Seating Arrangement Questions: Linear and Circular
Get left and right right for the facing direction, and the rest is careful placing.
Seating arrangement questions describe people sitting in a row or around a table, using clues like "second to the left of" or "opposite". You place everyone, then answer questions from your diagram.
Most mistakes come from one thing: getting left and right wrong for the direction people face. Fix that rule first and the rest is careful placing.
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Types of Seating Arrangement
- Linear, one row
- People sit in a straight line, all facing north or all facing south.
- Linear, two rows
- Two parallel rows facing each other. Each person in one row faces a person in the other.
- Circular, facing the centre
- People sit around a round table looking inward.
- Circular, facing outside
- People sit around the table looking away from it.
- Circular, mixed
- Some face the centre and some face outside. Each person's left and right must be worked out separately.
The Left and Right Rule
Draw the diagram from above, as a map. Then use this table every time.
North (row)
Their right is
Your right on the diagram
Their left is
Your left on the diagram
South (row)
Their right is
Your left on the diagram
Their left is
Your right on the diagram
Centre (circle)
Their right is
Anticlockwise
Their left is
Clockwise
Outside (circle)
Their right is
Clockwise
Their left is
Anticlockwise
| Facing | Their right is | Their left is |
|---|---|---|
| North (row) | Your right on the diagram | Your left on the diagram |
| South (row) | Your left on the diagram | Your right on the diagram |
| Centre (circle) | Anticlockwise | Clockwise |
| Outside (circle) | Clockwise | Anticlockwise |
Step-by-Step Method
- 1
Draw the empty seats
Number them left to right for a row, or clockwise for a circle.
- 2
Place the most certain clue first
"A sits at the extreme left" or "A is opposite D" fixes a seat. "A is not next to B" does not, so leave it for later.
- 3
Use each fixed person as an anchor
Apply clues that refer to people already placed. Turn the facing direction into clockwise or anticlockwise using the table.
- 4
Branch when a clue allows two seats
Draw both cases side by side. A later clue will usually break one of them.
- 5
Check every clue at the end
Read through all clues once more against your final diagram before answering.
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Worked Practice Questions
Original questions written for this page. Try each before reading the solution.
- 1
Practice question 1: P, Q, R, S and T sit in a row facing north. R sits in the middle. P sits at the extreme left. Q sits second to the right of R. T is not next to P. Who sits between P and R?
Number seats 1 to 5 from left to right. P is in 1, R in 3, and Q two places right of R, in 5. S and T take seats 2 and 4. T is not next to P, so T is not in 2. T is in 4 and S is in 2. Answer: S.
- 2
Practice question 2: A, B, C, D, E and F sit around a round table facing the centre. A is opposite D. B is immediately to the right of A. E is second to the left of B. C is immediately to the left of D. Who sits opposite B?
Number seats 1 to 6 clockwise. A is in 1, D in 4. Facing the centre, right is anticlockwise, so B is in 6. Left is clockwise, so E is two seats clockwise from B, in 2. C is one seat clockwise from D, in 5. F takes seat 3. Opposite pairs are 1 and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6. Answer: F sits opposite B.
- 3
Practice question 3: W, X, Y and Z sit around a round table facing outside. X is immediately to the right of W. Y is opposite W. Who is immediately to the left of W?
Number seats 1 to 4 clockwise. W is in 1. Facing outside, right is clockwise, so X is in 2. Y is opposite W, in 3, and Z takes 4. Left is anticlockwise, so the seat to W's left is 4. Answer: Z.
- 4
Practice question 4: Two rows of three. P, Q and R sit in row 1 facing south. L, M and N sit in row 2 facing north, so each person faces someone. Q sits in the middle of row 1. R is immediately to the right of Q. M faces Q. L faces R. Who faces P?
Number columns 1 to 3 from left to right on your diagram. Q is in column 2. Row 1 faces south, so their right is your left: R is in column 1 and P in column 3. M faces Q in column 2. L faces R in column 1. N takes column 3. Answer: N faces P.
- 5
Practice question 5: Using the arrangement from practice question 2, how is E placed with respect to A?
E is in seat 2 and A in seat 1. Seat 2 is one step clockwise from seat 1. For people facing the centre, clockwise is left. Answer: E is immediately to the left of A.
Common Traps
- check_circleUsing your own left and right for people facing south. Their right is your left on the diagram.
- check_circleTreating a circle facing outside like one facing the centre. The directions swap.
- check_circleCounting the starting person. "Second to the left of B" means two seats away from B, not counting B.
- check_circlePlacing a negative clue too early. "T is not next to P" fixes nobody on its own; use it to choose between cases.
- check_circleForgetting that in a circle, "between" can be read both ways round. Check which side the question means.
How Bank and SSC Papers Test This
The IBPS PO syllabus lists seating arrangement under reasoning, naming linear, circular, square and rectangular types. It falls in the Reasoning Ability section of prelims and the Reasoning section of mains, both online multiple choice tests. This page covers linear and circular; floor, box and scheduling problems are on the puzzles page.
SSC CGL Tier 1 tests reasoning in its General Intelligence & Reasoning section, also as multiple choice questions. The left and right rule above is the same in both exams.
Practise answering several questions from one diagram. Once an arrangement is drawn correctly, each further question takes only seconds.
FAQs
How do I find left and right in circular seating arrangement?expand_more
If people face the centre, their left is clockwise and their right is anticlockwise. If they face outside, it is the other way round.
Which clue should I start with in seating arrangement questions?expand_more
Start with a clue that fixes a seat, such as an end position or an opposite pair. Leave "not next to" clues until you need to choose between cases.
Is seating arrangement in the IBPS PO syllabus?expand_more
Yes. Seating arrangement is part of the IBPS PO reasoning syllabus for prelims and mains, including linear and circular types.
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