Order and Ranking Questions: What They Are
Order and ranking questions ask for a person's position in a row or class, the total number of people, or who is tallest, heaviest or highest scoring from a set of comparisons. In IBPS and SBI Clerk prelims they come as 1–2 direct questions or as a small comparison puzzle of 3 questions; SSC CGL, CHSL, MTS and RRB NTPC ask the direct row-position type.
Key takeaway: Total = left position + right position − 1. Rank from bottom = total − rank from top + 1. For comparison puzzles, write the people on a vertical line from highest to lowest and fill the fixed clues ("only one person is taller than X") first.
Every answer below was computed in Python, and both comparison puzzles were brute-forced over all possible orders to confirm a single answer.
Order and Ranking Formulas (Row and Class)
| Question asks | Formula |
|---|---|
| Total people in a row | Left position + right position − 1 |
| Position from the other end | Total − given position + 1 |
| Rank from bottom in a class | Total − rank from top + 1 |
| People between A and B (no overlap) | Total − (A's position + B's position from opposite ends) |
| People between A and B (same end) | Difference of positions − 1 |
| After interchange | A's new position = B's old position from the same end |
| Minimum people in a row | Use the overlap: people counted twice are subtracted |
Overlap check: if A's position from the left + B's position from the right is more than the total, they have crossed each other. Then convert both to the same end and use "difference − 1".
Order and Ranking Questions with Solutions (IBPS and SBI Pattern)
- Total in a row. Ravi is 14th from the left end and 23rd from the right end of a row. How many people are in the row? 14 + 23 − 1 = 36.
- Rank from bottom. In a class of 45 students Meena is 17th from the top. What is her rank from the bottom? 45 − 17 + 1 = 29th.
- People between two persons. In a row of 40, A is 12th from the left and B is 18th from the right. How many people sit between them? B from the left = 40 − 18 + 1 = 23. Between = 23 − 12 − 1 = 10.
- Interchange type. A is 10th from the left and B is 15th from the right. They swap places and A becomes 22nd from the left. How many people are in the row? A's new place is B's old place, so B was 22nd from the left and 15th from the right. Total = 22 + 15 − 1 = 36.
- Overlap type. In a row of 30, P is 20th from the left and Q is 18th from the right. How many people are between P and Q? Q from the left = 30 − 18 + 1 = 13. Q is to the left of P, so between = 20 − 13 − 1 = 6.
- Rank among passed students. 50 students took a test and 8 failed. Ravi passed and is 15th from the bottom among those who passed. What is his rank from the top? Passed = 42. Rank = 42 − 15 + 1 = 28th.
Comparison Ranking Puzzles (Height, Weight, Marks)
These are the "who is the tallest" sets in IBPS Clerk and SBI Clerk prelims. Draw a vertical line, highest at the top.
Puzzle 1 (heights). Five friends P, Q, R, S and T have different heights. Q is taller than only T. P is taller than R but shorter than S. Who is the tallest?
- "Taller than only T" means T is 5th and Q is 4th.
- S > P > R fill places 1 to 3.
- Order: S > P > R > Q > T. Tallest = S. (Unique: brute-force found one order.)
Puzzle 2 (weights). Six boxes A, B, C, D, E and F have different weights. B is heavier than D and A. C is lighter than only E. F is lighter than A but heavier than D. Which box is the third heaviest?
- "Lighter than only E": E is 1st, C is 2nd.
- B > A > F > D fill places 3 to 6.
- Order: E > C > B > A > F > D. Third heaviest = B.
Tricks for Order and Ranking Questions
- Underline the end each position is counted from before you add or subtract.
- "Only one person is ahead of X" fixes X at 2nd; "taller than only Y" fixes the person at second-last.
- Interchange questions: the swapped person's new position always equals the other person's old position from the same end.
- Options check: if the answer must be an integer total, an option that makes a position larger than the total is impossible.
- In SSC CGL, ranking often hides in a "how many are between" question; draw a quick line with both positions marked.
Common Mistakes in Ranking Questions
- Forgetting the −1 when adding left and right positions.
- Using "difference − 1" when the two people are counted from opposite ends.
- Missing an overlap, which gives a negative count of people in between.
- In comparison puzzles, reading "A is not the heaviest" as "A is the lightest".
Order and Ranking Practice Questions
- Neha is 9th from the top and 27th from the bottom in her class. How many students are in the class? Answer: 35 (9 + 27 − 1).
- In a row of 52, Arjun is 31st from the right. What is his position from the left? Answer: 22nd (52 − 31 + 1).
- In a queue, Rohan is 7th from the front and Sita is 12th from the back. Sita is behind Rohan with exactly 4 people between them. How many people are in the queue? Answer: 23 (Sita from the front = 7 + 4 + 1 = 12; total = 12 + 12 − 1).
- Six students J, K, L, M, N and O scored different marks. L is 3rd highest. Only one student scored more than M. M scored more than O, and O more than J. K scored more than N, and N more than O. Who is 4th? Answer: N (order K, M, L, N, O, J).
- In a row of 25 girls, Kavya is 8th from the left. She moves 5 places to the right. What is her new position from the right? Answer: 13th (new left position 13; 25 − 13 + 1 = 13).
Order and Ranking FAQs
What is the formula for order and ranking?
Total = position from one end + position from the other end − 1. Position from the other end = total − given position + 1.
How do you solve ranking questions quickly in bank exams?
Convert every position to the same end, mark them on a line, and count. For comparison puzzles, fix the extreme clues first ("taller than only", "only one ahead of").
Are order and ranking questions asked in IBPS Clerk?
Yes. IBPS and SBI Clerk prelims usually have 1–3 questions, either direct row positions or a small height/weight comparison puzzle.
What is the overlap case in ranking?
When the left position of one person plus the right position of the other exceeds the total, the two have crossed each other. Convert both to the same end and use difference − 1.
How many people are between A and B after they interchange?
The count does not change: a swap only exchanges the two places, so use the old positions.
Practice Next
- Mock tests: SSC CHSL Direction Sense and Ranking Mock Test 01, IBPS Clerk Reasoning Mini Quiz 02, SBI Clerk Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 02 and RRB NTPC Reasoning Mini Quiz 01.
- Related notes: circular seating arrangement tricks, blood relation questions for SSC CGL, data sufficiency questions for bank exams and alphanumeric series tricks for bank exams; also see linear seating arrangement questions for bank exams and floor puzzle questions for bank exams, plus direction sense questions for bank exams.
- Browse all study notes.