CAT seating arrangement is one of the important topics in CAT DILR Syllabus. Around 5-6 questions are asked from this topic which is generally in the form of Set where based on a few statements candidates will have to answer 4-5 questions. Generally, CAT Seating Arrangement questions are asked in the format of the row, circular table, rectangular table, parallel lines, etc. Check CAT Syllabus 2021

The premise of the CAT seating arrangement questions is simple: find the seating arrangement and related information by inferring from the statements given, but the execution is not and one does need a lot of practice and deduction skills to handle them. Seating arrangement questions requires a candidate to develop a logical approach towards solving questions - choosing the available position as starting points, taking multiple cases, eliminating them by matching information, and such. Download CAT DILR Question Papers

Read the article to know more about some tips to solve seating arrangement questions in CAT 2021, and solved sample questions. 

Seating Arrangement - What is it?

The basic concept of Seating Arrangement is that candidates have to arrange information based on logical assumptions. This skill would be extremely useful in management situations, where candidates have to handle many such situations. Here are all the important subtypes of this type of question - 

• Assumptions: Always assume that the direction at the top part of the page is north unless specified and the same holds for all the directions. 
• Linear Arrangement: The arrangement of people or objects in any direction is Linear Arrangement. 
• Circular Arrangement: Arrangement would be in the shape of a circle. 
• Seating Arrangement in Photos
• Complex Arrangement: Complex arrangements are similar to other types but they generally have multiple elements. They can be either table or matric arrangements. 

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CAT DILR Preparation of Seating Arrangement: Important Formulas

There is no set formula for solving the seating arrangement questions but there is a sort of set systematic logical approach for solving these. For exemplifying this approach consider the following question:

Now, in order to solve the question consider the following steps:

Identify the statement/s which has a person seated

• Here, “Mrs Charlie is seated left to Mr. Abraham '' and “Mrs. Elmer at two places on the right of Mrs. Border”.- 

Based on the above step construct cases/possibilities:

• Mrs. Elmer is seated next to Mr. Abraham on his right
• Mrs. Elmer is seated three places next to Mr. Abrahabam 
• Mrs. Elmer is seated on left to Mrs. Charlie two places on her left (adjacent seating of men and women)
• Mrs. Elmer is seated on left to Mrs. Charlie three places on her left

For each case construct a diagram - For each diagram allot the position of the rest of the members based on the conditions given:

• Men and women are seated alternatively 
• Husband sits at three places from his spouse

During the seat allotment, non conforming cases would automatically be pruned

• Here, Mrs. Elmer is seated next to Mr. Abraham on his right, Mrs. Elmer has seated three places next to Mr. Abrahabam and such cases would be pruned.
• By the end of this step, one solution would be left with fixed or fixed and uncertain positions of seated members.
• By the above methods, one would be able to arrive at the answer which is option D) as there is ambiguity regarding the position of Mrs. Dennis and Mrs. Border.
• This step may seem to belong and it is but through constant practice candidates would begin to ascertain most possible cases and weed out the prospective non-conforming ones without the need to construct a diagram for each case. 

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CAT Seating Arrangements Sample Questions

For practising the above concept try the sample questions given below. The answers would be provided at the end.

Ques 1. 

Solution: (c) i.e. Suresh 

Ques 2. Eight people Q, U, V, W P, M, R, T are sitting in two rows, face to face. Each row consists of 4 People. P is seated in the middle of U and V and is facing in the North direction. W is opposite to Q who is just left of M. R sits in between T and M. W is just right of V. Who sits immediately to the right or right of R?

(a) T

(b) U

(c) M

(d) V

Solution: (a) i.e. T

Ques 3. E, F, G, A, B, C, D and H are facing inwards and seated around a circular table. B is second of H to his right and third to A on his left. D is not immediately seated next to either B or H and is actually to the right of F on the 2nd position (to F). C is fourth to G on his right and is an immediate neighbour of B. Who sits to the right of B?

(a) C

(b) E

(c) H

(d) G

Solution: (a) i.e. C

Ques 4. E, F,A, B, C, D and G are sitting in a single row facing the North direction. F is just next to E on his (E) right . E is in fourth position to G on his right. C is just next to B and D. Third to D on his left is at one of the ends. Tell the position of A ?

(a) Middle

(b) 2nd to D

(c) 2nd Right

(d) Extremely right

Solution: (d) i.e. Extremely right

Ques. 5 D,A ,B, C, and E are sitting in a line facing the south direction. They all are men. M, N, O, P and Q are sitting in a row parallel to the first, facing the North direction. They all are female. B, immediately left of D, sits opposite to Q. C and N are seated diagonally . E is opposite to O who is immediately to the right of M. P, who is immediately left of Q, is infront of D. M is at the extreme of the line. Determine who who is opposite to N

(a) B

(b) A

(c) C

(d) Data Insufficient

Solution: (b) i.e. A

Ques. 6 In an Exhibition seven cars of- Cadillack, Marutious, Mercedese, Bedford, Ambossador, Fiat,and Fargo are standing facing to the east. Cadillack is one place to the right of Fargo. Fargo is fourth of Fiat to its right. The Marutious car is between Ambossador and Bedford. Fiat, which is third to the left of Ambossador, is at one extreme .Which one of the following is the correct location of Mercedese ? 

A.One place to the left of Cadillack

B.One place to the left of Bedford 

C.Between Bedford and Fargo

D.Fourth to the right of Marutious.

Solution: (d) i.e. Fourth to the right of Marutious.

Ques. 7 Girls are sitting on a bench. Seema is seated on the left of Rani and on the right of Bindu. Marie is on the right of Rani. Reesa is in the middle of Rani and Marie. Who is second from the left on the bench?

A.Reesa

B.Marie

C.Bindu 

D.Seema

Solution: (d) i.e. Seema

Ques. 8  E, F, G, A, B, C, D, and H are seated in a straight line, all of them oriented in the same direction. Each of them has distinct birthdays in any of the following months – January, February, April, May, July, September, October and December. G is seated in third place to the right of the person born in July. The person born in December is seated at second place to the right of G. E and A are neighbors and neither A nor E was born in July or December. Also they both are not neighbours of G. H is seated third to the right of the person born in January. E and A were not born in January too. H was not born in December. Only two people are seated in between between E and one who is born in October. The one born in February is seated to the left of D and is Ds neighbour. Only one person is in between D and B. C was born before October. E was born after May. G was born after A . Guess the month B was born in? 

A.December

B.February 

C.January

D.April 

Solution: (c) i.e. January

Ques. 9 T, U,P, Q, R, S and V are on a single bench viewing the sky in east. R is seated next to S immediately on his right, but he is not next to U. Q is seated at one end and is a neighbour to T. V is in the middle of T and U. S is fourth from the North. Which pair is seated at the ends? 

A.Q T 

B.S, R 

C.P, Q 

D.U, V

Solution: (c) i.e. P, Q

Ques. 10 Eight kids, 4 boys and 4 females are sitting in line. The end left is #1 and the end right is #8. Boys sit at ends and females occupy the odd positions (except the ends) and one even position. No one is on the left to A. P is second from right of A. C is a short tempered boy who is made to sit in between two females S and R. D, a loner is on one of the ends of the row. . A single boy sits exactly in the middle of two females and B is a boy. Whereas Q is a female.Guess how many boys are sitting between Q and R?

A.None 

B.1 

C.2 

D.Either 1 or 2

Solution: (d) i.e. Either 1 or 2

Ques. 11 apple, ashoka, banana, mango, lemon, guava, and papaya are planted in a straight row but not in the same order. All face one direction. The papaya tree is planted in fourth position to the right of the lemon. The ashoka tree is planted at the rightmost end of the row. Mango and guava trees are planted just next to the lemon tree.The banana tree is an immediate neighbour of the mango tree. Where is apple tree planed with respect to the Guava tree? 

A.Second to the right 

B.Fourth to the right

C.Immediate left

D.Third to the right 

Solution: (d) i.e. Third to the right 

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