CA Foundation · Quantitative Aptitude · Seating Arrangements
Five friends sit in a row of five chairs. Two of them, Gita and Hari, refuse to sit in adjacent chairs. In how many different ways can the five be seated?
There are 72 ways. Without restriction there are 120 seatings. Gita and Hari sit together in 48 of them, treating the pair as one unit in 4! ways and multiplying by 2 for their order. The remaining 120 minus 48 is 72.
- A48
- B72Correct
- C96
- D24
Explanation
Total arrangements are 5! = 120. If Gita and Hari are adjacent, treat them as one unit: 4! x 2 = 48 arrangements. Those where they are not adjacent number 120 - 48 = 72. The value 48 is wrong because it counts the cases where they sit together.
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