In a row of trucks, Ashok is at the 17th position from the left end. Bharat is 19 places to the right of Ashok and Bharat is exactly at the centre of the row. How many trucks are there to the right of Ashok's truck?

Introduction / Context:
This position and ranking question involves people or objects in a row. You are given the position of one person from one end and the relative position of another person, who is at the exact centre of the row. From this information, you must compute the total number of trucks and then find how many lie to the right of a specific truck. Such problems are standard in verbal reasoning and train you to manipulate positions from both ends consistently.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Ashok is 17th from the left end of the row of trucks.
• Bharat is 19 places to the right of Ashok.
• Bharat is at the exact centre of the row.
• All positions are counted from the left or right end in a straight line with no gaps.

Concept / Approach:
The first step is to determine the position of Bharat from the left end by adding the relative distance to Ashok’s known position. Since Bharat is at the centre, his position from the left is equal to his position from the right, and in an odd length row this central position is (total number of trucks + 1) / 2. Once the total number of trucks is obtained, the number of trucks to the right of Ashok can be found by subtracting Ashok’s position from the total and adjusting for inclusive counting.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Ashok is 17th from the left, so his position from the left is 17. Bharat is 19 places to the right of Ashok. Therefore, Bharat’s position from the left is 17 + 19 = 36. Bharat is at the exact centre of the row. In a row with an odd number N of trucks, the central position is (N + 1) / 2. Set (N + 1) / 2 = 36. Then N + 1 = 72, so N = 71. There are 71 trucks in total. To find how many trucks are to the right of Ashok, subtract his position from the total and exclude his own truck: number to the right = N - 17 = 71 - 17 = 54. Thus, there are 54 trucks to the right of Ashok’s truck.

Verification / Alternative check:
As a check, find Bharat’s position from the right. Since there are 71 trucks and Bharat is at position 36 from the left, his position from the right is 71 - 36 + 1 = 36. This confirms that he is indeed at the centre. Next, verify the count to the right of Ashok: positions from the left go from 1 to 71, so positions to the right of 17 are 18 through 71 inclusive, which gives 71 - 17 = 54 trucks. The calculations are consistent.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
53 and 52 would correspond to different total counts or miscalculations in subtracting positions. Option 19 is only the distance between Ashok and Bharat, not the total to the right of Ashok. Option 51 would also come from incorrect arithmetic. Only 54 matches the correct derivation based on the total number of trucks and Ashok’s position.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to forget the relation for the central position (N + 1) / 2 and instead use N / 2, which is incorrect for odd N. Another pitfall is miscounting the number of trucks to the right by including Ashok’s truck or subtracting an extra 1. Some candidates also confuse “places to the right” with direct positional numbering. Writing out the relations clearly and carefully handling inclusive counts prevents such errors.

Final Answer:
There are 54 trucks to the right of Ashok’s truck.