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Susquehanna International Group: What Is The Probability Of Five People With Different Ages Sitting In Ascending Or Descending Order At A Round Table?

Assistant Trader hopefuls at Susquehanna International Group had to answer this brainteaser in March 2013.

Here is the answer to this question using probability approach-

Number the people as 1,2,3,4 and 5, which indicate their ordinal age. There are five ways in which they can sit around in the table in ascending order (or descending order), i.e. [1,2,3,4,5], [2,3,4,5,1] and so on. Since there is 5*4*3*2*1 possible seating arrangements around the table and 5 ways in which they can either sit round the table in ascending or descending order, divide 5 by 5*4*3*2*1*, and you get, probability=1/24.

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