SBI PO Scheduling / Day-Month Puzzle — Study Material & 2 Practice MCQs | ZestExam
ZestExam
SBI PO Scheduling / Day-Month Puzzle
Study Material · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
This page covers SBI PO Scheduling / Day-Month Puzzle with complete concept notes, 2 graded practice MCQs, key points and exam-specific tips. Free to study.
Every puzzle has conditions that must be satisfied. Read all conditions first. Look for direct clues (like 'A meets on Monday') and indirect clues (like 'B meets two days after C'). Use elimination method to narrow down possibilities
→Three Main Types
1) Day-wise scheduling (7 days of week), 2) Month-wise scheduling (12 months), 3) Date-wise scheduling (1-31 dates). Each type follows similar solving patterns but has different reference points
🔑Formula for Gap Calculation
If X meets 'n' days after Y, and Y is on day 'd', then X is on day 'd+n'. For circular arrangements (like days of week), use modulo 7. If result exceeds 7, subtract 7.
📊
Exam Patterns
What examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
⚡Powerful Shortcut
Create a possibility chart. List all people vertically and all days/months horizontally. Mark 'YES' for confirmed positions and 'NO' for impossible ones. This visual method prevents confusion and speeds up solving
✏️Worked Example 1
Six friends A, B, C, D, E, F meet on different days of the week starting Monday
→Conditions
1
Place direct clues. B = Wednesday, E = Sunday (last day).
2
F meets immediately before B, so F = Tuesday.
3
From condition 1, if C = Monday, then A = Wednesday. But B is already on Wednesday. So C cannot be Monday.
4
If C = Thursday, then A = Saturday
🔑Check condition 3
D must be between C and A, so D = Friday. This works!
Step 5: Remaining person goes to remaining day. So the arrangement is: Monday = (remaining), Tuesday = F, Wednesday = B, Thursday = C, Friday = D, Saturday = A, Sunday = E
✏️Worked Example 2
1
P = April (given).
2
Since S meets immediately after R, and S meets in a 30-day month, possible months for S are April, June, September, November.
3
S cannot be April (P is there). If S = June, then R = May
🔑Check
Q meets two months before R means Q = March. This works!
Step 4: Final arrangement: Q = March, P = April, R = May, S = June.
Top
⚡
Shortcuts
Use these to save 30–60 seconds per question
⚠️Most Common Mistake
Students confuse 'after' and 'before'. If A meets 2 days after B, it means A's day comes later than B's day. Many students reverse this relationship. Always draw a timeline to avoid confusion.
Another frequent error is miscounting gaps. 'Two days after Monday' means Wednesday, not Tuesday
→Count carefully
Monday (start) → Tuesday (1 day after) → Wednesday (2 days after).
Test Scheduling / Day-Month Puzzle under exam conditions
Five employees — Arun, Bhavna, Chitra, Deepak, and Esha — are scheduled to present reports on five consecutive days: Monday through Friday. Each person presents exactly once. The following constraints apply:
1. Arun presents on Wednesday.
2. Bhavna presents the day before Chitra.
3. Deepak does not present on Monday or Friday.
4. Esha presents on Friday.
5. Chitra does not present on Tuesday.
On which day does Deepak present his report?
Practice 2hard
Seven employees—Anil, Bhavna, Chitra, Deepak, Esha, Farhan, and Gita—are scheduled for presentations across seven consecutive days (Monday to Sunday). The following constraints apply:
1. Anil's presentation is on Wednesday.
2. Bhavna's presentation is exactly 2 days after Chitra's.
3. Deepak's presentation is on Friday.
4. Esha's presentation is on a day that comes before Farhan's, and the gap between them is exactly 3 days.
5. Gita's presentation is on Monday.
6. No two presentations occur on the same day.
On which day is Chitra's presentation scheduled?