Logical Reasoning · Micro-test

Seating Arrangement

Seating arrangement puzzles reward a systematic clue-by-clue deduction over guesswork, and CLAT often hides the trap in whether people face the centre or face outward.

10 questions · 5 minutes · instant scoring

Updated 10 September 2026

What this topic actually tests

A seating arrangement puzzle gives a set of people and a list of clues about their relative positions - linear rows facing a fixed direction, or circular and rectangular tables where people may face the centre or face away from it - and asks you to determine exact seats or answer relational questions about the final arrangement. The reliable method is to first fix any clue that pins an absolute position, such as 'sits at the extreme end' or 'sits exactly in the middle', then work outward using relative clues like 'immediately to the right of' or 'third to the left of', marking each deduction on a rough sketch rather than trying to hold the whole picture in your head. Two conventions decide how 'left' and 'right' are read, and getting them backwards is the single biggest source of wrong answers. In a straight row, if the people are described as facing north, left-to-right as stated in the clues matches left-to-right as you would naturally read it; if they face south, their personal left and right are reversed relative to that reading direction. In a circular table, if people face the centre, moving clockwise around the table corresponds to moving to a person's right; if people face away from the centre (outward), moving clockwise corresponds to moving to a person's left - exactly the opposite. Worked example: six people sit around a circular table facing the centre, and the clues state B is immediately to the right of A, and C is immediately to the right of B. Since facing the centre means clockwise equals 'right', this pins A, B, and C in consecutive clockwise seats in that exact order, and any further clue is then checked against this fixed clockwise sequence rather than re-derived from scratch.

The common trap on this topic

The single most common CLAT mistake is applying the facing-north left-right convention to a facing-south row, or the facing-centre clockwise convention to a facing-outward circle, without pausing to check which way the puzzle actually specifies people are looking. Because the direction reverses left and right entirely, this single error flips every relational answer in the puzzle. A second frequent trap is treating 'second to the left of X' as meaning two seats away counting X as the first position, when it should mean two full seats beyond X in that direction; students also confuse 'immediately to the left' (exactly adjacent) with 'to the left of' (anywhere in that general direction, not necessarily adjacent), leading to seats being placed one position off. A third trap specific to circular and rectangular arrangements is forgetting that positions repeat cyclically, so a clue like 'third to the right' from a seat near the end of the numbering wraps back around to the start rather than falling outside the table - students often treat the seat numbers as a straight line instead of a closed loop and conclude no valid seat exists.

Seating Arrangement: answers and explanations

Six friends E, A, B, F, D and C sit in a row facing north. E sits at one of the extreme ends. A sits second from the left end. B sits immediately to the right of A. D sits immediately to the left of C. C sits at the extreme right end. F sits third to the right of E.
Who sits immediately to the right of F?
Answer: C. D
Since C occupies the extreme right end, E (also at an extreme end) must be at the extreme left, position 1. A is second from the left (position 2), so B, immediately right of A, is position 3. F, third to the right of E, is position 4. The only seat left, position 5, goes to D, immediately left of C at position 6, so D sits immediately to the right of F.
Six friends E, A, B, F, D and C sit in a row facing north. E sits at one of the extreme ends. A sits second from the left end. B sits immediately to the right of A. D sits immediately to the left of C. C sits at the extreme right end. F sits third to the right of E.
How many people sit between E and D?
Answer: D. Three
The arrangement works out to E, A, B, F, D, C from left to right. E is at position 1 and D is at position 5, so A, B and F sit between them - three people.
Six people P, Q, R, S, T and U sit around a circular table, all facing the centre. P sits immediately to the left of Q. Q sits second to the right of U. R sits immediately to the right of Q. S sits third to the right of P. T sits immediately to the left of U.
Who sits immediately to the right of S?
Answer: D. T
Since everyone faces the centre, clockwise equals each person's right. Placing U, Q, R, S, T, P clockwise satisfies every clue: P is immediately left of Q, Q is second right of U, R is immediately right of Q, S is third right of P, and T is immediately left of U. In this clockwise order, S is immediately followed by T on its right.
Six people P, Q, R, S, T and U sit around a circular table, all facing the centre. P sits immediately to the left of Q. Q sits second to the right of U. R sits immediately to the right of Q. S sits third to the right of P. T sits immediately to the left of U.
Who sits second to the left of R?
Answer: D. P
The clockwise seating order is U, Q, R, S, T, P, repeating. Moving two seats counter-clockwise (to the left) from R lands on Q, then P - so P sits second to the left of R.
Five people K, L, M, N and O sit in a row facing north, numbered 1 (leftmost) to 5 (rightmost). M sits exactly in the middle of the row. K sits immediately to the left of M. O sits immediately to the right of M. N sits at the left extreme end. L sits at the right extreme end.
Who sits second from the right end?
Answer: D. O
The row from left to right is N, K, M, O, L. Counting from the right end, L is first and O is second, so O sits second from the right end.
Five people K, L, M, N and O sit in a row facing north, numbered 1 (leftmost) to 5 (rightmost). M sits exactly in the middle of the row. K sits immediately to the left of M. O sits immediately to the right of M. N sits at the left extreme end. L sits at the right extreme end.
What is K's position counted from the left end?
Answer: A. Second
The row from left to right is N, K, M, O, L. N occupies position 1 and K occupies position 2, so K is second from the left end.
Six people X, Y, Z, W, V and U sit around a circular table, all facing away from the centre (outward). Y sits immediately to the left of X. Z sits immediately to the left of Y. W sits immediately to the left of Z. V sits immediately to the left of W. U sits immediately to the left of V.
Who sits immediately to the right of Z?
Answer: C. Y
Since everyone faces outward, clockwise corresponds to each person's left, not their right. Chaining the clues gives the clockwise order X, Y, Z, W, V, U. Because clockwise is 'left' here, the seat immediately to Z's right is the one just before it in the clockwise order, which is Y.
Six people X, Y, Z, W, V and U sit around a circular table, all facing away from the centre (outward). Y sits immediately to the left of X. Z sits immediately to the left of Y. W sits immediately to the left of Z. V sits immediately to the left of W. U sits immediately to the left of V.
Who sits immediately to the right of U?
Answer: C. V
The clockwise order, derived by chaining each 'immediately to the left' clue, is X, Y, Z, W, V, U. Since facing outward makes clockwise equal to 'left', the seat to U's right is the one just before U in the clockwise order, which is V.
Seven people A1, B1, C1, D1, E1, F1 and G1 sit in a row facing north, numbered 1 (left end) to 7 (right end). C1 sits at the left extreme end. G1 sits immediately to the right of C1. E1 sits immediately to the right of G1. A1 sits immediately to the right of E1. F1 sits immediately to the right of A1. D1 sits immediately to the right of F1. B1 sits immediately to the right of D1.
Which two people sit immediately on either side of A1?
Answer: D. E1 and F1
Chaining the clues gives the fixed left-to-right order C1, G1, E1, A1, F1, D1, B1. A1 sits at position 4, with E1 at position 3 on its left and F1 at position 5 on its right.
Seven people A1, B1, C1, D1, E1, F1 and G1 sit in a row facing north, numbered 1 (left end) to 7 (right end). C1 sits at the left extreme end. G1 sits immediately to the right of C1. E1 sits immediately to the right of G1. A1 sits immediately to the right of E1. F1 sits immediately to the right of A1. D1 sits immediately to the right of F1. B1 sits immediately to the right of D1.
How many people sit to the right of D1?
Answer: A. One
The fixed order is C1, G1, E1, A1, F1, D1, B1, so D1 sits at position 6 out of 7. Only B1, at position 7, sits to D1's right - one person.

FAQ

How do I know whether 'right' means clockwise or counter-clockwise in a circular arrangement?

It depends on which way the people are facing. If everyone faces the centre of the table, clockwise movement corresponds to a person's right. If everyone faces away from the centre (outward), the convention flips, and clockwise movement corresponds to a person's left.

What is the difference between 'immediately to the right' and 'to the right' in these puzzles?

'Immediately to the right' means the very next adjacent seat in that direction, with nobody in between. 'To the right' without 'immediately' only tells you the general direction and could be any number of seats away unless another clue narrows it down.

Why does facing south reverse the left-right reading of a row?

Because 'left' and 'right' in these clues refer to each person's own left and right hand, not the reader's perspective. When a row of people faces south instead of north, their personal right and left point in the opposite direction relative to how the seats are conventionally numbered from the observer's view.

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