Seating arrangements for SSC CHSL

Seating arrangement questions in SSC CHSL are smaller than the puzzles in banking exams: usually five to eight people and four to six clues, with one or two questions on the result. They are still where many candidates lose time, because they start placing people before deciding which way "left" is.

How it is asked

• Linear: people in a row, all facing north (up your page) or all facing south (down your page).
• Circular: people round a table, usually all facing the centre.
• Questions: who sits at an end, who sits between two people, who is opposite, how many sit between, or "which of these is true".

Left and right

This is the part to get right before anything else.

Why the circle works this way: picture the person at the bottom of the table, facing up towards the centre. Their left hand points to the left of your page, which is the clockwise direction from the bottom of a circle. The same holds for every seat.

The method, step by step

1. Draw the seats. Number a row 1 to n from the left of your page. Number a circle clockwise.
2. Place fixed clues first. "At the left end", "in the middle", "third from the right end".
3. Anchor a circle. In a circle, the first person you place can go anywhere; fix them at seat 1 and place everyone relative to them.
4. Add relative clues attached to someone already placed: "immediately right of", "second to the left of", "opposite".
5. Split into cases when a clue allows two places. Draw both, carry on, and cross out the case that breaks a later clue.
6. Place negative clues last. "Q is not next to P" only helps once most seats are filled.
7. Check every clue against your final arrangement before answering.

Six worked puzzles

Puzzle 1 (row facing north). P, Q, R, S and T sit in a row facing north. R sits in the middle. P sits at the left end. T sits immediately to the right of R. Q is not next to P.
Seats 1 to 5, left to right. P = 1, R = 3, and T = 4 (facing north, right is the page's right). Q and S take 2 and 5; Q is not next to P, so Q = 5 and S = 2.
Order: P, S, R, T, Q. Who sits between P and R? S.

Puzzle 2 (row facing south). A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing south. C sits at the extreme right end. B sits second to the left of C. A sits immediately to the left of B. D is not at an end.
Facing south, each person's right is the page's left. C's right end is page seat 1. C's left is towards the page's right, so B = 3 and A = 4. D is not at an end, so D = 2, and E = 5.
Page order (left to right): C, D, B, A, E. Who sits at the extreme left end of the row? The people's left end is page seat 5: E.

Puzzle 3 (circle). A, B, C, D, E and F sit round a table facing the centre. A sits opposite D. B sits immediately to the left of A. E sits immediately to the right of D. F sits immediately to the right of A.
Fix A at seat 1 (seats clockwise). D, opposite, is at 4. Left is clockwise, so B = 2. Right is anticlockwise, so F = 6 and E = 3. C takes seat 5.
Clockwise order: A, B, E, D, C, F. Who sits opposite B? Seat 5: C.

Puzzle 4 (row, two cases). J, K, L, M, N and O sit in a row facing north. K sits at one of the ends. Exactly two people sit between K and M. L sits immediately to the right of M. N sits at one of the ends. J sits immediately to the right of O.
Case 1, K at seat 1: M = 4, L = 5, and N takes the other end, 6. O and J fill 2 and 3 with J right of O: O = 2, J = 3. Every clue holds.
Case 2, K at seat 6: M = 3, L = 4, and N = 1. O and J must fill 2 and 5, which are not adjacent, so "J immediately right of O" fails. Case 2 is out.
Order: K, O, J, M, L, N. Who is third from the right end? M.

Puzzle 5 (circle of eight). A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H sit round a table facing the centre. A sits opposite E. B sits second to the right of A. C sits immediately to the left of E. F sits opposite B. G sits immediately to the left of A. D is not a neighbour of A.
Fix A at 1 and number clockwise. E = 5. Second to the right is two seats anticlockwise: B = 7. C (left of E, clockwise) = 6. F, opposite B, = 3. G (left of A) = 2. D and H take 4 and 8; seat 8 is next to A, so D = 4 and H = 8.
Clockwise order: A, G, F, D, E, C, B, H. Who sits immediately to the left of F? Left is clockwise from seat 3, so seat 4: D.

Puzzle 6 (which statement is true?). Using Puzzle 5, which is true? (a) H is opposite C (b) F is immediately to the right of G (c) B and C are neighbours (d) D is opposite G
H = 8 and C = 6 are not opposite. G's right is anticlockwise, seat 1, which is A, not F. B = 7 and C = 6 are neighbours. D = 4 and G = 2 are not opposite (G's opposite is 6). Answer: (c).

Common traps

Practice

1. W, X, Y and Z sit in a row facing north. X is at the right end. W is immediately to the left of X. Y is not at an end. Who is at the left end? (a) W (b) X (c) Y (d) Z
2. Five people sit in a row facing south. M sits at the extreme right end. If you number the seats 1 to 5 from the left of your page, which seat is M in? (a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 5 (d) Cannot be determined
3. Six people sit round a table facing the centre, with seats numbered clockwise. P is at seat 1. Which seat is immediately to P's right? (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 5 (d) 6
4. K, L, M, N and O sit in a row facing north. L is second from the left end. N is immediately to the right of L. O is at the right end. K is not at an end. Who sits in the middle? (a) K (b) L (c) M (d) N
5. A, B, C, D and E sit round a table facing the centre. B sits immediately to the left of A. C sits immediately to the right of A. D is not next to B. Who sits immediately to the right of D? (a) A (b) B (c) C (d) E
6. U, V, W, X and Y sit in a row facing south. V sits at the extreme left end. X sits second to the right of V. Y is next to V. U is not at an end. Who sits at the extreme right end? (a) U (b) W (c) X (d) Y
7. In Puzzle 5 above, who sits opposite D? (a) G (b) C (c) H (d) B
8. A, B, C, D, E and F sit in a row facing north. C is third from the right end. Exactly one person sits between C and E. F sits at the left end. B sits immediately to the left of E. D is not next to C. Who sits between F and A? (a) B (b) C (c) D (d) E

Answers:

1. (d) Z. X = 4, W = 3, Y must be 2 (not an end), so Z = 1. Order Z, Y, W, X.
2. (a) 1. Facing south, their right is the left of your page.
3. (d) 6. Facing the centre, right is anticlockwise.
4. (d) N. L = 2, N = 3, O = 5; K is not at an end, so K = 4 and M = 1. Order M, L, N, K, O.
5. (d) E. A = 1, B = 2 (left is clockwise), C = 5. D is not next to B, so D = 4 and E = 3. Clockwise: A, B, E, D, C. D's right is anticlockwise, seat 3.
6. (b) W. Page seats: V's left end is page seat 5. X, second to V's right, is at 3. Y is at 4. U is not at an end, so U = 2 and W = 1, which is the people's right end.
7. (c) H. D = 4 and H = 8.
8. (c) D. C = 4. E is at 2 or 6; if E = 2, B would need seat 1, which is F's. So E = 6, B = 5. D is not next to C, so D = 2 and A = 3. Order F, D, A, C, B, E.

What to do next

• Write the left–right table on your rough sheet before every arrangement question for a week.
• Solve ten puzzles where you deliberately draw both cases whenever a clue allows two places.
• Time yourself: aim for five-person puzzles in under two minutes, including the questions.
• Continue with ranking and order, which uses the same counting from the ends, and revisit directions for left and right turns.