Multiple Buildings: Cross-Building Analysis

Multiple Buildings puzzles involve people distributed across two or more buildings, each with its own set of floors. Clues may compare floor numbers across buildings (e.g., 'X in Building A lives on the same floor number as Y in Building B') or provide building-specific constraints. These puzzles test coordination of multiple parallel arrangements.

10Worksheets
200+Practice Questions
AdvancedDifficulty
3-4 hoursHours to Master

Introduction to Multiple Buildings: Cross-Building Analysis

Multiple Buildings puzzles involve people distributed across two or more buildings, each with its own set of floors. Clues may compare floor numbers across buildings (e.g., 'X in Building A lives on the same floor number as Y in Building B') or provide building-specific constraints. These puzzles test coordination of multiple parallel arrangements.

Prerequisites

Single building arrangement basics Cross-reference understanding Multi-building coordination Attribute matching across buildings
Why This Matters: Multiple Buildings puzzles appear in 1-2 questions in Banking PO mains and SSC CGL exams. They test parallel reasoning and coordination skills.

How to Solve Multiple Buildings: Cross-Building Analysis Problems

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Step 1: Identify all buildings and their floor ranges

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Step 2: Create separate grids/tables for each building

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Step 3: Place directly assigned people in their buildings and floors

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Step 4: Apply cross-building constraints (same floor number, different floor numbers)

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Step 5: Apply intra-building constraints within each building

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Step 6: Solve simultaneously, updating all buildings as you deduce

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Step 7: Answer the specific question (e.g., which building and floor)

Pro Strategy: Create separate columns for each building. Use cross-building 'same floor' constraints to link positions across buildings. Solve intra-building constraints within each building independently where possible.

Example Problem

Example: Building A has floors 1-5, Building B has floors 1-5. X in Building A lives on floor 3. Y in Building B lives on the same floor number as X. Z in Building A lives immediately above W in Building A. Find Y's floor. Solution: Step 1: Building A floors 1-5, Building B floors 1-5 Step 2: X in A at floor 3 Step 3: Y in B at same floor as X → Y at floor 3 Step 4: Z immediately above W in A Step 5: Y at floor 3 Answer: Y on floor 3 in Building B

Pro Tips & Tricks

  • Draw each building as a separate column
  • Same floor number across buildings links positions at the same vertical level
  • Different floor numbers indicate inequality constraints across buildings
  • Each building has its own set of floors (may have different ranges)
  • The same person cannot be in two buildings
  • Use building names in clues to identify which building is referenced

Shortcut Methods to Solve Faster

If X in Building A and Y in Building B live on the same floor number, then floor_A(X) = floor_B(Y)
Total people = sum of people across all buildings
Cross-building constraints create direct mappings between buildings
If buildings have different floor ranges, same floor number may not be possible for all floors

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Placing the same person in two different buildings
Forgetting that floor numbering systems may differ between buildings
Not updating all buildings after each deduction
Confusing cross-building constraints with intra-building constraints

Exam Importance

Multiple Buildings: Cross-Building Analysis is an important topic for various competitive exams. Here's how frequently it appears:

SSC CGL
1-2 questions
BANKING PO
1-2 questions
RAILWAYS RRB
0-1 questions
CAT
1-2 questions
INSURANCE
1-2 questions

Ready to Master Multiple Buildings: Cross-Building Analysis?

Start with Worksheet 1 and work your way up to expert level! Each worksheet includes:

20 practice questions
Detailed solutions
Step-by-step explanations
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