The number of ways in which girls and boys can be seated at a round table so that no two girls sit together is:
- A
- B
- C
- D
The number of ways in which girls and boys can be seated at a round table so that no two girls sit together is:
Correct answer:D
Arrange boys first, then place girls in gaps
Given: girls and boys are to be seated around a round table.
Find: The number of circular arrangements such that no two girls sit together.
First, seat the boys around the round table. Since circular permutations are counted up to rotation, the number of ways is

After seating the boys, there are gaps between consecutive boys around the circle.
To ensure that no two girls sit together, choose of these gaps and arrange the girls in them:
Therefore, the total number of required arrangements is
Now,
Therefore, the number of ways is . The correct option is D.
Using the extracted combinatorial computation
Given: We need circular seating of people with the condition that no two girls sit together.
Find: The number of valid arrangements.
A useful way in circular arrangement problems is to fix rotational symmetry by arranging one category first.
Seat the boys around the circle:
Now there are exactly available gaps around them. In order that no two girls sit together, at most one girl can be placed in each gap.
So we select gaps out of , and then permute the girls:
Multiplying with the arrangement of boys,
Hence, the required number of ways is .
Treating the circular arrangement like a linear arrangement is incorrect because rotations are identical. Arrange the boys in ways, not ways.
Using or more gaps for the girls is incorrect here. Once the boys are fixed on a circle, there are exactly gaps between consecutive boys.
Placing girls first as one block and subtracting from all arrangements is error-prone because it overcounts and does not directly represent the condition 'no two girls together'. Instead, place boys first and then choose gaps for the girls.
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