Alphabet Reasoning Questions with Answers

An Alphabet Test is a part of a reasoning section where you have to work with letters of an alphabetical or numerical series. Alphabet reasoning questions are an essential part of IBPS PO, SBI PO, SBI Clerk, IBPS Clerk, RRB Assistant, RRB Scale 1, LIC Assistant, LIC AAO, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, and various other competitive examinations. You can expect a set of 5 questions on this topic in the prelims of every major competitive examination. It is considered one of the simplest yet fundamental topics in the General Mental Ability segment of reasoning. Smartkeeda provides different types of alphabet reasoning questions with answers online on the website as well as in alphabet test questions pdf that you can download for free and practice this topic well for your upcoming exams.

Alphabet test is an important topic of reasoning section where you'll be given a set of jumbled letters, words, numbers or sometime mixed series of alphabets and numbers, and you need to figure out the position where a particular letter or number or alphabet is in relation to another letter or number in the series. This test assesses your logical and analytical skills that is important part of reasoning ability.
 

Types of Alphabet Reasoning Questions
1. Number Series: Involves a series of numbers with operations like addition and multiplication to find patterns and continue the sequence.

Example: 428    548    943    297    567    459

If the positions of the second and the third digits of each number are interchanged, what will be the difference between middle digits of the second lowest and the highest number?

2. Alphabet Series: Focuses on groups of letters with operations such as arranging in dictionary order, reverse order, or interchanging letters.

Example: Which letter comes immediately after the letter P in the reverse order of the alphabet?

3. Mixed Series: Combines numbers, characters, and symbols in sequences, challenging you to identify patterns and rules governing the arrangement.

Example: E # 4 Y Q % G 8 A 5 * U ! B 2 9 > X + P 3 Z ^ | S 7 M C 6 @ J K : W

In the given series, which of the following elements is fifth to the right of twelfth element from left end?

4. Creating New Words: Requires forming meaningful words from provided letters and sometimes asks how many such words can be made.

Example: Which of the following is the third letter of the meaningful English word which can be formed using (each letter once) first, third, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth letters of “ASTRONAUT”?

5. Position of Letters and Numbers in a Word: Asks you to identify pairs of letters or digits with a specific number of letters or digits between them in the alphabet or number sequence.

Example: How many such pair(s) of letters are there in the word ‘POCKETBOOK’ which have as many letters between them as in the alphabetical series as we move from left to right?


Alphabet Reasoning questions with answers
Here are some illustrative examples to help you grasp the types of alphabet reasoning questions commonly encountered in competitive exams.  By familiarizing yourself with these examples, you can gain a better understanding of the diversity of questions and the skills required to excel in alphabet reasoning questions of competitive exams.

Example 1 : Each consonant of the word ‘TERMINATION’ is changed to the previous letter in the English alphabetical series and each vowel is changed to the next letter in the English alphabetical series. If the new alphabets thus formed are arranged in alphabetical order (from left to right), which of the following will be the sixth letter from the right end?

Solution: The given word:

T  E  R  M  I  N  A  T   I  O  N

Applying the above condition, we have new word:

S  F  Q  L  J  M  B  S  J  P  M

Now, arranging in alphabetical order (from left to right)

B  F J  J  L  M  M  P  Q  S  S

Hence, M is sixth from the right.

Example 2: Directions: Study the following numbers carefully and answer the questions given beside:

427   946   738   596   857
If the digits of all the numbers are to be arranged in descending order from right to left within the number, then which of the following numbers will be third highest?

The given sequence:

 427   946   738   596   857

 Arranging all the digits of each number in descending order from right to left within the number, we get:

 247   469   378   569   578
 Here, the third highest number is 469.
 

Tips for Solving Alphabet Reasoning Questions

While the Alphabet Test in reasoning is an essential and frequently encountered topic in various competitive exams, it's important to remember certain rules and strategies to solve alphabet test questions efficiently.

Understanding the language of alphabet test questions
Understanding the language used in Alphabet Test questions is crucial for interpreting the instructions and solving the problems accurately. Here are explanations of some commonly used terms and phrases in Alphabet Test questions:

• Precede: To "precede" means to come before or be in front of. In Alphabet Test questions, if one letter precedes another, it means it appears in the alphabet before the other letter. For example, if "A precedes B," it means that A comes before B in the alphabetical order.

• Succeed: To "succeed" means to come after or follow. In Alphabet Test questions, if one letter succeeds another, it means it appears in the alphabet after the other letter. For example, if "B succeeds A," it means that B comes after A in the alphabetical order.

• Interchange: When you're asked to "interchange" letters, you are required to swap the positions of specific letters within a word or sequence based on the provided instructions. For example, you may be asked to interchange the first and last letters in a word like "RAT," which would result in "TAR."

• Dictionary Order: "Dictionary order" refers to arranging words or letters as they would appear in a standard dictionary. In English, this means arranging words based on the alphabetical order of the letters.

• The Vowels are A, E, I, O, U

• The Consonants are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z

Concept of EJOTY: This is a helpful mnemonic device that can aid in remembering the positions of certain letters in the English alphabet. By using this simple concept, you can quickly recall the positions of these letters without much effort. The EJOTY concept associates the following letters with their corresponding numerical positions in the alphabet:

• E corresponds to 5

• J corresponds to 10

• corresponds to 15

• T corresponds to 20

• Y corresponds to 25

Practice variety of Questions
The key to mastering the Alphabet Test is consistent practice. Solve a variety of Alphabet Test questions to familiarize yourself with different patterns and arrangements. This practice will improve your speed and accuracy. Smartkeeda offers free Alphabet quiz test to help you practice and improve your skills in this area. These quizzes are accessible online and provide a convenient way to assess your abilities in alphabet test questions. Smartkeeda also provides alphabet test questions PDF resources that you can download and use for offline practice.

Click here to attempt high level alphabet test questions!
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