Order & Ranking: Key Concepts, Solved Examples, & Prep Tips

Order and Ranking means relative position or standing. Ranking is the process of determining the position or place of a person or a thing on the basis of comparison or positions of other persons or things. In order and ranking logical reasoning questions, relative position or ranking of different groups of people or objects are given, and one has to determine position or rank of a person from left to right or from top to bottom of a row or class or total number of persons. 

Candidates may also be asked to determine, using given data, the floor in which the person lives on. In various government competitive examinations, different types of questions are asked. Some of them are shown with the help of examples below. 

In this article, we are going to cover the key concepts of the Order and Ranking reasoning section along with the solved examples, practice questions, tips and tricks, and more. Read the article thoroughly to clear all the doubts regarding the same. 

What is Order and Ranking Reasoning?

Order and Ranking broadly deals with the problems related to the arrangement of persons or objects in ascending or descending order based on different parameters like height, weight, merit, position, and so on. Determining the position of a person or object in a row or queue and the problems related to the time sequence test, wherein candidates need to find out a particular day based on the given conditions. 

Different types of questions are covered in the order and ranking reasoning section such as sequential order or arrangement, position test, time sequence test, and so on. Several types of problems based on order and ranking reasoning sections are asked in various government competitive exams. 

Types of Order and Ranking

As now we know what consists of the questions related to the Order and Ranking input-output reasoning section. Let us see the various types of questions that may come one by one below. 

1. Ranking Based 

In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the position or rank of a person. Ranking based questions can be further divided into various categories and some of them are given below. 

(a) Rank from Left/Right: In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the position or rank of a person from left or right end, according to the given question. 

(b) Total Person in a Row: In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the total number of people in a row or a class. 

(c) Person between two people: This type of order and ranking reasoning is also known as overlapping based reasoning. In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the number of persons between two people when their rank satisfies the condition of overlapping. 

(d) Persons between two people: This type of order and ranking reasoning is also known as non overlapping based reasoning. In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the number of persons between the two people when their rank does not satisfy the condition of overlapping. 

(e) Interchanging the positions: In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the position of person or the total number of persons in the row when 2 people change their positions. 

(f) Ratio Based Problems: In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to find the position or rank of a girl or a boy when the ratio of them is given. 

Check more details on Statement & Conclusion Reasoning

2. Comparison Based

In this type of order and ranking reasoning, candidates need to compare different quantities to determine the correct order. 

How to Solve Question Based on Order and Ranking Reasoning- Know all Tips and Tricks 

Candidates can find various tips and tricks from below for solving the questions related to the Order and Ranking reasoning section. 

Tip # 1: Position can be from either side of the row, and rank is always from top or bottom of the row. 

Tip # 2: Candidates can calculate the total number of persons in a row or column by using the formula: Total Person = Rank from left + Rank from right – 1

Tip # 3: For non overlapping type questions, number of persons between two people = The total number of persons – Sum of positions of two different people from opposite sides. 

Tip # 4: For overlapping type questions, number of persons between two people = Sum of positions of two different persons from opposite end – total number of persons – 2

Tip # 5: Condition for overlapping is, The sum of positions of the two persons from opposite ends > total number of persons

Check here to get more insights on Coding Decoding Reasoning

Order and Ranking Sample Questions

Question 1: In a row of 60 cars, car A is 32nd from the right end. What is its position from the left end?

Solution: Position from left end = (Total number of cars + 1) – Position from right end 

Position from left end = (60 + 1) – 32 = 61 – 32 = 29. 

Hence, the position of car A from left end is 29.

Question 2: Radha selected the 27th card from the left in a row of 50 cards. What will be the position of the same card from the right?

Solution: Total number of cards = Position of the card from right + Position of the card from left – 1

50 = Position of Radha’s card from right + 27 – 1 

Position of Radha’s card from right = 50 – 27 + 1 = 24. 

Hence, the position of the card from the right end is 24.

Question 3: Radhika ranks 16th from the top and 13th from the bottom in a certain examination. How many students are there in the class?

Solution: Number of students in the class = 16 + 13 – 1 = 29 – 1 = 28.

Hence, “28” is the correct answer.

Question 4: In a row of 54 persons, A is 35 from left side and B is 22 from right. Find the total number of persons between them.

Solution: 35 + 22 = 57 > total number of persons i.e. 54

Total number of persons between them = (35 + 22) – 54 –2 = 1 

Hence, there is only one person between them.

Question 5: In a row 54 persons, A is 15th from left side and B is 20th from right side. Find the total number of persons between A and B

Solution: 15 + 20 = 35 < Total number of persons.

Number of persons between the two end persons: = 54 – (15 + 20) = 19. 

Hence, there are only 19 persons between them.

Question 6: Sahil and Gaurav are standing in a row of persons. Sahil is 12th from left side and Gaurav is 18th from the right side of the row. If they interchanged their positions Sahil becomes 25th from left. What is the total number of persons standing in the row?

Solution: Total person = Position from Left + Position from right – 1

Position of Sahil from Left = 25 (after interchanging)

Position of Sahil from Right = 18 (position of Sahil from right end is same as Gaurav after interchanging) – 1

Total person = 25 + 18 – 1 = 42

Hence, there are 42 persons in the row.

Question 7: In a School, there are 147 people, the ratio of girls : boys is 1:6. Soumya is a girl who stands 15th from the top of that row and 7 girls are in front of her. How many boys are behind her?

Solution: Total number of students = 147 

Girls : Boys = 1:6

x + 6X =147 

7X = 147

X = 21

Girls = 21 and boys = 126

Now Soumya is in 15th position from the top and 7 girls are in front of her. 

Now boys are behind him = 7 as total14 students are in front of him. 

So, the number of boys, behind him is 126 – 7 = 119

Hence, the correct answer is 119.

Question 8: Height of five students A, K, L, M and T are compared. Height of K is more than only two students. Height of M is greater than T and Height of T is greater than K. How many students are smaller than T?

Solution: Five students – A, K, L, M and T are compared.

1. Height of K is more than only two students.

_ > _ > K > _ > _

2. Height of M is greater than T and Height of T is greater than K. M > T > K

From 1 and 2, we get:

M > T > K > _ > _

So, 3 students are smaller than T.

Also get more details on Ranking Reasoning

Exams where Order and Ranking Reasoning is Part of Syllabus

Questions based on the Order and Ranking reasoning section come up often in various prestigious government exams some of them are as follows. 

• Bank (PO & Clerk) Exams 
• SSC (CGL, 10+2, Steno, FCI, CPO, Multitasking)
• LIC (AAO & ADO)
• RRB
• UPSC 
• State PSC Exams 
• NABARD Development Assistant

Get to know more details on other Reasoning Topics:

We hope you found this article regarding the Order and Ranking reasoning section was informative and helpful, and please do not hesitate to contact us for any doubts or queries regarding the same. You can also download the Testbook App, which is absolutely free and start preparing for any government competitive examination by taking the mock tests before the examination to boost your preparation.

Order and Ranking Reasoning FAQs

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