Directions (84-87) : Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below:
A certain number of persons sit in a row facing north direction. Two persons sit between N and Q who is the only neighbour of B. W sits 5th to the left of L who sits immediately right of N. W sits exactly middle of the row. The number of persons sit between W and N is the same as the number of persons sit between W and T . Z sits 2nd to the right of H. Three person sits between T and H. O sits just left of A and just right of E who doesn’t sit adjacent to W.

How many persons sit in the row?

The correct option is 17.

Step-by-step Explanation:

Let us analyze the given conditions step-by-step to determine the seating arrangement of persons facing north in a single row:

1. "Q is the only neighbour of B"
This implies that B must be at one of the extreme ends of the row. Since Q is the only neighbour of B, B is adjacent only to Q. Thus, at this end, the sequence is B - Q (or Q - B at the right end).

2. "Two persons sit between N and Q"
Case A: If B is at the left end, the arrangement starts as: B, Q, _, _, N.
Here, N is to the right of Q.

3. "L sits immediately right of N"
Adding L to the right of N gives: B, Q, _, _, N, L.

4. "W sits 5th to the left of L"
Counting 5 places to the left of L:
Position of L = 6th from B.
5th to the left of L would be position 1 (which is B). But position 1 is occupied by B, not W. Therefore, B cannot be at the left end.

Thus, B must be at the right end of the row!

5. Re-evaluating with B at the right end:
Right end sequence: ... N, _, _, Q, B
Since L sits immediately right of N, the sequence towards the right end becomes:
... N, L, _, Q, B (Wait, between N and Q there are 2 persons, so if L is immediately right of N, there is 1 person between L and Q: N, L, [1 person], Q, B).

6. Positioning W:
"W sits 5th to the left of L".
Let us trace to the left from L:
1st left of L = N
2nd left of L = Position -2
3rd left of L = Position -3
4th left of L = Position -4
5th left of L = W
So the sequence from W to B is:
W, _, _, _, N, L, _, Q, B
Let us count the positions from W to B:
Position 1: W
Position 2: _
Position 3: _
Position 4: _
Position 5: N
Position 6: L
Position 7: _
Position 8: Q
Position 9: B

7. "W sits exactly middle of the row"
Since W is at the middle and there are 8 persons to the right of W (from position 2 to 9), there must also be exactly 8 persons to the left of W.
Total number of persons in the row = 8 (left of W) + 1 (W) + 8 (right of W) = 17 persons.

8. Verifying other conditions:
- Number of persons between W and N = 3 (positions 2, 3, 4).
- "The number of persons sit between W and N is the same as the number of persons sit between W and T" ⇒ There are 3 persons between W and T. Moving to the left of W by 3 positions, T is at position (9 - 4) = 5th from the left end.
- "Three person sits between T and H" ⇒ H is 2nd from the left end.
- "Z sits 2nd to the right of H" ⇒ Z is 4th from the left end.
- "O sits just left of A and just right of E who doesn’t sit adjacent to W" fits consistently into the remaining available positions on the left side of W.

Therefore, total number of persons sitting in the row is 17.