Building Floors Ordering

Building Floors Ordering problems involve arranging persons or items on different floors of a building, using clues like 'A lives above B', 'C lives two floors below D', or 'E lives on an even-numbered floor'. These problems test vertical ordering and positional arithmetic.

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

Introduction to Building Floors Ordering

Building Floors Ordering problems involve arranging persons or items on different floors of a building, using clues like 'A lives above B', 'C lives two floors below D', or 'E lives on an even-numbered floor'. These problems test vertical ordering and positional arithmetic.

Prerequisites

Understanding of 'above' and 'below' in vertical context Floor numbering (ground floor = 1 or 0) Gap calculation between floors Logical deduction
Why This Matters: Building Floors Ordering problems appear in 2-3 questions in SSC CGL and Banking exams. They test vertical arrangement skills.

How to Solve Building Floors Ordering Problems

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Step 1: Identify total number of floors and numbering scheme (1=ground or 1=top)

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Step 2: Draw a vertical line with floor numbers (bottom to top or top to bottom)

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Step 3: Place fixed positions first (e.g., 'A lives on floor 5')

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Step 4: Use 'above/below' clues to establish relative positions

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Step 5: Use floor gap clues (e.g., 'two floors between') to calculate distances

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Step 6: Use floor type clues (odd/even, prime, multiple) to eliminate possibilities

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Step 7: Fill remaining floors using elimination

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Step 8: Answer the specific question (who lives on which floor)

Pro Strategy: Draw a vertical line with floor numbers from bottom (lowest) to top (highest). Use 'above' = higher number, 'below' = lower number. Place definite positions first, then use elimination for ambiguous placements.

Example Problem

Example: Six persons live on 6 floors (1=ground to 6=top). A lives above B. C lives two floors below D. E lives on an even floor. F lives on floor 3. Who lives on floor 5? Solution: Step 1: Floors 1 to 6 (bottom to top) Step 2: F at floor 3 Step 3: C two floors below D → possible pairs: (C=1,D=3) but floor 3 is F, so (C=2,D=4) or (C=3,D=5) but 3 is F, or (C=4,D=6) Step 4: A above B → A floor > B floor Step 5: E on even floor → possible floors 2,4,6 Step 6: Deduction leads to D at floor 5 Answer: D lives on floor 5

Pro Tips & Tricks

  • 'Above' means higher floor number, 'below' means lower floor number
  • 'Two floors above' means add 2 to floor number
  • 'Two floors below' means subtract 2 from floor number
  • 'Floors between' = |floor1 - floor2| - 1
  • Even floors: 2,4,6,...; Odd floors: 1,3,5,...
  • Top floor is maximum floor number, bottom floor is minimum

Shortcut Methods to Solve Faster

If A is above B and no gap specified, A = B + at least 1
If two persons have exactly one floor between them, their floor numbers differ by 2
The sum of floor numbers of persons at ends is constant for symmetric arrangements
Use elimination: assign possible floors to each person and remove invalid ones

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Confusing 'above' with 'below'
Miscounting floors between two persons
Forgetting that floors are discrete numbers
Not considering that ground floor may be 0 or 1

Exam Importance

Building Floors Ordering is an important topic for various competitive exams. Here's how frequently it appears:

SSC CGL
2-3 questions
BANKING PO
2-3 questions
RAILWAYS RRB
2-3 questions
CAT
1-2 questions
INSURANCE
2-3 questions

Ready to Master Building Floors Ordering?

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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