Six people P, Q, R, S, T and U sit around a round table facing the centre. P is opposite S. Q is immediately to the left of P. T is opposite Q. U is not next to S. Who is opposite R, and who sits between Q and S?
U is opposite R, and R sits between Q and S. When people face the centre, a person's left is the next seat clockwise. Clockwise from P the order is P, Q, R, S, T, U.
Explain it simply
Around a table with everyone facing the centre, left and right are the main trap. Picture yourself in a seat looking at the middle: your left hand points clockwise around the table and your right hand anticlockwise. Fix one person, then place opposite pairs, then use the adjacency clues.
Example
Question: Number seats 1 to 6 clockwise.
- P at seat 1. S opposite: seat 4.
- Q immediately left of P: left is clockwise, so seat 2.
- T opposite Q: seat 5.
- R and U take seats 3 and 6. S (seat 4) has neighbours 3 and 5. U is not next to S, so U = 6 and R = 3.
Clockwise: 1 P, 2 Q, 3 R, 4 S, 5 T, 6 U- Opposite R (seat 3) is seat 6: U.
- Between Q (2) and S (4): R (seat 3).
Also: the person immediately to P's right (anticlockwise, seat 6) is U.
If everyone faced outward instead, left would be anticlockwise and the whole arrangement would mirror.
What to say in the interview
"Facing the centre, left means clockwise. I fix P, put S opposite, Q clockwise next to P, T opposite Q, and the clue about U not being next to S forces U into seat 6 and R into seat 3. So U is opposite R, and R sits between Q and S."
Common mistakes
- Treating left as anticlockwise when people face the centre.
- Forgetting that 'opposite' in a 6-seat table means 3 seats away.