Practice tests · TNPSC

TNPSC reasoning puzzles: ranking, seating and age problems

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

Puzzles appear by name in the Group 4 reasoning syllabus, and at SSLC level they are small: a handful of statements and one question. They look hard because they are wordy, but a diagram or a short list of symbols solves nearly all of them. The five questions below cover the types you are likely to meet. Read TNPSC aptitude and mental ability for the full subject.

What this topic covers

• Ranking and position: the position of a person from the left, right, top or bottom.
• Ordering by comparison: height, weight, age, marks.
• Seating arrangements: people in a row, using clues about left and right.
• Number and age puzzles: age relationships, and counting heads and legs.

Sample questions

Question 1

In a row of 30 students, Ravi is 12th from the left. His position from the right is:

• A. 17th
• B. 18th
• C. 20th
• D. 19th

Question 2

P is taller than Q. Q is taller than R. S is taller than P. T is shorter than R. Who is the second tallest?

• A. S
• B. P
• C. Q
• D. T

Question 3

Five persons A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. E sits at the extreme left. D sits immediately to the right of E. B sits immediately to the left of C. A sits at the extreme right. Who sits in the middle?

• A. C
• B. D
• C. B
• D. A

Question 4

Ravi is 4 years older than Kumar. Kumar is twice as old as Selvi. If Selvi is 8 years old, Ravi's age is:

• A. 16 years
• B. 20 years
• C. 24 years
• D. 12 years

Question 5

A yard has hens and cows with 20 heads and 56 legs in total. The number of hens is:

• A. 12
• B. 8
• C. 10
• D. 14

Answers and explanations

1. D. Position from the right = 30 − 12 + 1 = 19th. Counting 12 people from the left leaves 18 to his right, so he is 19th from the right.
2. B. From the clues: S > P, P > Q, Q > R and R > T, so the order is S > P > Q > R > T. The tallest is S and the second tallest is P.
3. C. E is in position 1 and D in position 2. A is in position 5. The remaining slots 3 and 4 go to B and C, and since B is immediately left of C, B is third and C fourth. The order is E, D, B, C, A, and the middle person is B.
4. B. Kumar is twice Selvi's age: 2 × 8 = 16. Ravi is 4 years older than Kumar: 16 + 4 = 20.
5. A. If all 20 were hens, there would be 40 legs. The extra 56 − 40 = 16 legs come from cows, each cow adding 2 more legs, so there are 8 cows and 12 hens. Check: 12 × 2 + 8 × 4 = 24 + 32 = 56.

How to prepare puzzles

Draw before you think. For ordering questions, write the chain with symbols; for seating, draw a row of boxes and number them; for ages, write names on the left and fill in values as you find them. This approach removes the working-memory load that makes puzzles feel difficult.

Read all the clues once before you fill in any, and then place the definite clues first (extreme left, extreme right, "immediately next to"). Clues that are only relative, such as "somewhere to the left of", go in last. If two arrangements are possible after all clues, the question usually asks about something that is the same in both, so you can still answer.

For heads-and-legs and similar algebra puzzles, learn the "assume all one kind" method used in question 5. It is quicker than writing two equations and applies to coins and tickets as well.

Pair this page with TNPSC logical reasoning practice, which covers relations, directions and syllogisms, and TNPSC dice and cubes practice for spatial puzzles.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

Puzzles are quick to test and easy to improve with repetition. A PrepMatic topic test (about 15 questions, 30 minutes) shows your accuracy on a block of reasoning questions in one sitting. Full mocks that match the 200-question Group 4 paper then show whether your pace holds when Part C, the last 25 questions, arrives.

← All practice tests