind and Farooq with Chitra; rule (b) separately eliminates the option pairing Eesha with David. Govind, Eesha, Akash is the only listed group that clears every restriction and can be completed into a valid seating of everyone else.