Puzzle: Meaning, Reasoning Questions with Answers, Tricks, Types

Puzzle is the most important topic of Reasoning aptitude tests. The questions from this topic are seen in almost all competitive exams. In the puzzle-based questions, a piece of information would be given and the aspirants need to arrange the given piece of information in a particular sequence to determine the correct answer.

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This Story also Contains

1. Approach to Solve the Questions Based on Puzzle
2. Types of Puzzle in Reasoning
3. Tips to Deal With the Questions of the Puzzle
4. Time Management Tips
5. Practice and Resources on puzzles
6. Question Weightage of Puzzle in Competitive Exams
7. Practice Questions For Box-based Puzzle
8. Practice Questions For Floor-based Puzzle
9. Practice Questions For Table based Puzzle

Approach to Solve the Questions Based on Puzzle

Firstly, read the question carefully and then analyse all the information given.
Secondly, stay calm and try to draw different possibilities from the given information on the rough sheet of paper.

Thirdly, arrange the given information in a particular sequence and try to eliminate unnecessary information.

Lastly, try to draw conclusions from the sequence, thus formed.

Types of Puzzle in Reasoning

The following are the types of questions asked from the concept of the puzzle -

1. Box-based Puzzle

2. Floor-based Puzzle

3. Table-based Puzzle

1. Box-based Puzzle

In these types of puzzle questions, information related to the placement or weight of boxes would be given. Aspirants need to arrange the given jumbled information in a particular sequence to conclude the final placement or weight of the given boxes.

Example:

1. There are eight boxes, labelled A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, that are placed on top of each other. However, the order of their placement is not necessarily the same. Two boxes are between boxes A and F. Two boxes are between boxes C and G. Three boxes are between boxes D and B. H is right below B. Two boxes are between A and H. Two boxes are between E and B. If box C is placed at the bottom position, which box is on the top?

1. D

2. G

3. C

4. F

5. A

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that if C is placed at the bottommost position then box F will be at the top. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

2. Floor-based Puzzle

In these types of puzzle-based questions, information related to persons living on different floors will be given in the jumbled form. Aspirants need to analyse the given information and arrange the persons in a logical sequence as per the given information.

Example: Answer the following question based on the information given below:
Six persons M, N, O, P, Q and R live on six different floors of a building. The ground floor is numbered 1, the floor above it is numbered 2 and so on. O lives on the floor immediately below the floor of M. Q lives on the floor immediately below the floor of P. Two persons live between the floors of R and P. N does not live on the topmost floor. M does not live on any of the floors below P. Q and R lives on even-numbered floors. Who lives on the 5th floor?

1. R

2. Q

3. N

4. M

5. P

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that M lives on the 5th floor. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

3. Table-based Puzzle

In these types of puzzle-based questions, information needs to be analysed carefully by the aspirants and then it needs to be arranged in a tabular format following a particular sequence.

Example:

Directions: Eight friends Aadya, Abhilasha, Dev, Arun, Cherry, Neha, Sagar and Payal went shopping. Each of them bought shoes from 8 different brands – Puma, Reebok, Adidas, Bata, Nike, Woodland, Lee Cooper and Fila but not necessarily in the same order. The colour of each pair of shoes was different – black, white, brown, pink, green, grey, blue and purple but not necessarily in the same order.

Dev did not buy the purple colour shoes but shopped at Woodland. Aadya and Cherry did not buy brown shoes. Aadya doesn’t like Puma. Payal didn’t like Fila but bought a pink pair of shoes. Abhilasha’s favourite colour is blue and she bought shoes in her favourite colour. Neha shopped at Bata. Arun likes Adidas and bought her grey colour shoes from there. The one who shopped at Reebok has brown shoes and the one who bought Green shoes shopped at Puma. The one who likes Nike bought black shoes. Which brand of shoes did Dev buy?

1. Puma

2. Nike

3. Fila

4. Woodland

5. Adidas

Solution-

From the above table, it is evident that Dev bought the Woodland brand pair of shoes. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

Tips to Deal With the Questions of the Puzzle

To solve the puzzle-based questions, an aspirant must follow the following tips -

1. Stay calm and read the information given. The first time you read, the information might seem confusing but do not panic. Read it again, if required.

2. Only consider the information given and restrict yourself from making any kind of assumptions.

3. Based on the information, try to draw the required pattern of the puzzle on the given sheet of paper.

4. Once the puzzle gets solved, answer all the questions related to that particular puzzle.

5. Do not hurry, try to analyse all the possibilities.

6. Keep eliminating those possibilities which do not satisfy all the given combinations.

Time Management Tips

The puzzle-based questions are tricky and aspirants might be required to read the given information twice or thrice for a better understanding. So, a total of 4-5 minutes are required to be spent by the aspirants on this topic. One benefit is linked with this topic that once the puzzle gets solved, the aspirants can answer 4-5 questions in one go based on that particular passage.

Practice and Resources on puzzles

The following are the recommended sources for the practice of the questions of the puzzle -
a) A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal

b) Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey

c) Logical and Analytical Reasoning by A.K. Gupta

d) Test of Reasoning by Edgar Thorpe

Question Weightage of Puzzle in Competitive Exams

The number of questions based on the puzzle varies from exam to exam -
1) In various Banking competitive exams i.e., SBI, IBPS, and RRB, 5 to 10 questions are asked on this topic in both prelims and mains exams.
2) In various other competitive exams i.e., SSC, Railways Group D, NTPC, JE, ALP, CUET 2 to 3 questions are asked on this topic.

Practice Questions For Box-based Puzzle

Directions (Q1-Q5): Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below.

Eight boxes – A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are kept one above the other in a single stack, but not necessarily in the same order.

Only three boxes are kept between box E and box B. Box D is kept two boxes above box B and kept at the top of the stack. Box A is kept adjacent to box E. Only one box is kept between box A and box F. As many boxes kept below box F is the same as above box G. Box C is kept below box H.

Q1. Which of the following boxes is kept fourth from the bottom of the stack?

1. Box F

2. The box which is kept immediately above box B

3. Box A

4. The box which is kept three boxes above box C (correct)

5. None of these

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that the box which is kept three boxes above box C is kept fourth from the bottom of the stack. Hence, the fourth option is correct.
Q2. What is the position of box A from the top of the stack?

1. Second

2. Sixth (correct)

3. Third

4. Seventh

5. Fifth

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that box A is in sixth position from the top of the stack. Hence, the second option is correct.
Q3. If all the boxes are kept in alphabetical order from bottom to top, then how many boxes remain unchanged in their position?

1. One

2. Three

3. Two

4. More than three

5. None (correct)

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that none of the boxes remain unchanged. Hence, the fifth option is correct.
Q4. If the positions of box H and box E are interchanged, then which of the following boxes is kept four boxes above box H?

1. The box which is kept immediately below box F

2. Box D

3. The box which is kept two boxes above box G

4. Box F (correct)

5. None of these

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that if the positions of box H and box E are interchanged, then box F is kept four boxes above box H. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

Q5. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way as per the given arrangement and hence form a group. Find the one which doesn’t belong to that group.

1. Box H and Box F

2. Box E and Box G

3. Box A and Box C

4. Box B and Box D

5. Box G and box F (correct)

Solution-

Each of the two boxes in the given options has one box between them but there is no box between box G and box F. Hence, the fifth option is correct.

Practice Questions For Floor-based Puzzle

Directions (Q1–Q5): Study the data given below carefully and answer the following questions:
Seven people live on separate floors of a 7-storey building, and each of these people belongs to a different state. The top floor is numbered 7 and the bottom floor is numbered 1.

• People living on different floors are Aishwariya, Deepika, Akshay, Rashmika, Alia, Amitabh and Nia. They belong to Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, not in the same order.

• Only three people live above the floor on which Aishwariya lives.

• Only one person lives between Aishwariya and the one who belongs to Assam.

• Amitabh lives immediately below the one belonging to Arunachal Pradesh.

• The one who belongs to Arunachal Pradesh lives on an even-numbered floor.

• Only three people live between the one belonging to Punjab and Assam.

• Alia lives immediately above Akshay and Alia does not belong to Punjab.

• Only two people live between Deepika and the one belonging to Chattisgarh and the one belonging to Chattisgarh lives on one of the floors below Deepika.

• The one belonging to Andhra Pradesh does not live immediately above or below Deepika.

• Rashmika does not live immediately above or below Aishwariya and Nia does not belong to Haryana.

Q1. Who lives on the 2nd floor?

1. Amitabh

2. Aishwariya

3. Rashmika

4. Nia

5. Alia (correct)

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Alia lives on the 2nd floor. Hence, the fifth option is correct.

Q2. Which of the given combinations is incorrect?

1. Akshay – 1st floor

2. Deepika – 4th floor (correct)

3. Rashmika – 7th floor

4. Amitabh – 3rd floor

5. Nia – 5th floor

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Deepika lives on the 6th floor. Hence, the second option is correct.

Q3. Which state does Nia belong to?

1. Haryana

2. Arunachal Pradesh

3. Madhya Pradesh (correct)

4. Assam

5. Andhra Pradesh

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Nia belongs to Madhya Pradesh. Hence, the third option is correct.

Q4. Which of these belong to Haryana?

1. Nia

2. Deepika

3. Akshay

4. Amitabh

5. Rashmika (correct)

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Rashmika belongs to Haryana. Hence, the fifth option is correct.

Q5. Which of the given combinations is incorrect?

1. 5th floor – Nia – Madhya Pradesh

2. 2nd floor – Alia – Assam

3. 4th floor – Aishwariya – Arunachal Pradesh

4. 3rd floor – Amitabh – Punjab (correct)

5. 7th floor – Rashmika – Haryana

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Amitabh lives on the 3rd floor and belongs to Chattisgarh. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

Practice Questions For Table based Puzzle

Directions (Q1–Q5): Study the data given below of 7 friends and their choice of mobile phones and based on it, answer the following questions:

• Seven friends, namely Anicka, Addy, Siwet, Kashish, Shobika, Akriti, and Jaswant have different subjects History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and English, but not necessarily in the same order.

• Each book cover is of a different colour, namely Red, Blue, White, Brown, Black, Grey and Yellow but not necessarily in the same order.

• The colour of Akriti’s book is Red and she has neither Physics nor Chemistry as her favourite subject. The History book cover is blue.

• Anicka’s favourite subject is Geography and the colour of her book cover is neither Brown nor Black. The English book cover is yellow.

• The colour of Addy’s book is grey. Addy does not have Chemistry as his favourite subject.

• The chemistry book’s cover is not black. Kashish has Biology as her favourite subject.

• The colour of Jashwant’s phone is not Blue. Jashwant does not have Chemistry as his favourite subject. Shobika does not have Chemistry as her favourite subject.

Q1. Who among the following has geography as their favourite subject?

1. Anicka (correct)

2. Siwet

3. Addy

4. Kashish

5. Shobika

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Geography is the favourite subject of Anicka. Hence, the first option is correct.

Q2. Which of the given combinations is correct?

1. Shobika – Mathematics

2. Kashish – English

3. Addy – Geography

4. Siwet – Physics

5. Shobika – History (correct)

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that History is the favourite subject of Shobika. Hence, the fifth option is correct.

Q3. Which of the following people has a red colour book cover as their favourite?

1. Akriti (correct)

2. Siwet

3. Addy

4. Jaswant

5. Kashish

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Akriti owns a book with a red cover. Hence, the first option is correct.

Q4. If Kashish's favourite book is Biology, what is the colour of its cover?

1. Blue

2. Red

3. Yellow

4. Red

5. Black (correct)

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Kashish’s favourite subject book cover is black. Hence, the fifth option is correct.

Q5. Which of these has Physics as their favourite subject?

1. Jaswant

2. Akriti

3. Anicka

4. Siwet

5. Addy (correct)

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that Physics is the favourite subject of Addy. Hence, the fifth option is correct.

In table-based questions, an aspirant can also expect arrangements related to days or months. One such example is shown below-

Directions: Read the following and answer the given questions: Seven persons A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are going to attend a webinar on seven different days of the week (Monday to Sunday) but not necessarily in the same order.
More than three persons go before D, who does not go on Sunday. One person goes between D and F. F goes before D. B goes one of the days after C but not just after. B and E do not go on Sunday and A goes just before C. C goes on Tuesday. Neither B nor D goes on the second last day of the week. E goes just before G.

Q1. Who among the following person goes just before B?

1. D

2. E

3. F (correct)

4. G

5. Other than those given as options

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that F goes just before B. Hence, the third option is correct.

Q2. Who among the following people goes on Saturday?

1. B

2. E (correct)

3. G

4. D

5. Other than those given as options

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that E goes on Saturday. Hence, the second option is correct.

Q3. How many persons go between C and D?

1. 2 (correct)

2. 4

3. 3

4. 5

5. Other than those given as options

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that two people go between C and D. Hence, the first option is correct.

Q4. Who among the following people goes on Sunday?

1. G (correct)

2. D

3. B

4. F

5. Other than those given as options

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that G goes on Sunday. Hence, the first option is correct.

Q5. If A is related to F and B is related to E then D is related to which of the following?

1. C

2. E

3. G (correct)

4. B

5. Other than those given as options

Solution-

From the above, it is evident that if A is related to F and B is related to E then D is related to G. Hence, the third option is correct.