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Difficulty: MediumAnalytical Puzzles and Grouping

Five corporate managers—P, Q, R, S, and T—head five different departments: HR, IT, Sales, Finance, and Operations (Ops). They are seated in a single row of five chairs aligned from West to East. For a panel discussion, all five managers are facing South.

The following conditions are observed:
• R sits exactly in the middle chair.
• Q, the HR manager, sits at one of the extreme ends of the row.
• S sits to the immediate left of T, who is the Finance manager.
• The IT manager sits second to the left of the Ops manager.
• The Sales manager sits immediately to the right of the IT manager.

Based on the information provided, which of the following statements are definitely true?

  1. P is the IT manager and sits to the east of R.Answer
  2. T is the Finance manager and sits at the westernmost end.Answer
  3. C
    S is the Operations manager and sits to the east of R.
  4. D
    Q is the HR manager and sits at the westernmost end.

Answer

The statements confirming that P is the IT manager sitting east of R, and T is the Finance manager sitting at the westernmost end are both correct.
Based on the conditions, the only valid arrangement from West to East is: T (Finance), S (Operations), R (Sales), P (IT), and Q (HR). Therefore, it is definitively true that T is the Finance manager at the westernmost position, and P is the IT manager sitting east of R.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define the coordinate system and orientation based on the South-facing direction.
Let the chairs be numbered 1 to 5 from West to East. Because the managers face South, their 'left' is towards the East (higher numbers) and their 'right' is towards the West (lower numbers).
Establishing the correct spatial mapping is critical to avoid reversing the arrangement.
2
Combine the departmental sequence clues.
The IT manager is second to the left (+2 East) of Ops, and Sales is immediately right (-1 West) of IT. This creates a strict West-to-East block: [Ops, Sales, IT].
Consolidating relative clues reduces the number of possible placements for the departments.
3
Place the block and R onto the chairs.
R is exactly in the middle (chair 3). The [Ops, Sales, IT] block must span chairs 2, 3, and 4 so that R coincides with Sales. Thus, Ops is chair 2, Sales is chair 3, and IT is chair 4.
Testing the block in other positions (1-2-3 or 3-4-5) forces contradictions with remaining clues regarding extreme ends and adjacent pairs.
4
Assign the remaining managers and departments.
Chairs 1 and 5 must be Finance and HR. Q (HR) is at an extreme end (1 or 5). T (Finance) has S to their immediate left (+1 East). If Q were at chair 1, T would be at 5, pushing S to an invalid chair 6. Therefore, Q is at chair 5 (HR), T is at chair 1 (Finance), and S is at chair 2 (Ops). The only remaining manager, P, takes chair 4 (IT).
This guarantees a single, deterministic mapping of all managers to their departments and seats.

Key Concept

Logical deduction of grouping assignments combined with spatial orientation rules.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Analytical Puzzles and Grouping

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