Unit 16 · Positional Constraint Deduction
Four Friends in a Car — Seating Constraint
Lesson 2 of 2
Car-seat grids need a sketch: “next to” = same row; “directly behind” = same column in the back row — mix those up and every deduction fails.
2×2 seating layouts recur on Selective mocks in the medium band — draw the grid before placing anyone with an either-or clue.
You must translate spatial words into seat positions, place the most constrained person first, and resolve either-or options without breaking “not beside” rules.
Four people, driver + passenger + two back seats. Clues include behind-driver, not in back, not beside someone, and either-or seat choices.
Best approach: Draw front-left / front-right / back-left / back-right. Put Quinn behind the driver first. Test Pia’s either-or; use “Ravi not beside Sasha” to rule out Pia in the back.
Question
Four friends sit in a car with two seats in front and two in the back.
- Pia is either driving or sitting beside Quinn.
- Quinn sits directly behind the driver.
- Ravi is not in the back and is not sitting beside Sasha.
Who is driving?
Select an answer to see the explanation.
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