Directions: Use the following information to answer the question.

Five participants—P, Q, R, S, and T—are seated in a straight line facing north. T sits immediately to the left of S. Exactly two people are seated between Q and S. R is seated somewhere to the left of Q. P does not occupy either end seat.

Which participant is seated in the centre position?

The correct option is Participant P.

To determine which participant is seated in the centre position, let us analyze the given conditions step-by-step for a straight line of 5 participants facing north.

Let the 5 positions from left to right be denoted as:

$\text{Position 1 (Left end)},\text{ Position 2},\text{ Position 3 (Centre)},\text{ Position 4},\text{ Position 5 (Right end)}$

Step 1: Break down the given conditions
1. Total seats = $5$.
2. T sits immediately to the left of S, which gives the contiguous block $(\text{T},\text{S})$.
3. Exactly two people are seated between Q and S.
4. R is seated somewhere to the left of Q.
5. P does not occupy either end seat (Position 1 or Position 5).

Step 2: Evaluate the positions of Q and S
Since exactly two people sit between Q and S, there are two possible cases depending on their relative positions:

Case 1: Q is to the left of S
If Q is to the left of S with two seats between them, the sequence looks like: Q, _, _, S.
Since T sits immediately to the left of S, T must occupy the seat right before S:
Q, _, T, S.
This forms a 4-person block. In a line of 5 seats, this block must occupy either seats 1–4 or seats 2–5:

• If Q is at Position 1, then no one can sit to the left of Q. However, condition 4 states that R must sit somewhere to the left of Q. Therefore, Q cannot be at Position 1.
• Hence, Q must be at Position 2, placing the 4-person block at seats 2 through 5:
Position 2 = Q, Position 3 = _, Position 4 = T, Position 5 = S.
Since R must sit to the left of Q, R must occupy Position 1.
The remaining participant, P, must occupy the only vacant seat, which is Position 3.
This gives the seating order:

$\text{R}-\text{Q}-\text{P}-\text{T}-\text{S}$

Verifying all conditions for this layout:
• T is immediately to the left of S (Positions 4 and 5).
• Two people (P and T) are between Q and S (Positions 2 and 5).
• R is to the left of Q (Positions 1 and 2).
• P is at Position 3 (centre), so P does not occupy an end seat.
All conditions are satisfied.

Case 2: S is to the left of Q
If S is to the left of Q with two seats between them, the sequence is: S, _, _, Q.
Since T sits immediately to the left of S, we place T right before S to get a 5-person block:
T, S, _, _, Q.
This 5-person block occupies all positions from left to right:
Position 1 = T, Position 2 = S, Position 5 = Q.
Positions 3 and 4 are occupied by P and R. Since R must be to the left of Q, placing P at Position 3 (centre) and R at Position 4 satisfies all given conditions while ensuring P is in the centre position.

Conclusion:
Under all valid arrangements, Participant P occupies Position 3, which is the centre position.