Mental Ability

CHAPTER 9 Alphabet Test

9.1 Alphabetical order of words

Alphabetical order: Arranging words in alphabetical order implies 'to arrange them in the order as they
appear in a dictionary', i.e., as per the order in which the beginning letters of these words appear in the English
alphabet.
How to arrange the words in alphabetical order ?
First consider the first letter of each word. Arrange the words in the order in which these letters appear in the
English alphabet.
Example : Consider the words - Abstract, Principle, Marry, Spring, Frequent.
These words begin with letters A, P, M, S, F respectively.
Their order in English alphabet is A, F, M, P, S.
Thus, the correct alphabetical order of these words is :
Abstract, Frequent, Marry, Principle, Spring
In some cases, two or more words begin with the same letter. Such words should be arranged in the order of
second letters in the alphabet.
Example : Consider the words - Client, Castle, Face, Viper, Dazzle.
Here, as in the above example, the words can be arranged as :

Cli ent
, Dazzle, Face, Viper..
Castle

What remains now is how to arrange 'Client' and 'Castle'. Consider their second letters, i,e., and a. Arranging
these words accordingly, 'Castle' comes before 'Client'.
Thus, the correct alphabetical order is :
Castle, Client, Dazzle, Face, Viper.
If both the first and second letters of two or more words are the same, arrange these words, considering their
third letters and so on.

Solved examples
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E x . 1 If the following five words are arranged in alphabetical order, which word will come in
the middle?
(1) Draw (2) Read (3) Play (4) Back (E) Want
S o l . Arranging the words in alphabetical order, we have: Back, Draw, Play, Read, Want.
Clearly, the word 'Play' comes in the middle. So, the answer is (3).
E x . 2 Which of the following words will come fourth in the English dictionary?
(1) False (2) Follow (3) Faithfully (4) Fool (E) Fallible
S o l . The given words can be arranged in the alphabetical order as :
Faithfully, Fallible, False, Follow, Fool
Clearly, 'Follow' comes fourth. So, the answer is (2).

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E x . 3 Which of the following words will come second in the English dictionary ?
(1) Magical (2) Magnify (3) Maternal (4) Magnetic (E) Marshal
S o l . The given words can be arranged in the alphabetical order as :

Magical, Magnetic, Magnify, Marshal, Maternal

Clearly, 'Magnetic' comes second. So, the answer is (4)
E x . 4 If the letters in each of the following five words are first rearranged in the alphabetical order and then the groups
of letters so formed are rearranged as in a dictionary, which word would have its group of letters in the middle
among the five ?
(1) Road (2) Deaf (3) Code (4) Lack (E) Meet
S o l . The letter-groups obtained on rearranging the letters of the given words in alphabetical order are: ador, adef,
cdeo, ackl, eemt.
These letter-groups may be arranged in alphabetical order as : ackl, adef, ador, cdeo, eemt
The letter-group 'ador' comes in the middle and the word corresponding to this letter-group is 'road'. So, the
answer is (1).

Ex.5. Arrange the following words according to dictionary arrangement :

1. Epitaxy 2. Episode 3. Epigene 4. Epitome 5. Epilogue

(1) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (2) 3, 2, 5, 4, 1 (3) 3, 5, 2, 1, 4 (4) 5, 4, 2, 1, 3

S o l . Clearly, the correct alphabetical order of the given words is :

Epigene, Epilogue, Episode, Epitaxy, Epitome

Thus, the correct sequence is 3, 5, 2, 1, 4. Hence, the answer is (3).

EXERCISE
Directions (Q. 1 toQ. 5) : In each of the following questions, four words are given. Which of them will come
in the third place if all of them are arranged alphabetically as in a dictionary ?
1. (1) Tennis (2) Tendon (3) Tender (4) Tempest

2. (1) Sentinel (2) Sentimentally (3) Sententious (4) Sentimentalize

3. (1) Colon (2) Collective (3) Colloid (4) Collotype

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4. (1) Savour (2) Save (3) Savage (4) Sausage

5. (1) Section (2) Secular (3) Septic (4) Seclude

Directions (Q. 6 to Q.10) : Arrange the given words in alphabetical order and tick the one that comes at the
second place.

6. (1) Plane (2) Plain (3) Plenty (4) Player

7. (1) Blast (2) Bottle (3) Bondage (4) Boisterous

8. (1) Bathing (2) Banking (3) Backing (4) Banishing

9. (1) Exhilarate (2) Ephemeral (3) Entrench (4) Enthusiasm

10. (1) Signature (2) Significance (3) Sight (4) Sigh

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Directions (Q. 11 to Q.15) : Arrange the given words as in a dictionary and tick that comes fourth.
11. (1) Demand (2) Destroy (3) Deterred (4) Direct
12. (1) Perpetual (2) Parachute (3) Paragraph (4) Programme
13. (1) Grating (2) Gratuity (3) Gravel (4) Grave
14. (1) Tenacious (2) Terminate (3) Temperature (4) Tenant
15. (1) Express (2) Extend (3) Expire (4) Explode
Directions (Q. 16 to Q.20) : Arrange the given words in the alphabetical order and tick the one that comes
last.
16. (1) Heredity (2) Hesitate (3) Heavy (4) Hedge
17. (1) Warring (2) Waving (3) Watching (4) Waiting
18. (1) Illiterate (2) Illusion (3) Illuminate (4) Illustrate
19. (1) External (2) Extraordinary (3) Extraction (4) Extremist
20. (1) Transmit (2) Transplant (3) Transport (4) Translate
Directions (Q. 21 to Q.25) : In each of the following questions, arrange the given words in the sequence in
which they occur in the dictionary and then choose the correct sequence.
21. 1. Spruce 2. Spume 3. Spree 4. Spurt 5. Sprawl
(1) 5, 3, 1, 2, 4 (2) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (3) 3, 5, 1, 4, 2 (4) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
22. 1. Credential 2. Creed 3. Crease 4. Cremate 5. Credible
(1) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (2) 1, 5, 3, 4, 2 (3) 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 (4) 3, 1, 5, 2, 4
23. 1. Protein 2. Problem 3. Proverb 4. Property 5. Project
(1) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (2) 2, 1, 4, 3, 5 (3) 2, 5, 4, 1, 3 (4) 3, 4, 5, 2, 1
24. 1. Pestle 2. Pestilence 3. Pester 4. Pest 5. Pessimist
(1) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (2) 4, 3, 1, 5, 2 (3) 3, 4, 2, 5, 1 (4) 4, 5, 1, 2, 3
25. 1. Intrinsic 2. Intrude 3. Intricate 4. Introvert 5. Intrigue 6. Introduce
(1) 3, 5, 1, 4, 6, 2 (2) 3, 5, 1, 6, 4, 2 (3) 3, 1, 5, 4, 6, 2 (4) 5, 1, 3, 2, 4, 6
26. 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?
(1) Meeta (2) mother (3) meets (4) me
Directions (Q.27 to Q.30) : In each of the following questions, arrange the given names in the order in which
they would occur in a telephone directory and choose the one which appears in the third place.
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27. (1) Avdesh (2) Avadhesh (3) Awadesh (4) Awdhesh

28. (1) Randhir (2) Randesh (3) Rama (4) Raamesh
29. (1) Bhagat (2) Bhagwat (3) Bhagvati (4) Bhagvant
30. (1) Mohammad (2) Mohammed (3) Muhammad (4) Mohummad

ANSWERS
Qu e . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 2 2 4 2 2 1 4 4 3 3
Qu e . 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
An s . 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 4 4 3
Qu e . 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
An s . 1 4 3 1 2 1 3 2 3 4

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9.2 Letter word problems

SOLVED EXA MPLES
E x . 1 How many such pairs of letters are there in the word INSTRUCTION which have as many letters between them
in the word as in the English alphabet?

(1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) Four

S o l . Clearly, we have :

OPQRS

INSTRUCTION

HGFED

As depicted above, C and I have five letters between them in the given word as well as in English alphabet; N
and T again have five letters between them and each of the pairs (S and T) and (N and O) have no letter between
them.

Thus, there are four such pairs. Hence, the answer is (4).

E x . 2 How many such letters are there in the word BACKLASH each of which is as far away from the beginning of the
word as it is from the beginning of the English alphabet?

(1) None (2) One (3) Two (4) Three

S o l . Clearly, C and H are respectively the third and eighth letters in the word BACKLASH as well as in the English
alphabet. Thus, there are two such letters.

Hence, the answer is (3).

E x . 3 If the letters in the word POWERFUL are rearranged as they appear in the English alphabet, the position of how
many letters will remain unchanged after the rearrangement?

(1) None (2) One (3) Two (4) Three Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

S o l . Sequence in the word: POWERFUL

Sequence in English alphabet: EFLOPRUW

Clearly, the position of letter U remains unchanged. Hence, the answer is (2).

E x . 4 If the first three letters of the word COMPREHENSION are reversed, then the last three letters are added and
then the remaining letters are reversed and added, then which letter will be exactly in the middle?

(1) H (2) N (3) R (4) S

S o l . Clearly, we have:

COMPREHENSION (COM) (PREHENS) (ION) MOCIONSNEHERP

The middle letter is the seventh letter, which is S. Hence, the answer is (4).

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E x . 5 If the first and third letters in the word NECESSARY were interchanged, also the fourth and the sixth letters, and
the seventh and the ninth letters, which of the following would be the seventh letter from the left?

(1) A (2) Y (3) R (4) E

S o l . We interchange the positions of the letters as shown below:

N E C E S S A R Y

The new letter sequence is CENSSEYRA. Clearly, the seventh letter from the left is Y. Hence, the answer is (2).

E x . 6 Which of the following will be the changed form of the word OBLIQUE when the word is written again by
substituting each vowel by the second letter following it in the English alphabet and substituting each consonant
by the third letter following it in the English alphabet?

(1) MEDGTSD (2) QEOKTXG (3) QEOKTWG (4) RDNLSXH

S o l . We replace each of the vowels, i.e., O, I, U, E by a letter two steps ahead of it, and each of the consonants', i.e.,
B, L, Q by a letter three steps ahead of it.

Thus, O is replaced by Q, I by K, U by W, E by G; B by E, L by O, Q by T.

So, the changed form is QEOKTWG. Hence, the answer is (3).

EXERCISE
Directions (Q. 1 to Q.10): In each of the following questions, find out how many such pairs of letters are there
in the given word each of which has as many letters between them in the word as in the English alphabet.
1. NECESSARY
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
2. PREAMBLE
(1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) More than three
3. CREATIVE
(1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) Four
4. ENTHUSIASTIC
(1) Two (2) Three (3) Four (4) More than four
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5. PARADISE
(1) None (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
6. DABBLE
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) More than three
7. CREDIBLE
(1) More than three (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
8. HORIZON
(1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) Four
9. PRISON
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) More than three

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10. DECOR ATE
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
11. How many such pairs of letters are there in the word CLEARING each of which has two letters between them in
the word as also in the alphabet ?
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
12. The position of how many letters in the word BRAKES remains unchanged when they are arranged in alphabetical
order?
(1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) More than three
13. If the order of letters of each of the following words is reversed, then which of the following will be the meaningful
word? If more than one such word can be formed, mark'S' as the answer and if no such word can be formed,
mark 'X' as the answer.
NAIL, PAIL, RAIL, MADAM, REST
(1) X (2) RAIL (3) MADAM (4) S
14. If the letters in the word UNDERTAKING are rearranged in the alphabetical order, which one will be in the
middle in order after the rearrangement?
(1) G (2) I (3) K (4) N
15. Which letter in the word CYBERNETICS occupies the same position as it does in the English alphabet?
(1) C (b)E (3) I (4) T
16. If the first and second letters in the word DEPRESSION were interchanged, also the third and the fourth letters,
the fifth and the sixth letters and so on, which of the following would be the seventh letter from the right?
(1) R (2) O (3) S (4) None of these
17. If the last four letters of the word CONCENTRATION are written in reverse order followed by next two in the
reverse order and next three in the reverse order and then followed by the first four in the reverse order,
counting from the left, which letter would be eighth in the new arrangement?
(1) N (2) T (3) E (4) R
18. If in the word DISTURBANCE, the first letter is interchanged with the last letter, the second letter is interchanged
with the tenth letter and so on, which letter would come after 'T' in the newly formed word?
(1) I (2) N (3) S (4) D
19. A meaningful nine-letter English word is formed using all the alphabets given in the grid below, starting with
alphabet of a corner block, moving in clockwise direction and ending at the alphabet in the central grid. What
is the fourth alphabet of the word ?

m m o
o y d
c t i
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(1) o (2) d (3) t (4) m

20. If it is possible to make a meaningful word with the third, the fourth and the eleventh letters of the word
CONTROVERSIAL, which of the following will be the last letter of that word ? If more than one such words can
be made, give M as the answer and if no such word is there, give X as the answer.

(1) S (2) I (3) X (4) M

ANSWERS
Qu e. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 2 2 3 2 4 4 1 4 4 4
Q u e. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
An s . 1 2 4 3 3 4 1 3 4 4

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9.3 Rule detection

Solved Examples
E x . 1 Number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series increases by one. Which of the following
series observes the given rule?

(1) ACFJO (2) AEIMQ (3) DINSX (4) EHKNQ

S o l . We may analyse the given letter-series as follows:

(1) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

1 2 3 4

+1 +1 +1

(2) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q

3 3 3 3

+0 +0 +0

(3) D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X

4 4 4 4

+0 +0 +0

(4) E F G H I J K L M N O P Q

2 2 2 2

+0 +0 +0

Clearly, in letter-series ACFJO, the number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters increases by one as
shown above. Hence, the answer is (1).

EXERCISE
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Directions (Q.1 to Q.13) : In each of the following questions, find out which of . the letter series follows the
given rule:
1. Number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is two.
(1) MPSVYBE (2) QSVYZCF (3) SVZCGJN (4) ZCGKMPR
2. The group of letters should not contain more than two vowels.
(1) BDEJOLY (2) JKAPIXU (3) PRAQEOS (4) ZILERAM
3. Number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is odd.
(1) BDHLR (2) EIMQV (3) FIMRX (4) MPRUX
4. Number of letters skipped in between the adjacent letters in the series is equal.
(1) HKNGSW (2) RVZDFG (3) RVZDHL (4) SUXADF
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5. Number of letters skipped in between the adjacent letters in the series are consecutive even numbers.

(1) ADIPY (2) CDFIM (3) DFJPX (4) GIMSZ

6. Number of letters skipped in between the adjacent letters in the series are multiples of 3.

(1) AELPZ (2) DHLPU (3) GKOTZ (4) LORUX

7. Number of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is in the order of 2, 5, 7, 10.

(1) CEGLT (2) FNKOT (3) QTZHS (4) SYBEP

8. Number of letters skipped in reverse order in between adjacent letters in the series is constant.

(1) SPMJG (2) SPNLJ (3) SQOLJ (4) WUTRQ

9. Number of letters skipped between adjacent letters in a series increases by one.

(1) CIOUBK (2) HLPTXN (3) CHMRWB (4) CEHLQW

10. In the series, first, third and fifth letters, also second and fourth letters are skipped by a letter gap in between.

(1) DKFLH (2) DKFMG (3) DKFMH (4) DKFMI

11. The number of letters missed is not uniform.

(1) BFJNRV (2) DGJMPS (3) MORTXY (4) PRTVXZ

12. There is a letter leaving two letters of the alphabet in order, after the letters placed at odd-numbered positions
and leaving one letter of the alphabet in order after the letters placed at even-numbered positions.

(1) ADFIKN (2) BEGJLN (3) CFHKLO (4) DFIKNP

13. The letters are not according to a general rule.

(1) CEGIKM (2) MORTVX (3) PRTVXZ (4) ZBDFHJ

14. The letter sequence is formed by skipping three letters in the forward direction. Identify from the following
alternatives which one of them cannot be formed using the above principle?

(1) AEIM (2) GKOS (3) MPSW (4) TXBF

15. In the following series, the number of letters skipped in between the adjacent letters are in ascending order, i.e.,
1,2,3,4. Which one of the following letter groups does not obey this rule?

(1) CEHLQ (2) DFIMR (3) GILPU (4) HJMPT Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

ANSWERS
Qu e . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 3
Qu e. 11 12 13 14 15
An s . 3 1 2 3 4

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9.4 Alphabetical quibble

In this type of questions, generally a letter-series is given, be it the English alphabets from A to Z or a randomised
sequence of letters. The candidate is then required to trace the letters satisfying certain given conditions as
regards their position in the given sequence or the sequence obtained by performing certain given operations on
the given sequence.

Solved Examples
E x . 1 Answer the given questions based on the following English alphabet:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1. Which letter is fifth to the right of the eighteenth letter from your right?
(1) C (2) D (3) E (4) N
2. If all the vowels are removed from the alphabet, which letter will be the seventh to the right of the fifth letter
from the left?
(1) L (2) M (3) N (4) P
3. If every alternate letter, starting with A, is removed from the alphabet, which letter among the remaining letters
would be the third to the right of the fifth letter from the right?
(1) X (2) V (3) L (4) J
4. If A and B are written as B and A, C and D as D and C, E and F as F and E and so on till the end of the alphabet,
what will be the position of M from your right?
(1) 11th (2) 12th (3) 13th (4) 14th
5. If the above alphabet is arranged in reverse order, which letter will be twelfth to the left of the sixteenth letter
from your left ?
(1) D (2) V (3) W (4) X
Sol.
1. Counting from the right end of the given alphabet-series, i.e., from Z, the eighteenth letter is I. Counting from
I towards the right, the fifth letter is N. .
So, the answer is (4).
2. Removing all the vowels, i.e., A, E, I, O, U, we obtain the following letter-series:
BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWXYZ
Counting from the left in the above series, i.e., from B, the fifth letter is G. Counting from G towards right, the
seventh letter is P.
So, the answer is (4).
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3. Leaving out A, C, E, G, ..... , W, Y, we obtain the following letter-series:

BDFHJLNPRTVXZ
Counting from the right in the above letter-series, the fifth letter is R. Counting from R, the third letter to the
right is X. So, the answer is (1).
4. The new letter-series obtained is :
BADCFEHGJILKNMPORQTSVUXWZY
Counting from Y in the above series, M is the 13th letter. So, the answer is (3).
5. We obtain the following letter-series on reversing the order of the alphabets:
ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Counting from left, i.e., from Z in the above series, the sixteenth letter is K. Counting from K towards left, the
twelfth letter is W. So, the answer is (3).

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Ex.2. How many D's are there in the following series which are immediately followed by W but not immediately
preceded by K?
KDCWKDWNKGDWWDHKVDWZDW
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
S o l . Clearly, D's satisfying the given conditions can be marked as under:

KDCWKDWNKG D WWDHKV D WZ D W

We observe that such D's are three in number. Hence, the answer is (4).
Ex.3. If each letter in the English alphabet is attached a value equal to its serial number in the alphabet, which among
the following will have the highest sum of the values of all its letters?
(1) WIND (2) TONE (3) BUDY (4) MORE
S o l . Putting A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, D = 4, ..... , Z = 26, we may calculate the sum of the values of the letters of each
of the given words as follows:
(1) WIND W + I + N + D = 23 + 9 + 14 + 4 = 50
(2)) TONE T + O + N + E = 20 + 15 + 14 + 5 = 54
(3) BUDY B + U + D + Y = 2 + 21 + 4 + 25 = 52
(4) MORE M + O + R + E = 13 + 15 + 18 + 5 = 51
The value is the highest in case of TONE. Hence the answer is (2)

EXERCISE
Direc tions (Q.1 to Q.10) : Each of the follow ing ques tions is bas ed on the follow ing alphabet-
s e ri es :
A BC DEF GHIJK L MN OPQR ST UV W XY Z
1. Which letter is exactly midway between G and Q in the given alphabet?
(1) K (2) L (3) M (4) N
2. Which letter is midway between the eighteenth letter from the left end and tenth letter from the right end of the
given alphabet?
(1) No letter (2) K (3) Q (4) R
3. Which letter in the alphabet is as far from G as T is from M?
(1) M (2) N (3) O (4) P
4. Which letter is sixteenth to the right of the letter which is fourth to the left of I ?
(1) S (2) T (3) U (4) V
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5. Which letter will be the eighth to the right of the third letter of left in the second half of the English alphabet?
(1) V (2) W (3) X (4) Y
6. If in the English alphabet every fourth letter is replaced by the symbol ( ), which of the following would be
seventh to the left of the fourteenth element from the left?
(1) G (2) H (3) T (4)
7. If 1st and 26th, 2nd and 25th, 3rd and 24th, and so on, letters of the English alphabet are paired, then which
of the following pairs is correct?
(1) GR (2) CW (3) IP (4) EV
8. If every alternative letter of English alphabet from B onwards (including B) is written in lower case (small letters)
and the remaining letters are capitalized, then how will the first month of the second half of the year be written?
(1) JuLy (2) AuGuSt (3) jUlY (4) AugUSt
9. If every alternate letter starting from B of the given alphabet is written in small letters, rest all are written in
capital letters, how will the month of 'September' be written?
(1) SEpteMbeR (2) SEptembER (3) sePTemBeR (4) SEptEMbEr
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10. If the alternate letters in the given alphabet starting from A are written in small and rest all in capital letters,
which of the following will represent the third month after July ?
(1) NoVemBeR (2) OCtObEr (3) oCtObEr (4) ocToBeR
Directions (Q.11 to Q.15) : Study the following arrangement of the English alphabet and answer the questions
given below.
F JM P OW RN B EY C KA V LDG XU HQISZ T
11. Which letter is tenth to the right of the letter which is exactly the middle letter between F and D?
(1) D (2) G (3) H (4) None of these
12. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way based on their position in the above arrangement and hence
form a group. Which one does not belong to that group?
(1) BRY (2) ECN (3) HXI (4) OMR
13. FMJ : TSZ in the same way as JMP : ?
(1) IZS (2) ZSI (3) ZIS (4) ISZ
14. Which of the following pairs of letters has as many letters between them in the above arrangement as there are
between them in the English alphabet?
(1) AI (2) EL (3) LS (4) MO
15. If each letter is attached a value equal to its serial number in the above arrangement starting from your left, then
what will be the sum of the numbers attached to all the vowels in the arrangement?
(1) 50 (2) 58 (3) 63 (4) None of these
16. How many As are there in the following series which are immediately followed by B as well as immediately
preceded by Z?
AMBZANAABZABAZBAPZABAZAB
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) Three
17. In the given series of letters, how many t's are preceded and followed by t?
PtPttPPtPtPPPqqPtPttPPPt
(1) 0 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4
18. In the following list of letters, how many O's are followed by Q's but not preceded by D's?
DOQODQODODQDOQDSDQPOQDSSSDOQOQDOQDDDOQ
(1) 0 (2) 1 (3) 2 (4) 3
19. How many T's are there in the following sequence which are immediately preceded by P but not immediately
followed by S?
STPQTSPTRPTSRPSTQPTRPTMPTS
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

(1) None (2) One (3) Two (4) Three

20. How many L's are there which do not have R preceding them and also do not have T following them?
ZQSTLRMNQNRTUVXRLTASLTQRSLT
(1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 5

ANSWERS
Qu e . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 2 1 2 3 3 1 4 3 4 4
Qu e . 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
An s . 4 2 2 4 4 4 1 3 4 1

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9.5 Word formation by unscrambling letters

In this type of questions, a set of English letters is given in a jumbled order. The candidate is required to arrange
these letters to form a meaningful word.

Solved examples
E x . 1 Select the combination of numbers so that the letters arranged accordingly will form a meaningful word :
P N O A C L M I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(1) 2, 7, 8, 6, 4, 3, 1, 5 (2) 4, 7, 5, 2, 6, 8, 1, 3
(3) 5, 3, 7, 1, 6, 4, 8, 2 (4) 7, 1, 8, 5, 6, 2, 4, 3
S o l . Clearly, the given letters, when arranged in the order 5, 3, 7, 1, 6, 4, 8, 2 form the word 'COMPLAIN'.
Hence, the answer is (3).
E x . 2 Given below are the letters of a word, marked as (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Arrange these letters to form a
meaningful word and indicate the last letter of the word as your answer.
(1) I (2) B (3) H (4) T (5) A
S o l . Clearly, the given letters may be rearranged to form the word HABIT. So, the last letter is T.
Hence, the answer is (4).
E x . 3 Unscramble the letters in the given words and find the odd one out:
(1) EIWNTR (2) UMRSME (3) PIGRSN (4) LCUOD
S o l . Rearranging the letters, the given words are :
(1) WINTER (2) SUMMER (3) SPRING (4) CLOUD
Clearly, all except CLOUD are names of seasons. Hence, the answer is (4).
E x . 4 Rearrange the letters given below to form a meaningful word and select from the given alternatives the word
which is almost opposite in meaning to the word so formed.
RBANOEHCER
(1) Liking (2) Appreciation (3) Aversion (4) Apprehension
S o l . The letters, on rearrangement, form the word 'ABHORRENCE' meaning 'Hatred', the opposite of which is
'Liking'.
So, the answer is (1).

EXERCISE
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

Direetions (Q.1 to Q.10) : Letters of the words given below have been jumbled up. You are required to
construct the words. Each letter has been numbered and each word is followed by four options. Choose the
option which gives the correct order of the letters as indicated by the numbers to form words.
1. VARSTE
123456
(1) 2, 3, 1, 6, 4, 5 (2) 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 1 (3) 4, 5, 2, 3, 1, 6 (4) 6, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1
2. TRIFU
12345
(1) 3, 1, 2, 4, 5 (2) 4, 2, 5, 3, 1 (3) 4, 3, 2, 1, 5 (4) 5, 3, 2, 1, 4
3. ACESTH
123456
(1) 2, 6, 1, 4, 5, 3 (2) 4, 3, 5, 6, 1, 2 (3) 6, 1, 4, 5, 3, 2 (4) 6, 3, 2, 1, 4, 5
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 Mental Ability
4. TLEMNA
123456
(1) 2, 6, 4, 5, 3, 1 (2) 3, 2, 4, 6, 5, 1 (3) 4, 3, 5, 1, 6, 2 (4) 5, 3, 2, 4, 6, 1
5. AEHRKN
123456
(1) 3, 1, 6, 5, 2, 4 (2) 4, 1, 5, 3, 2, 6 (3) 5, 3, 1,4,2,6 (4) 6, 1, 5, 3, 4, 2
6. RUSGA
12345
(1) 1, 5, 4, 2, 3 (2) 3, 2, 4, 5, 1 (3) 4, 5, 3, 2, 1 (4) 5, 3, 4, 1, 2
7. HNRCAB
123456
(1) 2, 5, 3, 4, 1, 6 (2) 3, 5, 6, 4, 1, 2 (3) 4, 1, 5, 6, 2, 3 (4) 6, 3, 5, 2, 4, 1
8. EMIHTR
123456
(1) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (2) 4, 1, 6, 2, 3, 5 (3) 5, 1, 6, 4, 3, 2 (4) 6, 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
9. INLASG
123456
(1) 2, 4, 3, 6, 1, 5 (2) 3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 5 (3) 5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3 (4) 6, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2
10. RTEODP
123456
(1) 1, 3, 5, 6, 4, 2 (2) 2, 3, 1, 6, 4, 5 (3) 5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2 (4) 6, 3, 5, 1, 4, 2
Directions (Q. 11 to Q.15) : In each of the following questions, some letters are given. Arrange the letters
properly to make a meaningful word and indicate the index of the letter, i.e., (1), (2), (3) or (4) that you have
chosen to put last in the word, as your answer.
11. gofrte
(1) t (2) r (3) f (4) e
12. sanfeimt
(1) s (2) n (3) e (4) t
13. rt snpie
(1) e (2) r (3) t (4) n
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

14. metri an
(1) n (2) (3) t (4) m
15. hnmiaec
(1) n (2) e (3) a (4) i
Directions (Q.16 to Q.20) : In each of these questions, a disarranged word is given. The letters constituting
the word are marked as (1), (2), (3), (4) and (E). Arrange the letters to make a meaningful word and indicate the
last letter of the word.
16. (1) L (2) S (3) O (4) C (E) E
17. (1) W (2) N (3) L (4) O (E) C
18. (1) N (2) I (3) R (4) A (E) T
19. (1) U (2) E (3) H (4) S (E) O
20. (1) N (2) I (3) P (4) O (E) T

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Class X
Directions (Q.21 to Q. 25) : Unscramble the letters in the words given in these questions and find the odd one
out.

21. (1) UPJM (2) WKLA (3) PEELS (4) UNR

22. (1) ULME (2) RIGTE (3) KYDENO (4) LCEAM

23. (1) ATES (2) EWSN (3) HONRT (4) EWTS

24. (1) LAHEW (2) OCRW (3) LEEGA (4) WARPSOR

25. (1) REAPP (2) LIENCP (3) RLTSAPE (4) BAELT

Directions (Q. 26 to Q.30) : In each of these questions, jumbled letters of a meaningful word are given. You
are to rearrange these letters and select from the given alternatives the word which is almost similar in meaning
to the rearranged word.

26. ITGNDLEI

(1) Intelligent (2) Difficult (3) Laborious (4) Quick

27. HNAIDSOM

(1) Support (2) Appeal (3) Praise (4) Threaten

28. DCPRTIE

(1) Explain (2) Foretell (3) Observe (4) Assert

29. HRADTE

(1) Decrease (2) Loss (3) Reduction (4) Scarcity

30. EUGAFTI

(1) Weariness (2) Sweating (3) Tension (4) Drowsiness

Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

ANSWERS
Qu e. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Ans . 3 2 1 3 1 2 4 2 3 3 1 4
Qu e. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Ans . 2 2 2 4 2 1 2 4 3 2 2 1
Qu e. 25 26 27 28 29 30
Ans . 4 3 4 2 4 1

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9.6 Word formation using Letters of a given word

Solved examples
E x . 1 If it is possible to make only one meaningful word with the second, the fourth, the fifth and the tenth letters of the
word CREDITABLE using each letter only once, then which of the following will be the first letter of that word?
If more than one such words can be formed, give 'M' as the answer and if no such word can be formed, then give
'N' as the answer.

(1) D (2) E (3) R (4) M

S o l . The second, fourth, fifth and tenth letters of the word CREDITABLE are R, D, I and E respectively.
Using these letters, we can form two words – DIRE and RIDE. Hence, the answer is (4).
E x . 2 If it is possible to make a meaningful word from the second, the seventh, the ninth and the eleventh letters of the
word ORGANISATION using each letter only once, then which will be the third letter of that word? If no such
word can be formed, your answer would be 'X' and if more than one such word can be formed, your answer
would be 'M'.

(1) R (2) S (3) T (4) M

S o l . The second, seventh, ninth and eleventh letters of the word ORGANISATION are R, S, T and O respectively.
Clearly, only one word can be formed using these letters, which is SORT. The third letter in SORT is R.

Hence, the answer is (1).

E x . 3 Choose one word out of the given alternatives, which cannot be formed from the letters of the word
CONSULTATION.

(1) CONSTANT (2) NATION (3) SALUTE (4) STATION

S o l . Carefully looking at the words, we find that the word 'CONSULTATION' does not contain the letter E. So, the
word 'SALUTE' cannot be formed. Hence, the answer is (3).

Note : In such type of questions, unless otherwise mentioned, each letter in the given word is to be used only once.

E x . 4 If the letters of the word ARTICULATES can be used as many times as one wants to use, then which one of the
following four words cannot be formed?

(1) COURTS (2) LATER (3) ELECTRIC (4) ARTICLE

S o l . Clearly, the word ARTICULATES does not contain the letter O and as such, the word COURTS cannot be
formed. Hence, the answer is (1).
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

EXERCISE
1. If it is possible to make only one meaningful word with the fourth, the fifth, the seventh and the eleventh letters
of the word PREDICTABLE, which of the following will be the first letter of that word? If only two such words can
be formed, give 'W' as the answer; if three or more such words can be formed, give 'Z' as the answer and if no
such word can be formed, give 'X' as the answer.

(1) D (2) T (3) W (4) Z

2. A meaningful word starting with A is made from the first, the second, the fourth, the fifth and the sixth letters of
the word CONTRACT. Which of the following is the middle letter of that word?
(1) C (2) O (3) R (4) T

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Class X
3. If it is possible to make a meaningful word with the third, fifth, eighth and tenth letters of the word DISTRIBUTE,
which of the following will be the third letter of that word? If no such word can be made, give 'X' as the answer
and if more than one such words can be made, give 'M' as the answer.

(1) M (2) R (3) E (4) X

4. If with the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth letters of the word PERSONALITY, a meaningful word is
formed, then first letter of the word is the answer. If no word is possible, then 'X' is the answer.
(1) X (2) T (3) R (4) S

5. If it is possible to make a meaningful word with- the second, the fifth and the eighth letters of the word CARETAKER,
which of the following will be the first letter of that word? If no such word can be made, give 'X' as the answer. If
more than one such words can be made, give 'M' as the answer.

(1) A (2) E (3) T (4) M

6. If it is possible to make a meaningful word with the first, the fourth, the seventh and the eleventh letters of the
word INTERPRETATION, which of the following will be third letter of that word? If more than one such words
can be made, give 'M' as the answer and if no such word can be made, give 'X' as the answer.
(1) I (2) R (3) T (4) M

7. If it is possible to make only one meaningful word with the second, the third, the sixth and the eighth letters of
the word FRAGMENT, using each letter only once, then which of the following will be the third letter of that
word? If no such word can be formed, then give 'X' as the answer and if more than one such words can be
formed, then give 'Y' as the answer.

(1) A (2) E (3) T (4) Y

8. Pick the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth letters of the word REASONING, form yet another word and then
write the first and the last letters of the word formed.

(1) OR (2) NE (3) SE (4) ES

9. If it is possible to make only one meaningful word with the second, the seventh, the tenth and the eleventh letters
of the word 'TRADITIONAL' which will be the second letter of that word? If no such word can be formed, give 'X'
as the answer. If only two such words can be formed, give 'Y' as the answer and if more than two such words can
be formed, give 'Z' as the answer.

(1) I (2) L (3) X (4) Z

10. If a meaningful word can be formed from RKUL, by using each letter only once, then the third letter of that word
is your answer. If more than one such words can be formed, then your answer is 'Y' and if no such word is formed,
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

then your answer is 'Z'.

(1) K (2) L (3) R (4) Y

11. How many meaningful English words can be formed by using any two letters of the word 'NOT' ?
(1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) More than three
12. How many independent words can 'STAINLESS' be divided into without changing the order of the letters and
using each letter only once?
(1) Nil (2) One (3) Two (4) Three

13. From the word 'BEHIND', how many independent words can be made without changing the order of the letters
and using each letter only once?

(1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4

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 Mental Ability
14. Which one of the given responses can be added in all the given letters to make meaningful words?

Sl (........), Pr (........), Tr (........), Br (........), S (........)

(1) –our (2) –ick (3) –een (4) –eep
15. Below are given four words in which some letters are missing. A group of three letters completes these words
meaningfully. Select these three letters from the alternatives given.

......... vent, .........nect, .........duct, .........dole

(1) Cor (2) Coc (3) Cov (4) Con
Directions (Q. 16 to Q.20) : In each of the following questions, choose one word which can be formed from
the letters of the given word.
16. SOMNAMBULISM

(1) BlOME (2) BASAL (3) SOUL (4) NAMES

17. EXAMINATION
(1) ANIMAL (2) EXAMINER (3) NATIONAL (4) ANIMATION

18. RHINOCEROS

(1) RENAL (2) HIND (3) SURE (4) HORSE

19. PRAGMATIC
(1) GUITAR (2) AGMARK (3) GAME (4) MAGIC
20. MEASUREMENT
(1) MASTER (2) MANTLE (3) SUMMIT (4) ASSURE
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

ANSWERS
Qu e . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 4 4 1 3 4 4 4 3 4 3
Qu e. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
An s . 3 3 2 2 4 3 4 4 4 1

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Class X

EXERCISE
QUESTIONS RELATED TO VARIOUS OLYMPIADS
1. Find out the word that cannot be formed by using the letters in the word "ERYTHROBLAST".
(1) BLAST (2) BLAME (3) THEORY (4) ROAST
2. Which name will come at third place in a telephone directory from the following names?
(1) AMIT (2) AMINA (3) ALOK (4) ABHIMAN
3. In the word DISTURBANCE if the first letter is interchanged with the last letter, the second letter is interchanged
with tenth letter and so on. Then ,which letter would come after T in the newely formed word.
(1) S (2) I (3) T (4) N
Directions (Q.4 & Q.5) : In the following questions arrange the words as they occur in dictionary and choose
the correct sequence.
4. (a) Ambitious (b)Ambiguous (c) Ambiguity (d) Animation
(e) Animals
(1) c,b,a,e,d (2) c,b,d,e,a (3) c,b,d,a,e (4) c,b,e,d,a
5. (a) Continuation (b) Contention (c) Contain (d) Continuous
(e) Count
(1) c,b,d,a,e (2) c,b,d,e,a (3) c,a,b,d,e (4) c,b,a,d,e
6. Which of the following comes third in dictionary?
(1) Measler (2) Meals (3) Marbles (4) Metals
7. Write the following jumbled letters in the same order as in the alphabet.
'U R P I G H T'
(1) GHIPRTU (2) GHPIUTR (3) HGPRUTI (4) IGHPRUT
Directions (Q.8 & Q.9) : Arrange the following words in the alphabetic order of English directory and identify
one that comes in the middle.
8. (a) Dialogue (b) Diabetic (c) Diagonal (d) Diaphragm
(e) Dialect.
(1) b (2) c (3) d (4) e
9. (a) Aback (b) Abate (c) Abuce (d) Abace
(e) Abbey
Node5\e\Data\CBSE-2016\10th\Advance\CCP\Mental Ability-1\09 Alphabet Test.p65

(1) b (2) c (3) d (4) e

10. How many such pair of letters are there in the word PRODUCTION each of which has as many letters
between them as in the English alphabet?
(1) None (2) One (3) Two (4) Three

ANSWERS
Qu e. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 2 2 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 4

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