Chapter

Alphabet Test
TYPES I : ALPHABET TEST (1) U (2) V
In these types of questions, certain words are given. The candidate (3) W (4) X
is required to arrange them in the order in which they are asked. Sol. (4) The new alphabet series is :
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPZYXWVUTSRQ
ILLUSTRATION 1 : The thirteenth letter from the left is M. The sixth letter
to the right of M is X.
If it is possible to make a meaningful word with the 3rd, 4th
and 11th letters the of word ‘CONTROVERSIAL’, write the ILLUSTRATION 5 :
first letter of the word. Write M if one word can be made,
otherwise write X. If every alternative letter of English alphabet from B onwards
Sol. M. The 3rd, 4th and 11th, letters of the word (including B) is written in lower case (small letters) and the
‘CONTROVERSIAL’ are N, T and I respectively. With remaining letters are capitalized, then how will the first month
these three letters, the following word can be formed : of the second half of the year be written ?
TIN. Therefore, write M. (1) JuLy (2) AuGuSt
(3) jUlY (4) AugUSt
ILLUSTRATION 2 : Sol. (3) The new letter series becomes :
How many letters are there in the word BACKLASH, each AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYZ
of which is as far away from the beginning of the word as it The first month of the second half of the year is July,
is from the beginning of the English alphabet ? which shall be written as jUlY.
(1) None (2) One
TYPE III : ALPHABETICAL ORDER
(3) Two (4) Three
Sol. (3) Clearly, C and H are respectively the third and eighth Arranging words in alphabetical order implies ‘to arrange them in
letters in the word BACKLASH as well as in the English the order as they appear in a dictionary’, i.e., as per the order in
alphabet. Thus, there are two such letters. which the beginning letters of these words appear in the English
alphabet.
TYPE II : ALPHABETICAL QUIBBLE
First consider the first letter of each word. Arrange the words in
In this type of question, generally a letter series is given, be it the the order in which these letters appear in the English alphabet.
English alphabets from A to Z or a randomised sequence of letters. In some cases, two or more words begin with the same letter.
The candidate is then required to trace the letters satisfying certain Such words should be arranged in the order of second letters in
given conditions as regards their position in the given sequence the alphabet.
or the sequence obtained by performing certain given operations
on the given sequence. DIRECTIONS (EXAMPLE 6-8) : In each of the following
questions, four words are given. Which of them will be the
DIRECTIONS (EXAMPLE 3-4) : Each of the following
last if all of them are arranged alphabetically as in a
questions is based on the following alphabet series : A B C
dictionary?
DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
ILLUSTRATION 6 :
ILLUSTRATION 3 :
(1) Praise (2) Practical
Which letter will be the eighth to the right of the third letter
of the second half of the English alphabet ? (3) Prank (4) Prayer
(1) V (2) W Sol. (4) Practical, Praise, Prank, Prayer.
(3) X (4) Y
ILLUSTRATION 7 :
Sol. (3) Clearly, the first half of English alphabet has letters
from A to M, and the second half has letters from N to (1) Nature (2) Native
Z. (3) Narrate (4) Nascent
The third letter of the second half is P, and the eighth Sol. (1) Narrate, Nascent, Native, Nature.
letter to the right of P is X.
ILLUSTRATION 8 :
ILLUSTRATION 4 : (1) Relieve (2) Ringlet
If only the last ten letters of the alphabet are written in the (3) Rightful (4) Rigour
reverse order, which of the following will be the sixth to the Sol. (2) Relieve, Rightful, Rigour, Ringlet
right of the thirteenth letter from the left end ?
 EBD_7042
A-14 Mental Ability Test (MAT)

Miscellaneous Solved Examples

EXAMPLE 1 : Sol. (1) Since the letters of the alphabet are reversed, take the
Number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in left and right as right and left. Thus fourteenth letter
the series decreases by two. Which of the following series from the right of the alphabet is M and the fifth letter
observes this rule ? from M to the right is R.
(1) EPVAF (2) GPWBE EXAMPLE 5 :
(3) UCJOP (4) XFMQU If every even letter beginning from B is replaced by odd
number starting with 3, which letter/number will be the
Sol. (2) +8, +6, +4, +2
third to the right of the tenth number/letter counting from
DIRECTIONS (EXAMPLE 2-3) : Each of the following your right.
questions is based on the following alphabet series (1) M (2) S
ZYXW VUTSRQPONMLKJIHG FEDCBA (3) 11 (4) 21
EXAMPLE 2 : Sol. (4) The new series is
Which alphabet comes immediately before the sixth A 3 C 5 E 7 G 9 I 11 K 13 M 15 O 17 Q 19 S 21 U 23 W 25
alphabet from the right extreme of the given alphabets ? Y 27
(1) E (2) F Counting from the right, the tenth character is Q, and
(3) G (4) U the third character to the right of Q is 21.
Sol. (1) The sixth letter from the right is F. E comes immediately EXAMPLE 6 :
before F. If the positions of the fifth and twelfth letters of the word
EXAMPLE 3 : GLORIFICATIONS are interchanged, and likewise the
How many pairs of letters are there in the word ‘BUCKET’ positions of the fourth and fourteenth letters, the third and
which have as many letters between them in the word as in tenth letters, the second and eleventh letters and the first
the alphabet? and thirteenth letters are interchanged, which of the
(1) One (2) Two following will be the twelfth letter from the right end ?
(3) Three (4) Four (1) I (2) O
Sol. (1) CE (3) R (4) T
Sol. (4)
DIRECTIONS (EXAMPLE 4-5) : Each of the following
questions is based on the following alphabet series.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
EXAMPLE 4 : G L O R I F I C A T I O N S
If the alphabet series is written in the reverse order, which
letter will be fifth to the left of the fourteenth letter from 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
the left ?
(1) R (2) I
(3) S (4) V
The new letter sequence is NITSOFICAOLIGR.
The twelfth letter from the right is T.
Alphabet Test A-15

Exercise
1. If the first three letters of the word COMPREHENSION are DIRECTIONS (Qs. 10-14) : In each of the following questions,
reversed, then the last three letters are added and then the a group of letters is given which are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
remaining letters are reversed and added, then which letter and 6. Below a re given four alternatives containing
will be exactly in the middle. ? combinations of these numbers. Select that combination of
(1) H (2) N numbers so that letters arranged accordingly form a
(3) R (4) S meaningful word.
2. If the first and second letters in the word DEPRESSION
were interchanged, also the third and the fourth letters, the 10. I N LA S G
fifth and the sixth letters and so on, which of the following 123456
would be the seventh letter from the right ? (1) 6, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2 (2) 5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3
(1) R (2) O (3) 3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 5 (4) 2, 4, 3, 6, 1, 5
(3) S (4) None of these 11. TLPNAE
3. If the positions of the third and tenth letters of the word
1 23 4 56
DOCUMENTION are interchanged, and likewise the posi-
tions of the fourth and seventh letters, the second and (1) 3, 2, 5, 4, 6, 1 (2) 3, 2, 5, 4, 1, 6
sixth letters is interchanged, which of the following will be (3) 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 1 (4) 4, 6, 1, 3, 5, 2
eleventh from the right end ? 12. RMNBUE
(1) C (2) I 1 2 34 56
(3) T (4) U
(1) 2, 6, 3, 4, 1, 5 (2) 4, 6, 3, 2, 1, 5
4. Arrange the given words in alphabetical order and tick the
one that comes in the 2nd position. (3) 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 1 (4) 1, 5, 4, 2, 6, 3
(1) Restrict (2) Rocket 13. EHRASP
(3) Robber (4) Radom 1 2 34 56
5. Select the combination of numbers so that letters arranged (1) 5, 2, 4, 6, 1, 3 (2) 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1
accordingly will form a meaningful word.
(3) 2, 4, 6, 1, 3, 5 (4) 3, 4, 2, 1, 6, 5
R A C E T
1 2 3 4 5 14. AMDENR
(1) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (2) 3, 2, 1, 4, 5 1 2 3 4 5 6
(3) 5, 2, 3, 4, 1 (4) 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 (1) 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6 (2) 6, 4, 2, 1, 5, 3
6. Rearrange the first four letters, in any way, of the word (3) 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, 6 (4) 1, 6, 2, 4, 5, 3
DECISION. Find how many words can be formed by using 15. The letters of the word NUMKIPP are in disorder. If they
all the four words. are arranged in proper order, the name of a vegetable is
(1) One (2) Two formed. What is the last letter of the word so formed?
(3) Three (4) More than three
(1) K (2) M
DIRECTIONS (Qs. 7-8) : In each of the following questions, (3) N (4) P
a group of letters is given which are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
16. If by arranging the letters of the word NABMODINT, the
and 6. Below are given four alternatives containing
name of a game is formed, what are the first and the last
combinations of these numbers. Select that combination of
letters of the word so formed?
numbers so that letters arranged accordingly form a
meaningful word. (1) B, T (2) B, N
(3) N, D (4) M, T
7. I P E L O C
17. If with the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth letters of
1 2 3 4 5 6
the word ‘PERSONALITY’, a meaningful word is formed,
(1) 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 6 (2) 2, 5, 4, 1, 6, 3 then first letter of the word is the answer. If no word is
(3) 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 6 (4) 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6 possible then X is the answer.
8. T E L S C A
(1) O (2) T
1 2 3 4 5 6
(1) 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5 (2) 4, 6, 5, 1, 2, 3 (3) R (4) S
(3) 5, 6, 4, 1, 3, 2 (4) 6, 5, 3, 2, 4, 1 18. A meaningful word starting with A is made from the first,
9. If it is possible to form a word with the first, fourth, seventh the second, the fourth, the fifth and the sixth letters of the
and eleventh letters of the word ‘SUPERFLOUS’, write the word ‘CONTRACT’. Which of the following is the middle
letter of the word?
first letter of that word. Otherwise, X is the answer.
(1) C (2) O
(1) S (2) L
(3) R (4) T
(3) O (4) X
 EBD_7042
A-16 Mental Ability Test (MAT)
DIRECTIONS (QS. 19-24) : Each of the following questions DIRECTIONS (QS. 26-28) : Arrange the given words in the
is based on the following alphabet series. A B C D E F G H sequence in which they occur in the dictionary and then
IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ choose the correct sequence.
19. Which letter is eighth to the left on sixteenth letter from the 26. 1. Page 2. Pagan 3. Palisade 4. Pageant
right end? 5. Palate
(1) B (2) S (1) 1, 4, 2, 3, 5 (2) 2, 4, 1, 3, 5
(3) C (4) H (3) 2, 1, 4, 5, 3 (4) 1, 4, 2, 5, 3
20. Which letter is exactly midway between H and S in the 27. 1. Wrinkle 2. Wriggle 3. Writhe 4. Wretch
given alphabet? 5. Wrath
(1) 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 (2) 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
(1) No such letter (2) L
(3) 4, 2, 5, 1, 3 (4) 5, 2, 1, 3, 4
(3) M (4) O 28. 1. Brook 2. Bandit 3. Boisterous 4. Baffle
21. If the english alphabet are divided into two equal halves – 5. Bright
from A to M and N to Z, which letter in the later half would (1) 4, 2, 3, 5, 1 (2) 2, 4, 3, 1, 5
be corresponding to letter J? (3) 2, 4, 3, 5, 1 (4) 4, 2, 3, 1, 5
(1) Q (2) V
DIRECTIONS (Qs. 29-36) : Find which one word cannot be
(3) X (4) W made from the letters of the given word.
22. Which letter is midway between 22nd letter from the left
and 21st letter from the right? 29. UNCONSCIOUS
(1) L (2) M (1) SON (2) COIN
(3) SUN (4) NOSE
(3) O (4) N
30. INTERNATIONAL
23. Which letter should be ninth letter to the left of ninth letter (1) ORIENTAL (2) TERMINAL
from the right, if the first half of the given alphabet is re- (3) LATTER (4) RATIONALE
versed? 31. CREDENTIAL
(1) D (2) E (1) DENTAL (2) CREATE
(3) F (4) I (3) TRAIN (4) CREAM
24. If the first and the second letters interchange their posi- 32. TEACHERS
tions and similarly the third and the fourth letters, the fifth (1) REACH (2) CHAIR
and the sixth letters and so on, which letter will be the sev- (3) CHEER (4) SEARCH
enteenth from your right? 33. CONTEMPORARY
(1) F (2) H (1) PARROT (2) COMPANY
(3) CARPENTER (4) PRAYER
(3) I (4) J
34. REFRIGERATE
25. How many as are there in the following series which are (1) REFER (2) REGRET
immediately followed by B as well as immediately proceded (3) REGENERATE (4) FREE
by Z? 35. CHOCOLATE
A MBZA N A A B Z A B (1) TELL (2) HEALTH
A Z BA PZ A B A Z A B (3) LATE (4) COOLER
(1) Nil (2) One 36. MEASUREMENT
(1) MASTER (2) MANTLE
(3) Two (4) Three
(3) SUMMIT (4) ASSURE

Exercise
1. How many such pairs of letters are there in the word 3. If it is possible to make a meaningful word with the third,
CORPORATE each of which has as many letters in the same fifth, eight and tenth letters of the word ‘DISTRIBUTE’,
sequence between them in the word as in the english which of the following will be the third letter of that word ?
alphabet? If no such word can be made give X as the answer.
(1) None (2) One (1) S (2) R (3) E (4) X
(3) Two (4) Three
2. If the last four letters of the word ‘CONCENTRATION’ are DIRECTIONS (Qs. 4-5) : Choose one word which can be
written in reverse order followed by next two in the reverse formed from the letters of the word given.
order and next three in the reverse order and then followed 4. From the word ‘ASTOUNDER’, how many independent
by the first four in the reverse order, counting from the end words can be made without changing the order of the let-
which letter would be eighth in the new arrangement ? ters and using each letter once only?
(1) N (2) T (3) E (4) R (1) Nil (2) One
(3) Two (4) Three
Alphabet Test A-17
5. From the word ‘LAPROSCOPY’, how many independent 7. How many independent words can ‘HEARTLESS’ be
words can be made without changing the order of the let- divided into without changing the order of the letters and
ters and using each letter only once? using each letter only once ?
(1) One (2) Two (1) Two (2) Three
(3) Three (4) Four (3) Four (4) Five
DIRECTIONS (for Q. 6) : Each of the following questions is 8. How many independent words can ‘STAINLESS’ be divided
based on the following alphabet series. into without changing the order of the letters and using
each letter only once ?
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ (1) Nil (2) One
6. If the alphabet is written in the reverse order and every (3) Two (4) Three
alternate letter starting with Y is dropped, which letter will 9. Select the combination of numbers so that the letters
be exactly in the middle of the remaining letters of the arranged accordingly will form a meaningful word.
alphabet. VAR S TE
(1) M (2) N (1) 2, 3, 1, 6, 4, 5 (2) 4, 5, 2, 3, 1, 6
(3) O (4) M or O (3) 6, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1 (4) 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 1

&
Exercise 1 19. (3) Counting from the right end i.e. from Z, the 16th letter is K.
Counting from K towards the left, the 18th letter is C.
1. (4) Clearly, we have :
20. (1) There are ten letters between H and S and as such there is no
COMPREHENSION ® (COM) (PREHENS) (ION)
letter which lies in the middle.
® MOCIONSNEHERP 21. (4) J is the tenth letter in the first half. The tenth letter in the
The middle letter is the seventh letter, which is S. later half is W.
2. (4) The new letter sequence is EDRPSEISNO. 22. (4) 22nd letter from the left is V and 21st letter from the right is
The seventh letter from the right is P. F. The letter midway F and V is N.
23. (2) The new alphabet series is M L K J I H G F E D C B A
D E P R E S S I O N NOPQRSTUVWXYZ
The 9th letter from right is R and the ninth letter to the left of R is E.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 24. (3) The new alphabet series is B A D C F E H G J I L K N
MPORQTSVUXWZY
The seventeenth letter from the right is I.
25. (4) A M B Z A N A A B Z A B A Z B A P Z A B A Z A B
D O C U M E N T A T I O N 26. (3) 27. (2) 28. (1) 29. (4)
30. (2) 31. (4) 32. (2) 33. (3)
3. (3) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 34. (3) 35. (3) 36. (1)
Exercise 2
4. (1) Arranging the words in alphabetical order, we have
Random, Restrict, Robber, Rocket.
So the word in the 2nd position is Restrict and the correct answer 1. (3) C O R P O R A T E
is (1)
5. (4) Clearly, the given letters, when arranged in the order 5, 1, 2, Three pairs — (P, R), (R, T) and (P, O) have as many letters
3, 4 from the word ‘TRACE’. between them in the word as in the English alphabet. But since the
6. (1) The first four letters are D, E, C, I and only word DICE can letters must be in the same sequence in the word as in English
be formed so the answer is (1) alphabet, so that desire pairs are (P, R) and (R, T) only.
7. (2) POLICE 2. (4) The new letter sequence is NOITARTNECNOC
8. (3) CASTLE The eighth letter from the end is R.
9. (2) The letters selected are S, E, L and S respectively. The word 3. (2) The word formed by S, R, U and E is SURE, USER.
formed is LESS. The first letter is L. 4. (4) The words are AS, TO, UNDER
10. (2) SIGNAL 11. (1) PLANET 5. (2) The words are LAP, COPY
12. (3) NUMBER 13. (2) PHRASE 14. (2) REMAND 6. (2) Cancelling every second letter after reversing the alphabet
15. (3) The name of the vegetable is PUMPKIN. The last letter is N. the series becomes. Z X V T R P N L J H F D B
16. (2) The name of the game is BADMINTON. The middle letter is N.
17. (3) The respective letters of the given word are R, S, O, A and T. 7. (2) The words are HE, ART, LESS
The word formed is ROAST. So the first letter is R. 8. (3) Only two such words can be formed. The words are STAIN
18. (4) The respective letters of the word ‘CONTRACT’ are C, O, and LESS.
T, R, A. The word formed is ACTOR, in which the middle letter 9. (2) Clearly the given letters, when arranged in the order
is T. 4, 5, 2, 3, 1, 6 form the word ‘STRAVE’.