Puzzles
About 7 min · Reasoning Ability · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 494 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
These questions test your ability to organize scattered information, apply constraints logically, and arrive at a definite arrangement or comparison.
Key ideas
- Single-variable vs Multi-variable: Single-variable puzzles have one attribute to arrange, like floors; multi-variable puzzles combine several (floor + department + age).
- Definite vs Indefinite Information: Start solving from definite clues (e.g., "A lives on floor 3") before tackling indefinite ones (e.g., "B lives above C").
- Positive and Negative Conditions: "A is on floor 5" is positive; "A is not on floor 5" is negative. Mark negatives with crosses (✗) in your table.
- Relative Positioning: Terms like "immediately above," "two floors below," "between X and Y" define relative positions. Distinguish between "above" (anywhere higher) and "immediately above" (exactly one floor higher).
- Boundary Constraints: In floor puzzles, the topmost and bottommost floors have special constraints — only one neighbor each.
Watch out for
- Confusing "above" with "immediately above": "X lives above Y" allows any floor higher than Y. "Immediately above" means exactly one floor higher. Fix: Underline the word "immediately" whenever you see it.
- Ignoring negative conditions midway: Students place persons but forget earlier "X ≠ floor 3" conditions. Fix: Mark all negatives with ✗ in your table before you start placing.
- Not testing both branches of either-or clues: When two possibilities exist, students assume one and proceed without verification. Fix: Quickly test the other branch if you hit a dead end.
Quick reference
- Always draw a table first — floors as rows, persons to be filled.
- Mark all negative conditions (✗) before placing any person.
- Start from definite clues, then link relative clues to them.
- "Immediately" = exactly one position apart; "above/below" = anywhere in that direction.
- Target time: 4–6 minutes per puzzle set (3–5 questions).
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Six persons P, Q, R, S, T and U live on six different floors of a building. The ground floor is numbered 1, the floor above it is numbered 2 and so on till the topmost floor which is numbered 6. P lives on an even numbered floor. There are two floors between P and Q. R lives immediately above Q. T lives on a floor below S but above U. U does not live on floor 1. On which floor does S live?
2. Five persons A, B, C, D and E are sitting in a row. A is sitting at one of the ends. C is sitting second to the right of A. B is sitting between C and D. Who is sitting at the other end?
3. Seven boxes A, B, C, D, E, F and G are stacked one above the other. Box A is at the bottom. There are three boxes between A and C. Box E is immediately above C. There are two boxes between E and F. Box D is above F but below B. Box G is not at the top. Which box is at the top of the stack?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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