PUZZLE AND SEATING ARRANGEMENT

Every or at least a majority of the exams to any university or competitive tests have set criteria for testing the ability to solve problems based on puzzles and seating arrangement. It is a great way or method for assessing any candidate’s aptitude for the job because a puzzle or a seating arrangement question shows how the person thinks. There exists no one formula or one straightforward approach to a question. It is not a profit or loss type question where a formula is implemented, and answers can be found. Each problem is unique.

SEATING ARRANGEMENT AND PUZZLE-SOLVING PROBLEMS

These problems are pretty simple to understand. It could involve Permutation and combination, sets, probability, statistics and other such mathematical concepts. However, they can also be solved without it. Seating arrangement questions involve arranging, grouping, or clustering a group of people, objects, or anything to fit specific conditions. On the other hand, Puzzles can affect almost anything under the sun. It could involve word jumbles, shapes, designs, patterns, and you name it. In comparison to seating arrangement questions, puzzles are relatively basic and more to test the visual accuracy of the candidate.

WHAT IS THE CONCEPT BEHIND SEATING ARRANGEMENT AND PUZZLE PROBLEMS?

 Seating arrangements and puzzle problems are challenging to categorize. However, they deal with one common thing. That is to meet the given conditions of the question. Each question has one answer, which requires an intense and creative thought process. Although there is one solution (mainly because of these multiple-choice questions), they can be approached in many ways depending on the candidate’s level of understanding and aptitude. For instance, there is a question involving how to measure the time of the day. Now, obviously a lot depends on the nature of the question, but one can take the help of the sun’s position and then match it to the answers. While another can use the Trigonometric concept of heights and distances to observe the change in the angle of shadows.

TYPES OF SEATING ARRANGEMENT

 There are several ways or forms that seating arrangement questions could be sprung on you. We will try and cover a majority of them, but one must never forget there is no such thing as covering all questions. I will only discuss definitions here and keep the examples for later.

1. CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENT.

In this type of problem, you are supposed to arrange a certain number of people or things in a circular order or generally around a table. These can get confusing when terms like outward, inwards, etc., are used.

1. SQUARE OR RECTANGLE ARRANGEMENT

You are instructed to arrange people and things in a block (square or rectangle) manner in this situation. This is much easier compared to the circle.

1. ARRANGING IN ROWS

The more the number of elements in the rows, the more difficult it becomes. Direction is also often used to make it more challenging and confusing for the applicant.

1. PARALLEL PROBLEMS

This is an extension of the previous row arrangement. It is just the arrangement of two rows simultaneously.

1. MATRICES BASED ARRANGEMENT

 These are problems that are pretty simple, but they test your patience. If done with a calm mind, they are in-pocket marks. Having multiple variables is an element of confusion that is added.

THINGS ONE MUST KEEP IN MIND WHILE SOLVING SEATING ARRANGEMENT PROBLEMS

One must keep a cool ahead while attempting any puzzling or lengthy questions.

One must keep in mind these things while solving or preparing for the same.

• It’s not rocket science. The questions are always going to be simple, just not straightforward.
• It is a knack to be able to solve such problems. It can be learned, but not overnight. It takes practice to approach the questions in a certain way.
• Understand the weightage. If a sum looks too complex and is time-consuming, let it go. A one-liner and a five-liner both will have the same mark weightage.
• Do not clutter your diagrams or plots to save time. In the very likely event that it gets messy, it’s going to cause you to do all of it again.
• Read the question. As obvious as it may sound to many, this is one thing that not many do. Look out for those confusing and tricky words. Please do not mess up questions simply because you did not read them.

CONCLUSION

It is imperative to keep in mind that problems based on seating arrangements and puzzle-solving are meant to confuse you. The very idea is to check and put your cognitive ability to the test. One must always stay calm and read the question. All questions cannot be approached similarly. The approach differs between questions and, therefore, cannot be generalized ultimately.