Ranking Order and Sequence Notes for SSC Exams

Ranking order and sequence questions ask you to find the position of a person or letter in a row, a queue or a class, or to arrange words and numbers in a logical or dictionary order. Examples are "Rahul is 7th from the top and 29th from the bottom, how many students are there?" and "arrange these words in alphabetical order". This topic is quick, formula-based and appears in almost every SSC Reasoning paper. These ranking order notes for SSC explain the formulas, the meeting and interchange problems, alphabet and dictionary order, with solved examples and practice questions.

Basic Formulas

The word top is the same as left or front in these formulas, and bottom is the same as right or back.

Solved Examples on Rank and Position

Example 1. Rahul is 7th from the top and 29th from the bottom in a class. How many students are there?
Total = 7 + 29 − 1 = 35.

Example 2. In a row of 40 persons, A is 14th from the left. What is his position from the right?
Position from the right = 40 − 14 + 1 = 27th.

Example 3. In a row, A is 10th from the left and B is 12th from the right. There are 5 persons between them. How many persons are in the row?
Total = 10 + 5 + 12 = 27.

Interchange Problems

When two persons exchange places, the first person takes the old position of the second person. Use this fact to find the total or the new positions.

Example 4. In a row, A is 7th from the left and B is 12th from the right. After they exchange positions, A becomes 20th from the left. How many persons are in the row?
After the exchange, A is at B's old place, so B's old position from the left is 20. B's position from the right is 12. Total = 20 + 12 − 1 = 31.

Example 5. In a queue, M is 9th from the front and N is 14th from the back. There are 6 persons between them. How many persons are in the queue?
M is at position 9, the 6 persons take positions 10 to 15, so N is at position 16 from the front. Total = 16 + 14 − 1 = 29.

Alphabet Based Ranking

• Use the position of letters: A = 1, B = 2, …, Z = 26.
• From the right end, the position of a letter is 27 minus its position from the left.
• Letters between two letters = difference of positions − 1.

Example 6. Which letter is the 6th to the right of the 10th letter from the left in the alphabet?
10 + 6 = 16, and the 16th letter is P.

Example 7. How many letters are there between G and R in the alphabet?
G is 7 and R is 18. Letters between them = 18 − 7 − 1 = 10.

Dictionary (Alphabetical) Order

1. Compare words letter by letter from the left.
2. The word with the earlier letter comes first.
3. If the first letters are the same, compare the second letters, and so on.
4. A shorter word comes before a longer word if all its letters match the start of the longer word, for example PEN before PENCIL.

Example 8. Arrange in dictionary order: Pen, Pencil, Pan, Paper.
The second letters are A, E, A, A. Words with A come first: Pan and Paper. Pan has N as the third letter and Paper has P, so Pan comes first. Then Pen and Pencil. Order: Pan, Paper, Pen, Pencil.

Logical or Meaningful Sequence

In this type, a list of words is given and you must arrange them in a meaningful order, for example, stages of life or steps of a process.

Quick Tips

• Draw a small line diagram showing the positions from both ends.
• Remember that "total = left + right − 1" works only when both ranks belong to the same person.
• When two persons exchange places, focus on the person who did not change position in the question.
• In dictionary order questions, compare the words letter by letter and do not rely on the word length.
• In meaningful sequence questions, first find the smallest or earliest item and the biggest or latest item.

Quick Revision Points

• Total = rank from top + rank from bottom − 1.
• Persons to the left of a person = position from the left − 1.
• For two different persons with persons between them: total = A's position + between + B's position.
• After an interchange, a person takes the old position of the other person.
• In the alphabet, the position from the right = 27 − position from the left.

Practice Questions With Answers

1. Neha is 15th from the top and 20th from the bottom in a class. How many students are there?
   Answer: 34 (15 + 20 − 1).
2. In a row of 45 persons, Rahul is 18th from the left. What is his position from the right?
   Answer: 28th.
3. A person is 5th from the left and 6th from the right in a row. How many persons are in the row?
   Answer: 10.
4. A is 13th from the top in a class of 40. What is his rank from the bottom?
   Answer: 28th.
5. In a row, P is 10th from the left and Q is 15th from the right. If they exchange positions, P becomes 18th from the left. How many persons are in the row?
   Answer: 32 (18 + 15 − 1).
6. In a row of 30 persons, X is 8th from the left and Y is 12th from the right. How many persons are between them?
   Answer: 10 (Y is 19th from the left).
7. Which letter is the 8th to the right of the 12th letter from the left in the alphabet?
   Answer: T (12 + 8 = 20).
8. Arrange in dictionary order: Sun, Star, Sky, Sea. Which word comes third?
   Answer: Star (order is Sea, Sky, Star, Sun).
9. Arrange in a logical order: Child, Adult, Infant, Teenager. Which comes third?
   Answer: Teenager.
10. Ravi is 12th from the top and Sunil is 22nd from the bottom. There are 5 students between them. How many students are in the class?
    Answer: 39 (Sunil is 18th from the top, so total = 18 + 22 − 1).

How to Practise This Chapter

Learn the formulas by solving five questions daily and writing the formula you used. Then attempt timed sets from our practice papers and see how this chapter is asked in actual exams on the previous year papers page. Read Linear, Circular and Complex Arrangement before this chapter and Mathematical Operations after it.

Explore More SSC Subjects

SSC exams test many subjects, so connect this topic with the related subjects below:

• Quantitative Aptitude Notes
• English Notes
• General Awareness Notes
• Computer Knowledge Notes
• Stenography Notes
• All SSC subjects and notes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ranking order in reasoning?

Ranking order is a reasoning topic in which the position of persons in a row, queue or class is given from one or both ends, and you have to find the total, the position from the other end or the number of persons in between.

What is the main formula for ranking questions?

Total number of persons = position from one end + position from the other end − 1, when both positions belong to the same person.

How many ranking questions come in SSC exams?

Usually one to three questions come from ranking and sequence in the SSC Reasoning section, but the number is different every year.

How do I find the number of persons between two persons?

Subtract the smaller position from the larger position and subtract 1, when both positions are counted from the same end.

What happens when two persons interchange places?

Each person takes the old place of the other person. Use the new position of one person as the old position of the other.

How do I solve alphabet position questions?

Convert the letters into positions from 1 to 26, apply addition or subtraction and convert the answer back into a letter. The position from the right is 27 minus the position from the left.

What is dictionary order?

Dictionary order, also called alphabetical order, means arranging words as they appear in a dictionary. Compare the words one letter at a time from the left.

What is a meaningful or logical sequence?

In this type, the given words must be arranged in a natural order, such as the stages of life, the steps of growth or units of time.

Why is the "− 1" needed in the formula?

The person himself is counted once in his position from the left and once in his position from the right, so one count must be removed to get the correct total.

What mistakes should I avoid in ranking questions?

Do not forget the − 1, do not confuse positions from the left and right, and do not use the total formula for two different persons without checking the question.

How much time should I spend on one ranking question?

Most ranking questions can be solved in 20 to 30 seconds with the formulas. Draw a diagram only for the interchange and between-persons types.

Are ranking questions based on a class or a row?

Both are used. The same formulas work for a class (rank from the top and bottom), a row (left and right) and a queue (front and back).

Is this chapter difficult in Hindi medium papers?

No. The formulas are the same, and the questions are only written in Hindi, using words such as upar, neeche, baayen and daayen.