Free Seating Arrangements MCQs with Answers

1. Five friends A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. C is at one end. B is immediately to the right of C. A is immediately to the right of B. D is immediately to the right of A. Who sits at the other end?

• A. A
• B. B
• C. D
• D. E

Explanation: Building the row from C gives C, B, A, D, and since five people must be seated, E takes the only remaining place at the far end. Placing each person as the clue is read, rather than trying to hold the whole arrangement in mind, is the reliable method. The final order is C, B, A, D, E.

2. In the arrangement C, B, A, D, E from left to right, who sits exactly in the middle?

• A. B
• B. A
• C. D
• D. C

Explanation: With five seats the middle is the third position, which A occupies. Counting positions from the left rather than guessing by eye avoids errors when the list is longer. In any odd numbered row the middle seat is the total plus one divided by two.

3. Six people sit around a circular table facing the centre. P sits opposite S. Q sits immediately to the right of P. Who sits immediately to the left of S?

• A. P
• B. Q
• C. R
• D. cannot be determined without more information

Explanation: Only three of the six positions are fixed by the clues, so the seats around S could be filled by any of the remaining people. A well posed question must pin down enough places, and recognising when it has not is part of the skill. Adding one more clue about R or T would usually settle it.

4. Eight people sit around a circular table facing the centre. If A sits opposite E, how many people sit between them on each side?

• A. two
• B. three
• C. four
• D. five

Explanation: Opposite seats in a circle of eight are four places apart, so the three seats on each arc lie between them. Dividing the total by two gives the gap in positions, and subtracting one gives the number of people in between. The same reasoning applies to any even numbered circle.

5. In a circle facing the centre, if B is to the immediate right of A, then from A's own point of view B is

• A. on A's right hand side
• B. on A's left hand side
• C. directly opposite A
• D. impossible to place

Explanation: When people face the centre, right and left are described from each person's own perspective, so immediate right means B is on A's right hand. The trap appears when the puzzle says facing outwards, which reverses every direction. Always note which way the group faces before placing anyone.

6. Four people W, X, Y and Z sit in a row facing south. W is to the left of X, and Y is to the right of Z. If W is at the extreme left as seen by the reader, where does W sit from W's own perspective?

• A. at W's own extreme right, because facing south reverses left and right
• B. at W's own extreme left
• C. in the middle
• D. cannot be determined

Explanation: A person facing south has east on their left and west on their right, which is the mirror image of the reader's view of a north facing row. So the seat the reader sees as leftmost is the rightmost from the seated person's perspective. Direction of facing is the single most common source of error in these puzzles.

7. Seven students sit in a row. If Ahmed is fourth from the left and third from the right, how many students are there in total?

• A. six
• B. seven
• C. eight
• D. nine

Explanation: Adding the two positions and subtracting one for the double count gives 4 plus 3 minus 1, which is 6. The stated figure of seven is therefore inconsistent with the positions, which is exactly the kind of check a careful candidate should make. Trust the arithmetic over the introductory wording.

8. Five books are stacked. The physics book is above the chemistry book. The biology book is below the chemistry book. Which book is lowest of these three?

• A. physics
• B. chemistry
• C. biology
• D. cannot be determined

Explanation: The order from top downwards runs physics, chemistry, biology, so biology sits lowest of the three named. Stacking puzzles work like vertical seating rows and are solved the same way, by building one ordered line. The two unnamed books could sit anywhere without changing this relationship.

9. Six people sit in two rows of three, facing each other. If A sits in the first row and faces B, then B

• A. sits in the second row directly opposite A
• B. sits beside A
• C. sits in the first row
• D. cannot be seated

Explanation: In a facing arrangement each person in one row looks directly at exactly one person in the other, so facing means directly opposite. The rows face in opposite directions, which means left and right are reversed between them. Sketching two parallel lines with arrows for the facing direction keeps this straight.

10. In a row of six seats numbered 1 to 6 from the left, R sits in seat 2 and S sits three seats to the right of R. Which seat does S occupy?

• A. seat 4
• B. seat 5
• C. seat 6
• D. seat 3

Explanation: Three seats to the right of seat 2 means 2 plus 3, which is seat 5. Counting the starting seat as one of the three is the common slip and produces seat 4. Reading the phrase as an addition to the seat number avoids the error.