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Floor-Based Puzzle

AFCAT · Logical Reasoning

Also prepare for:NDA CDS Agniveer Agni Army

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Core Concept

Read this first — the foundation of the topic

🔑Core Rules

Each person/object occupies exactly one floor 2. No two people can live on the same floor 3. Ground floor is numbered 1, then 2, 3, etc. 4. Top floor means highest numbered floor 5. 'Above' means higher numbered floor, 'Below' means lower numbered floor Key Formula Patterns: For n-floor building: Total arrangements possible = n

→Middle floor calculation

(n+1)/2 for odd floors, n/2 or (n/2)+1 for even floors Floors between X and Y = |X-Y| - 1

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Exam Patterns

What examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs

→Questions focus on

immediate neighbors, floor positions, counting floors between people, and who lives above/below whom

⚡Master Shortcut - The Elimination Grid Method

Create a simple grid with floors (1-7) as columns and people (A-G) as rows. Mark 'X' for impossible positions and 'O' for confirmed positions. This visual method reduces solving time by 40%

✏️Worked Example 1

7 people (A,B,C,D,E,F,G) live on floors 1-7

→Given

1

From 'A lives 3 floors above B', possible pairs: (B=1,A=4), (B=2,A=5), (B=3,A=6), (B=4,A=7)

2

E lives on floor 4, so (B=1,A=4) is impossible

→Remaining

3

Since E=4, and we need A on 5,6, or 7, let's test each case

4

From 'C immediately below D', they occupy consecutive floors

5

'F above G but below C' means G < F < C < D (consecutive)

6

Testing B=2, A=5, E=4: Remaining floors 1,3,6,7 for C,D,F,G

7

If C=6, D=7, then F<6, so F could be 3, G could be 1 Final Answer: G=1, B=2, F=3, E=4, A=5, C=6, D=7 Worked Example 2: 6-floor building, people P,Q,R,S,T,U: - P lives 2 floors below R - Q lives on an even-numbered floor - S lives above T but below Q - U lives on floor 3 Solution Steps:

1

U=3 (given)

2

Q on even floor: 2, 4, or 6

3

P is 2 floors below R: (P=1,R=3), (P=2,R=4), (P=3,R=5), (P=4,R=6)

4

Since U=3, (P=1,R=3) impossible. Test remaining pairs

5

T < S < Q (from condition 3)

6

If P=2, R=4, U=3, Q=6: Remaining floors 1,5 for S,T

7

Since T < S < Q and Q=6, possible: T=1, S=5 Final Answer: T=1, P=2, U=3, R=4, S=5, Q=6 Top Exam Shortcuts: 1

⚡Relative Position Trick

When given 'A is 2 floors above B', immediately list all valid (B,A) pairs before reading other conditions 2

⚡Even-Odd Floor Hack

Quickly identify even (2,4,6) and odd (1,3,5,7) floors to eliminate impossible combinations 3

🔑Consecutive Floor Method

For 'immediately above/below', mark them as (n, n+1) pairs Common Trap - The #1 Mistake: Students confuse 'above' with 'immediately above'. 'A lives above B' means A's floor number > B's floor number (any gap allowed). 'A lives immediately above B' means A's floor = B's floor + 1. This confusion costs 2-3 marks per exam. Always read 'immediately' carefully!

🔑 Key Points

Ground floor is always numbered as Floor 1, never Floor 0
Above means higher floor number, below means lower floor number
Formula: Floors between X and Y = |X-Y| - 1
Immediately above/below means consecutive floors only
Each person occupies exactly one floor - no sharing allowed
Top floor means the highest numbered floor in the building
Create elimination grid: floors as columns, people as rows
Even floors: 2,4,6,8; Odd floors: 1,3,5,7 - use for quick elimination
Middle floor formula: (n+1)/2 for odd floors, n/2 for even floors
Always list all possible position pairs before applying other conditions

📌 Exam Facts

Floor-based puzzles appear in 4-5 questions per SSC CGL Tier-1 paper
Standard building height in SSC: 4 to 8 floors maximum
Ground floor is universally numbered as 1 in all SSC puzzle questions
Typical solving time allocation: 2-3 minutes per floor puzzle question
Most common floor counts tested: 5-floor, 6-floor, and 7-floor buildings
Average marks per floor puzzle: 2 marks in Tier-1, 3 marks in Tier-2
Success rate improves by 60% when using systematic elimination method

🚀 60-Second Revision

Remember: Ground floor = 1, never 0 in SSC questions
Formula: Floors between A and B = |A-B| - 1
Trap: 'Above' vs 'Immediately above' - read carefully
Method: Create grid, mark impossible positions first
Shortcut: List all valid pairs for relative positions immediately
Check: Even/odd floor constraints for quick elimination
Time: Allocate maximum 3 minutes per floor puzzle

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