Puzzles for SSC, Bank and Other Exams : Part – 1
Puzzles are an integral aspect of the Reasoning Section, one from which you will not be able to escape. It is the subject that is covered extensively in the Reasoning Section of all types of banking exams. Many other questions are now being asked in the form of puzzles on a variety of themes.
The number of puzzle questions varies between 60 and 65 percent of the overall number of questions in the Reasoning Section. As a result, it is clear that the technique of avoiding puzzle-based questions in order to solve other questions will no longer work, as ignoring puzzle-based questions can jeopardise your chances of clearing the sectional cut-off or getting adequate marks in the Reasoning Section.
Seating Arrangements (linear, circular, triangular, rectangular, and even hexagonal seating arrangements), Floors, Tabular Form, Blood Relations, and other topics are frequently included in the puzzles. Depending on the difficulty level of each question, they can be asked in 2-4 various ways. Exam questions usually include a combination of Seating Arrangement and Blood Relations.
Making 2-3 possibilities for the same puzzle and cancelling them out as you go is an essential TIP for solving DIFFICULT PUZZLES with 100 percent accuracy. Another crucial thing to remember when tackling puzzles is to read the question carefully and pay attention to the important key points.
Puzzle1
Study the following information and answer the question given below:
Eight people – E, F, G, H, J, K, L and M are sitting around a circular table facing the centre. Each of them is of a different profession i.e. Chartered Accountant, Columnist, Doctor, Engineer, Financial Analyst, Lawyer, Professor and Scientist but not necessarily in the same order. F is sitting second to the left of K. The Scientist is an immediate neighbour of K. There are only three people between the Scientist and E. Only one person sits between the Engineer and E. The Columnist is to the immediate right of the Engineer. M is second to the right of K. H is the Scientist. G and J are immediate neighbours of each other. Neither G nor J is an Engineer. The Financial Analyst is to the immediate left of F. The Lawyer is second to the right of the Columnist. The Professor is an immediate neighbour of the Engineer. G is second to the right of the Chartered Accountant.
Puzzle 2
Study the following information and answer the question given below:
P, Q, R, S, T, V and W are seven students of a college. Each of them has a favourite subject i.e Physics, Chemistry, English, Biology, History, Geography and Philosophy not necessarily in the same order. Each of them also has favourite sports games i.e. Football, Cricket, Hockey, Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis and Basketball, but not necessarily in the same order.
R likes Philosophy and his favourite sport is Hockey. The one who likes Football likes English. T’s favourite sport is not Badminton or Table Tennis. V does not like either History or Biology. The one whose favourite sport is basketball does not like Physics. W likes Chemistry and his favourite sport Volleyball. S likes Geography. Q’s favourite sport is Badminton. V does not like English and his favourite sport is not Basketball. P’s favourite sport is Cricket. The one whose favourite sport is Badminton does not like Biology.
Puzzle 3
Study the following information and answer the question given below:
P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W and X nine friends stay in a building, but not necessarily in the same order. The building has nine floors and only one person stays on one floor. All of them belong to different cities, i.e., Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Chittoor, Chhapra, Champawat and Churu, but not necessarily in the same order.
The ground floor is numbered 1, the floor above it is numbered 2, and so on, and the topmost floor is numbered 9.
W belongs to Coimbatore and stayed on an even-numbered floor. P stays on an immediate below even – numbered floor on which W stays. The one who belongs to Champawat stays on the fourth floor. T stays on the second floor and belongs to Cochin. The one who belongs to Churu stays on the third floor. P does not belong to Chittoor .There are two floors between the floors on which the persons who are from Chhapra and Coimbatore stay. R belongs to Chandigarh. There are three floors between the floors on which R and V stay. S stays on a floor immediately above X’s floor. There is one floor between the floors on which U and V stay. U does not belong to Churu. The one who belongs to Chennai stays on the topmost floor. U does not stay on the ground floor.
Puzzle 4
Study the following information and answer the question given below:
Eight persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are sitting in a row. Some persons are facing to North and the remaining are facing to South. The following information is known about them.
(i) D sits third to the left of E, neither of them sit at any end.
(ii) Two persons sit between E and H.
(iii) B sits to the immediate left of H and both of them face the same direction.
(iv) A sits second to the left of G, both of them face different directions.
(v) C is not adjacent to D, but C and D face the same direction as G.
(vi) F sits second to the right of C and faces North.
(vii) B and F are not adjacent to each other.
(viii) No three persons sitting in consecutive positions face the same direction.
Puzzle 5
Study the following information and answer the question given below:
These questions are based on the following information. Six sofas of different colours are arranged in a circular order. On each sofa, a boy among–O, P, Q, R, S and T and a girl among – U, V, W, X, Y and Z are sitting.
(i) The red coloured sofa is in between the yellow coloured sofa and blue coloured sofa.
(ii) X is sitting on white sofa, which is opposite the sofa where Z is sitting.
(iii) The orange coloured sofa is adjacent to the sofa where both O and V are sitting.
(iv) The sofa, where W is sitting, is adjacent to blue and pink coloured sofas.
(v) P is to the left of S, who is opposite to Y.
