Important Tips to Solve Seating Arrangement Questions for Bank Exams

As you all are well aware, a minimum of 2-3 sets is asked from seating arrangement or puzzle-based questions in most of the banking exams. This topic is really important due to its weightage and requires complete effort to fetch maximum marks.

Take a short look at the provided material first; once you have seen all the procedures, you will have a better understanding of the people’s position. Determine the usefulness of each piece of information, then arrange it accordingly.

Assume that everyone is facing the center unless otherwise stated to prevent confusion about left and right in circular and square or rectangular arrangements. Comparative information is when a person’s location is not expressly stated but is indicated in relation to another. For instance, D is seated to A’s left.

It is certain information if the person’s location is specified with certainty. A, for instance, is seated at the right end. Negative information can occasionally make up a portion of certain information. Negative knowledge doesn’t actually tell you anything, but it can help you rule out an option.

For instance, A immediately departed B after not sitting. If you approach the questions with the assumption that you are one of the answers, it will be simpler to understand the arrangement. To answer this kind of question, first, decode the data and then try to visualize it in a picture for better comprehension. Start by focusing on the statements that are 100 percent true.

Commonly, a set of 5 questions is asked from a single arrangement. Getting the right set of arrangements can make you easily score 5 marks from this part. Thus, check out the tips and tricks to solve seating arrangement questions here.

The seating arrangement questions are asked in the following forms –

• Linear Arrangement
• Circular Arrangement (inward, outward, or both side facing)
• Square/Rectangular Arrangement (inward, outward, or both sides facing)
• Combination of the above three with puzzles.

Now, let us go through the above arrangements in depth.

Linear Arrangement

This type of question may be asked in a single row or double row arrangement. You need to take special care of the directions of the people here. Suppose 5 people are sitting in a single row.

 

Circular Arrangement

This type of question may be asked in the following forms –

(a) All the people are facing the center
(b) All the people are facing outside the center
(c) Some people are facing inside while some are facing outside the center.

As mentioned above, you need to take special care of the directions in such problems.

For people facing inside the center –

For people facing outside the center –

You can accordingly look for the directions of the people when some are facing inside the circle while some are facing outside the circle.

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Square/ Rectangular Arrangement

In this type of arrangement as well, the following arrangements are possible –

(a) All the people are facing towards the center
(b) All the people are facing outside the center
(c) Some people are facing inside while some are facing outside the center.
The directions for this arrangement are taken in the same manner as that of a circular arrangement.

Combination of Linear, Circular, and Square Arrangements with Puzzles

Many of you face difficulties in solving such problems. To have a better understanding of the approach that should be followed for solving puzzles you can go through the link below 

How to solve Puzzles?

To have a clear picture of the above points, let us consider a basic circular arrangement as given below –

Eight friends Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y, and Z are sitting around a circular table facing the center, not necessarily in the same order. There are 3 males and 5 females in the group. No two males are immediate neighbors of each other.

1. V sits second to the right of his wife.
2. S sits third to the right of V.
3. W sits second to the right of her husband Z.
4. Z is not an immediate neighbor of V’s wife.
5. T is a male and Y is not an immediate neighbor of V.
6. R sits second to the right of Q.

Now, the first 2 conditions give one possible arrangement –

As per the 3rd and 4th conditions, the following arrangements are possible –

Although we will get 3 probable positions of Z, 1st and 3rd arrangements are not possible since we can’t place W in these cases, also, V and Z can’t be placed together since both are male and this violates the constraint of the question. So, we proceed with 2nd arrangement.
Now, as per the 5th condition, T being a male can’t be placed adjacent to V and hence only one place is left for T to be placed. Also, Y is not an immediate neighbor of V, so Y will be placed at V’s wife’s place. Q and R can be placed as per the 6th condition.

Keep the following things in mind while solving seating arrangement or puzzle-based questions-

• Do not be intimidated by the size or the language of the question.
• Read the entire question carefully. Every detail required to form the Seating Arrangement is mentioned in the question, you just need to observe properly and implement all the facts logically.
• Remember, even when combined with puzzles, the approach of the question will still remain the same as that of the normal seating arrangement.
• Consider all the possible scenarios which may be formed as per the given question. A lot of the possibilities will cancel out as you move forward with the question.
• Practice. That is the only way you can expect to ace this topic.

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