# Eight animals are sitting around a circular table

1. Eight animals named E, F, G, H, J, K, L and M are sitting around a circular table facing the centre.
2. These are the kinds of the animals: Cat, Cobra, Dog, Elephant, Falcon, Llama, Panda and Sparrow (in no particular order).
3. F is sitting second to the left of K.
4. The Sparrow is an immediate neighbour of K.
5. There are only three animals between the Sparrow and E.
6. Only one animal sits between the Elephant and E.
7. The Cobra is to the immediate right of the Elephant.
8. M is second to the right of K.
9. H is the Sparrow.
10. G and J are immediate neighbours of each other.
11. Neither G nor J is an Elephant.
12. The Falcon is to the immediate left of F.
13. The Llama is second to the right of the Cobra.
14. The Panda is an immediate neighbour of the Elephant.
15. G is second to the right of the Cat.

Find out the name of each kind of animal and the order they are sitting around the table. Note the process how you came to the conclusion (the most efficient process wins).

• To get started, make a circle and start with 3, 8, 12 – user3666697 Apr 25 '15 at 17:37
• "X is second to the left of Y" means that there is a person between X and Y? – leoll2 Apr 25 '15 at 17:39
• @leoll2 Yes. You can write the same statements in various ways. – user3666697 Apr 25 '15 at 17:40
• @leoll2 There is a person between X and Y but in the left direction (in a circle this would be clockwise since they are facing the centre) – user3666697 Apr 25 '15 at 17:41

# Explanation:

First of all place F somewhere, I put him in the bottom chair.
Statement $3$ forces K to be in the right chair.
Statement $8$ forces M to be in the top chair. Statement $4$ allows Sparrow be top-right or bottom-right. Let's assume Sparrow bottom-right.
Statement $5$ means that Sparrow is directly facing E, so E is top-left.
Statement $9$ says that H is Sparrow, so bottom-right.
Statement $10$ says that G and J are neighbours, so they occupy left and bottom left. Let's assume J left and G bottom-left.
Statement $15$ says that top-left is Cat.
The only left letter is L, which goes top-right.
Statement $6$ allows elephant to be top-right or bottom-left, but Statement $11$ doesn't allow it to be bottom-left; so, Elephant is top-right.
Statement $7$ says Cobra top.
Statement $12$ says Falcon bottom-left.
Statement $13$ says Llama left.
Statement $14$ says Panda right.
The only animal left is Dog, bottom.

Why can't Sparrow be top-right?

Let's assume Sparrow top-right. Then, E is bottom left for statement $5$. G,J must be neighbours, so they occupy left and top-left. Since top-left is now occupied, Elephant must be bottom-right for Statement $6$. Then, Cobra right for Statement $7$ and Llama north for statement $13$. Though, it's impossible now to satisfy Statement $15$, as G (which was left or top-left) has an already assigned "second to the left" partner.

Why can't be J bottom-left and G left?

Let's assume J bottom-left and G left. Statement $15$ says Cat top. The missing letter is L, top-right. For Statement $6$, Elephant must be $L$ as it can't be $J$ (forbidden by $11$). Though, for Statement $7$, Cobra and Cat coincide, which is a contradiction!

• Dammit you beat me too it, I had just figured it out and saw: an answer had been posted xD good job :) – Vincent Apr 25 '15 at 18:11
• @VincentAdvocaat The Kebab I was eating helped me finding the answer! – leoll2 Apr 25 '15 at 18:14