11/23/2019 Toppr

01 EXAMPLE

Arranging in alphabetical order.

Following type of questions can appear in this section:
A. Words will be given and they will have to be arranged in alphabetical order.
B. Among the given set of words, the word appearing first (or any other position) in a dictionary will be asked.
For e.g.
Arrange the given words in the sequence in which they occur in the dictionary: Page, Pagan, Palisade, Pageant,
Palate
Here, all words start with 'Pa', so we look at the third letter of each word to decide the order of words:
Pagan, Page, Pageant, Palate, Palisade.

02 EXAMPLE

Identify the letter at particular position of the alphabetically arranged words.

Following type of questions can appear in this section:
A. The words in the given sentence when arranged in alphabetic order, which word will appear at 'x' position ?
For e.g.
If the first five words in the sentence, "Meeta's mother meets me many times" are rearranged in the alphabetical
order, which will be the middle word ?
Here, the first five words are: Meeta's, Mother, Meets, Me, Many.
Arranging all these words starting with M: Many,Me,Meeta's,Meets,Mother
The middle word is Meeta's.

03 EXAMPLE

Identify the desired word when specific words from a statement are arranged alphabetically.
Following type of questions can be asked in this type:
1. Arrange the words in a sentence alphabetically and then identify the word at a particular position.
For e.g.
If the first five words in the sentence, "Meeta's mother meets me many times" are rearranged in the alphabetical
order, which will be the middle word ?

04 EXAMPLE

Arranging the given names according to telephone directory and then identify the name at desired position.
https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 1/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

Following type of questions appear in this section:

A. The given list of names will have to be arranged as they will appear in a telephone directory (alphabetical order)
and the word appearing first (or any other position) will be asked.
For e.g.
Arrange the given names in the order in which they would occur in a telephone directory and choose the one which
appears in the middle.
Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhammad, Muhammed, Mohummad
Here, all names start with M. So,we look at the second letter. The ones having second letter 'o' will come before the
ones having second letter 'u'.
Mohammad, Mohammed, Mohummad, Muhammed, Muhammad.
The middle word is Mohummad.

05 EXAMPLE

Identifying the series in which letters skipped in between adjacent letters do not decrease in order
Following type of questions can appear in this section:
The gap between successive letters does not follow any uniform pattern of being constant or increasing/decreasing.
The gaps between successive letters is given and we have to identify from the given options where this rule is
followed (not followed).
For e.g.
Number of letters skipped between adjacent letters in the series is in the order of 2, 5, 7, 10. Which of the following
series observes the rule given above ?
a. CEGLT b. FNKOT c.QTZHS d.SYBEP
Here, we observe the gaps in between the letters in the given alternatives.
a. C(+1) E(+1) G(+4) L(+7) T
b. F(+7) N(-1) K(+2) O(+4) T
c. Q(+2) T(+5) Z(+7) H(+10) S
d. S(+5) Y(+2) B(+2) E (+10)P
So, option C follows the given rule.

06 EXAMPLE

Identify number of pairs of letters in a word which have as many letters between them in the word as in the
alphabet.
This type of question will give us a word and we have to identify the pairs of letters in this word that have in between
them the same number of letters as are present in the alphabet series.
For example, in the word BADGE, number of letters between B and D is 1, which is A.
In alphabet series also, there is 1 letter in between B and D, which is C.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 2/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

So we have identified 1 such pair in the given word.

For e.g.
In the word PARADISE how many pairs of letters are there which have as many letters between them in the word as
in the alphabet ?
Here, P A R (1 letter) between P and R. In alphabet, P Q R (1 letter)
A R A D (2 letters) between A and D. In alphabet, A B C D (2 letters)
A R A D E (3 letters) between A and E. In alphabet, A B C D E (3 letters)
So, there are 3 such pairs.

07 EXAMPLE

Identify number of independent meaningful words when a given word is divide without changing the order
of letters (using each letter only once)
In this type of question, a word will be given and we have to find out as many meaningful words occurring in it as
possible.
For e.g.
What is the number of independent words that the word 'HEARTLESS' can be divided into without changing the
order of the letters and using each letter only once ?
So, here in HEARTLESS, the words formed will be HEART, HEAR, HE, EAR, ART, LESS etc.
So, there are total six meaningful words identified.

08 EXAMPLE

Identify letter from a given word which does not change its position when the letters are reversed.
In this type of question, a word will be given and we will be asked to find the letter whose position will remain
unchanged if we reverse all the letters of this word.
So, on reversing the letters, the letter in the center will stay in the center.
So, in such problems, we have to identify the letter in the middle of the given words. (Usually the given word will
have odd number of letters in it. So identifying the middle letter will be easier.)
For e.g.
Which letter in the word 'SELFRIGHTEOUSNESS' does not change its position when the letters are reversed ?
The given word has a total of 17 letters. So, the middle letter will be the 9th letter, which is T.

09 EXAMPLE

Identify the series when number of letters skipped in between he adjacent letters in the series is given.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 3/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

In this type of questions, a rule as to the exact number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is
given and we have to identify from the given alternatives the option which follows the given rule.
For e.g.
Number of letters skipped between adjacent letters in the series is in the order of 2,5,7,10. Which of the following
series observes the rule given above ?
A. CEGLT B. FNKOT C. QTZHS D. SYBEP
So,in the given alternatives:
(A) C (+1) E (+1) G (+4) L (+7) T
(B) F (+7) N (-2) K (+3) O (+4) T
(C) Q (+2) T (+5) Z (+7) H (+10) S
(D) S (+5) Y (+2) B (+2) E (+10) P
So, option C follows the given rule.

10 EXAMPLE

Identify the series when number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is given order.
In this type of questions, a rule as to the number (not mentioned explicitly but has to be figured out from the given
rule) of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is given and we have to identify from the given
alternatives the option which follows the given rule.
The rule for the number of letters skipped can be of the following forms:
a. Multiple of some number (2,4,6,8.. OR 3,6,9,12..)
b. Increase/Decrease uniformly (+2 / -2)
c. Even/Odd Numbers (4,6,8,10... Or 3,5,7,9...)
For e.g.
Number of letters skipped in between the adjacent letters in the series are consecutive even numbers.Which of the
following series observes this rule ?
A. CDFIM B. ADIPY C. GIMSZ D. DHJPX
So, consecutive even numbers are 2,4,6,8,10 etc.
So, gap between the consecutive letters must be 2 ,4 ,6 ,8
C (+0) D (+1) F (+2) I (+3) M
A (+2) D (+4) I (+6) P (+8) Y
G (+1) I (+3) M (+5) S (+6) Z
D (+3) H (+1) J (+5) P (+7) X
So, option B follows the given rule.

11 EXAMPLE

Identify the series which does not follow the general rule.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 4/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

In this type of questions, there is no general rule applicable to find the exact number of letters skipped in between
adjacent letters in the series. Each alphabet of the term follows a unique rule. This must be found out by observation.
For e.g.
Which of the options will come next in the series ?
JAZ, LEX, NIV, POT, ?
I. QUR II. RUS III. RUR IV. RSR
Here, we can observe that the first, second and third letters of the terms follow a series independently.
J(+1) L (+1) N (+1) P(+1) R (first letter: 1 letter in between)
A E I O U (second letter: Vowels in order)
Z(+1) X (+1) V (+1) T (+1) R (third letter: 1 letter in between in reverse order)
So, correct answer to the given question is option III (RUR).

12 EXAMPLE

Identify the letter which is located at desired position from given words in alphabetic series
In this type of questions, the letter at a specific position will be asked in the alphabetic (reverse alphabetic) sequence.
In alphabetic order,
( A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z), moving left/right is moving towards the direction of
A/Z respectively.
In reverse alphabetic order,
( Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A ), moving left/right is moving towards the direction of
Z/A respectively.
For e.g.
Which letter is sixteenth to the right of the letter which is fourth to the left of I ?
Here, we observe that fourth letter to the left of I is E and sixteenth letter to the right of E is U. So, the answer is U.

Also, in this type of questions, a sequence of letters could be given (which is not the same as alphabetic or reverse
alphabetic sequence) and questions would be asked based on the position of letters in the given sequence.
For e.g.,
FJMPOWRNBEYCKAVLDGXUHQISZT
Which letter is 10th to the right of the letter which is exactly the middle letter between F and D ?
Here, the letter midway between F and D is B and the 10th letter to the right of B is X.

13 EXAMPLE

Identify the letter which is located at desired position from left/right end of the alphabetic series
In this type of questions, the letter at a specific position will be asked based on its position relative to the
beginning/end of the alphabetic series.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 5/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

The beginning of the alphabetic series is A, moving towards Z. (A,B,C..---> X,Y,Z)

The end of the alphabetic series is Z, moving towards A. (Z,Y,X..---> C,B,A)
In the alphabetic sequence, the left end is A and the right end is Z.
For e.g,
Which letter is midway between the 22nd letter from the left and 21st letter from the right ?
Here, the 22nd letter from the left (end) is V and the 21st letter from the right (end) is F. So, the letter midway
between F and V is N.

In this type, question could be based on a modified alphabetic series. The rule for modification will be given and the
position based question will then be asked based on this modified sequence.
For e.g.
If every even letter beginning from B is replaced by odd number beginning with 3, which letter/number will be the
third to the right of the tenth number/letter counting from the right ?
Following the rule,
the alphabetic sequence will alter as:
A 3 C 5 E 7 G 9 I 11 K 13 M 15 O 17 Q 19 S 21 U 23 W 25 Y 27
Tenth character from the right is Q and third character to its right is 21.

14 EXAMPLE

Identify the position of a desired letter when series is divided into subparts.
In this type of questions, the regular alphabetic (reverse alphabetic) series is divided into sub-parts. The rule for this
division is given. Now, question would be asked related to the position correspondence between the two sub series.
For e.g.
If the English alphabet are divided into two equal halves - from 'A' to 'M' and 'N' to 'Z', then which letter in the latter
half would be corresponding to letter J ?
Dividing the alphabetic series as given in the question,
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R ST UV W XY Z
So, W is the answer.

15 EXAMPLE

Identify the position of a desired letter when some part or full alphabetic series is reversed.
In this type,
Questions are asked based on their position in the reverse alphabetic series.
Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 6/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
The series given above should be followed while solving questions based on this topic.
Here, the left end or the starting alphabet is Z and the right end or the last alphabet is A.
For e.g.
If the alphabets were written in the reverse order, which letter will be the fifth letter to the left of the fourteenth letter
from the left ?
Here, the fourteenth letter from the left is M and fifth letter to its left is R.
Question could also be asked when only a part of the alphabetic sequence is reversed.
For.e.g.
If the first ten letters of the alphabet are written in the reverse order, which letter will be the seventh to the left of the
twelfth letter from the right end ?
Reversing alphabets as per given in the question,
J I H G F E D C B A K L M N O PQ R S T U V W X Y Z
In this sequence, 12th letter from the right end is O and 7th letter to its left is C.

16 EXAMPLE

Identify the position of a desired letter when position of letters of given alphabetic series are interchanged
Following types of questions could be asked :
1. The letters of a given word will be reversed in particular manner as given in the question and then question will be
asked on the position.
For e.g.
If the first and the fifth letters in the word ORDINARY are interchanged, the second and the sixth, the third and the
seventh and so on, what will be the fifth letter from the right end after rearrangement ?
Here, after rearranging, ORDINARY --> NARYORDI. Fifth letter from the right end is Y.

2. The alphabetic series will be modified by interchanging letters as per the rule mentioned in the question.Then
question will be asked based on position in this modified sequence.
For e.g,
If in the alphabet series the first and the second letters interchange their positions and similarly the third and the
fourth letters, the fifth and the sixth letters and so on, which letter will be the 17th from the right ?
Here, the alphabetic series will change to:
BADCFEHGJILKNMPORQTSVUXWZY
Here, the 17th letter from the right will be I.

17 EXAMPLE

Identify the number of letters which are followed by one letter and preceded by another letter.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 7/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

In this type, question will be asked to find the number of occurrences when a particular letter is preceded by a certain
letter and succeeded by a certain letter.
In such types, we must identify the pattern formed by the letter and the preceding and succeeding letter as given in
the question and look for it in the given sequence.
For e.g,
How many T's are there in the following sequence which are immediately preceded by P but not immediately
followed by S ?
ST P QT S PT R PT S R P ST Q PT R PT M PT S
Here we have to look for pattern PT_ and blank shouldn't have S in it.
So, we have
ST P QT S PT R PT S R P ST Q PT R PT M PT S
So, there are 3 such occurrences.

18 EXAMPLE

Identify the sequence of numbers which results in a meaningful word from the given letters.
In this type,
letters and numbers corresponding to these letters will be given, which on rearranging will make a meaningful word.
We will have to find the numerical order corresponding to the meaningful word.
For e.g,
A group of letters is given which are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. What combination of numbers will form a meaningful
word ?
T R I F U
1 2 3 4 5
T, R,I, F,U can be rearranged to form FRUIT.
So, the correct order will be 4,2,5,3,1.

19 EXAMPLE

Identify the letter at desired location when a word is formed from the specific position of letters of the given
word.
In this type of question, we will be asked to form a meaningful word from the letters at particular positions in the
given word. And then we would be asked to find the letter in any position of this newly formed meaningful word.
For e.g,
If it is possible to form a word with the first, fourth, seventh and eleventh letters of the word SUPERFLUOUS, what
will be the first letter of that word ?
The letters at first, fourth, seventh and eleventh letters is S, E, L,S.
LESS is the meaningful word formed by these letters. Its first letter is L.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 8/9
11/23/2019 Toppr

20 EXAMPLE

Identify the word which can be formed from the letters of the given word.
In this type of questions, a word will be given and the question will ask which word from the given alternatives
cannot be formed using the letters of the given word.
Here, we must observe the given alternatives very carefully and try to identify their letters with the letters of the
given word. In case of mismatch, the given alternative cannot be formed from the letters of the given word.
For e.g,
Find which one word cannot be made from the letters of the given word. KALEIDOSCOPE
A. SCALE B. PADLOCK C. PACKET D. DIESEL
Option A: S,C,A,L,E are all present in K A L E I D O S C O P E
Option B: P,A,D,L,O,C,K are all present in K A L E I D O S C O P E
Option C: P,A,C,K,E, are all present in K A L E I D O S C O P E ; T is missing.
Option D: D,I,E,S,E,L are all present in K A L E I D O S C O P E
So, option D is the answer to the question.

https://www.toppr.com/learn/class-11/logical-reasoning/alphabet-test/concepts/ 9/9