P, Q, R, S, T and U are sitting around a circular table facing the centre. Only one person sits between T and R. Only one person sits between R and U. Only two people sit between U and Q. S sits to the immediate left of T. Who sits second to the left of P?
Correct Answer :
Q
Solution :
To find out who sits second to the left of P, let us analyze the seating arrangement step-by-step based on the given clues.
We have 6 people: P, Q, R, S, T, and U sitting around a circular table facing the centre.
Step 1: Position T and S.
According to the clue, "S sits to the immediate left of T".
Let us assign a position to T. If T is at position 1 (assuming positions 1 to 6 go clockwise), since they are facing the centre, the immediate left of T corresponds to position 2 (going clockwise).
Therefore, T is at position 1 and S is at position 2.
Step 2: Position R.
The clue states: "Only one person sits between T and R".
From T (position 1), R can be either at position 3 (with S at position 2 in between) or at position 5 (with position 6 in between).
Since S is already at position 2, the only person between T and R must be S. Therefore, R must be placed at position 3.
Step 3: Position U.
The clue states: "Only one person sits between R and U".
From R (position 3), the positions that are "one person away" are position 1 (with position 2 in between) and position 5 (with position 4 in between).
Since T is already at position 1, U must be at position 5. The person between R (position 3) and U (position 5) will be at position 4.
Step 4: Position Q.
The clue states: "Only two people sit between U and Q".
In a 6-person circular table, sitting "only two people between U and Q" means U and Q are sitting directly opposite to each other.
Since U is at position 5, the position opposite to it is position 2 (which is occupied by S), or we can count 3 places in either direction:
5 - 3 = 2, and 5 + 3 = 8 (which is position 2 in a modulo 6 system).
Wait, let's re-verify the counting:
If we have positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 around a circle:
Opposite of 1 is 4.
Opposite of 2 is 5.
Opposite of 3 is 6.
Here, S is at 2, and U is at 5, which means S and U are opposite each other (two people sit between them: 3, 4 on one side, and 6, 1 on the other side).
Let us re-evaluate the placement of R.
If T is at position 1, S is at position 2 (immediate left of T, going clockwise).
"Only one person sits between T and R."
R could be at position 5 (going counter-clockwise, with position 6 in between). Let's test this alternative layout:
- T is at 1.
- S is at 2.
- R is at 5 (so position 6 is between T and R).
- "Only one person sits between R and U."
Since R is at 5, U could be at 3 (with 4 in between) or at 1 (which is occupied by T). So U must be at 3.
- "Only two people sit between U and Q."
This means Q must be opposite U. Since U is at 3, the opposite position is 6. So Q is at 6.
- This leaves only position 4 empty, so P must be at position 4.
Let's check all the conditions with this arrangement:
1. Six people: P (4), Q (6), R (5), S (2), T (1), U (3).
2. "Only one person sits between T (1) and R (5)": Yes, Q (6) sits between them.
3. "Only one person sits between R (5) and U (3)": Yes, P (4) sits between them.
4. "Only two people sit between U (3) and Q (6)": Yes, the two people are P (4) and R (5) on one side, and S (2) and T (1) on the other side.
5. "S sits to the immediate left of T": Since they face the centre, clockwise is left. T is at 1, immediate left (clockwise) is 2, where S is. This is correct.
Step 5: Find who sits second to the left of P.
P is at position 4.
Facing the centre, the direction to the left is clockwise.
- The immediate left (first to the left) of P (4) is U (3).
- The second to the left of P (4) is S (2). But wait, let's trace the positions carefully.
Let's draw the circle clockwise:
1: T
2: S
3: U
4: P
5: R
6: Q
Let's check the left direction. For a person facing the centre:
At position 4 (bottom, if 1 is top, 4 is bottom): facing up (centre).
Left of P is towards the right side of the circle, which is position 5 (counter-clockwise? No, if you face the centre from the bottom (position 4), your left hand points to the right, which is position 3 (counter-clockwise if 1 is 12 o'clock, 3 is 3 o'clock, 4 is 6 o'clock, 5 is 8 o'clock etc. Let's map to clock positions:)
Let's use standard clock positions:
12 o'clock = T (1)
10 o'clock = Q (6)
8 o'clock = R (5)
6 o'clock = P (4)
4 o'clock = U (3)
2 o'clock = S (2)
Let's trace this:
- S (2 o'clock) is to the immediate left of T (12 o'clock). Facing centre from 12 o'clock, left is towards 2 o'clock. Correct.
- One person sits between T (12 o'clock) and R (8 o'clock): Yes, Q (10 o'clock) is between them.
- One person sits between R (8 o'clock) and U (4 o'clock): Yes, P (6 o'clock) is between them.
- Two people sit between U (4 o'clock) and Q (10 o'clock): Yes, they are opposite each other.
- S (2 o'clock) sits to the immediate left of T (12 o'clock): Correct.
Now, who sits second to the left of P (6 o'clock)?
Facing the centre from 6 o'clock (looking north):
- Immediate left (west/left) is towards 4 o'clock, which is U.
- Second to the left is towards 2 o'clock, which is S. But wait, if you look north from 6 o'clock, your left is west (towards 8 o'clock).
Let's verify: at 6 o'clock, facing north (centre):
- Right hand points to 4 o'clock (East).
- Left hand points to 8 o'clock (West).
So immediate left of P is R (8 o'clock).
Second to the left of P is Q (10 o'clock).
Therefore, Q sits second to the left of P.
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