Types of Box-Based Reasoning Puzzles Questions

A box-based puzzle is a common reasoning puzzle that often appears in the aptitude tests of competitive exams. The main agenda of a box-based puzzle is that the student has to figure out the order of things mentioned in the puzzle. There are different types of box-based puzzles that examiners can ask in an exam. For example, a box-based puzzle for SBI PO has varying difficulty levels. To understand these levels of difficulty, some examples of the box-based puzzle are as follows:

Easy Level of Box-Based Puzzle

1. There are eight boxes, labelled 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8, that are placed at the top of the other. However, the order of their placement is not necessarily the same.

• Two boxes are between boxes 1 and 6
• Two boxes are between boxes 3 and 7
• Three boxes are between boxes 4 and 2
• Eight is right below 2
• Two boxes are between 1 and 8
• Two boxes are between 5 and 2

Question 1. If box three is placed at the bottommost position, which box is on the top?

1. 4
2. 7
3. 1
4. 6
5. 8

      Answer: 4

Question 2: From the options given below, four pairs of boxes are alike in a certain way. Choose the one which is unlike the others?

1. 6,1
2. 1,8
3. 2,5
4. 3,7
5. 5,4

      Answer: 5

Question 3: How many boxes are between boxes 3 and 4?

1. Two
2. Four
3. Five
4. Three
5. It cannot be determined

      Answer: 5

Moderate Level Box-Based Puzzle

1. There are eight boxes, labelled, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8, placed on top of each other, but not in the same order. These boxes are also made up of different materials like Aluminium, steel, wood and plastic. Two of the eight boxes are made up of the same material. There are also various kinds of flowers, including Rose, Orchid, Sunflower, Jasmine, Lily, Tulip, Chrysanthemum and Lotus. Think about the box in the topmost position.

Box 4, which is made of plastic, is two positions above box 2. These boxes are in the topmost four positions if the boxes are placed from top to bottom. The box with the Lotus is right below the wooden box and is made of the same material as box four. Box 3 is placed between 7 and 8, while eight is right below 3. 

There are two boxes made up of Aluminium, and both are placed beside each other. Lily is between box six and the box with Tulip in it. There is no Jasmine in box 8. Box 5 is two positions below box 7, which is right below the box with the Lotus. The box with Chrysanthemum is even-numbered, but it is not in the eighth position. The steel box is at the top, but it could contain Jasmine or Orchid. Box 5 is not made up of Aluminium, and box 6, which is a wooden box, has a Sunflower in it. Rose is also in a wooden box, and box three does not have Jasmine or Chrysanthemum in it. 

Question 1: Which box has a rose in it?

1. 1
2. 4
3. 6
4. 8
5. None of the above

      Answer: 5D

Question 2: Which boxes are made up of wood?

1. 1,2
2. 5,6
3. 2,5
4. 4,7
5. 8,6

      Answer: 5

Question 3: Which of the statements below are true?

1. 2 is a wooden box and has Lotus in it
2. Six is made up of plastic and is in the 5th position
3. Five is not made up of steel and has Tulip in it
4. Eight is made up of steel and is at the bottommost position
5. None of the above

      Answer: 5

Question 4: Which of the following are matched correctly?

1. 7 – Plastic – Lily
2. 6 – Wood – Sunflower
3. 8 – Steel – Rose
4. 5 – Plastic – Tulip
5. 4 – Wood – Chrysanthemum

      Answer: 2

Advanced Level of Box-Based Puzzle

There are six male students named Mark, Tony, Bob, Jim, George, and Michael. They are asked to stand in a straight line in the order of their heights. Amongst them, the one who was the shortest stood at the beginning of the line, and the tallest one stood at the end of the line. Neither Jim nor Mark was at the beginning of the line. Bob is not taller than George. Mark’s height is 164 cm, and he is standing in the fifth position in the line. Jim was not shorter than Tony. Michael did not stand before Mark, who was standing right after Tony. The difference between George’s height and Bob’s height is 25 cm. Jim is standing behind Mark but not right before Bob.

• Michael stood at what position in the line?

1. Second
2. Third
3. Fourth
4. Fifth
5. None of the above

      Answer: 3

• What is Jim’s height?

1. 166 cm
2. 153 cm
3. 173 cm
4. 165 cm
5. It cannot be determined

      Answer: 2

Conclusion

As observed, the box-based puzzle, even when in their advanced level of difficulty, can be easy to crack, especially when compared to other types of reasoning puzzles. To find out the exact arrangement of the boxes, one has to pay close attention to the clues hidden in the question and use a table to decipher one clue at a time. This will be the easiest way to solve the box-based puzzle for SBI PO or other competitive exams.