Alphabet Test Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: L

The midpoint of positions 5 and 19 is

\[\frac{5 + 19}{2} = 12\]

The twelfth letter of the alphabet is L, which sits seven places after E and seven places before S.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Three

The four letters E, S, R and O rearrange into three ordinary English words: ROSE, SORE and ROES, the last being the plural of roe.

Each uses all four letters exactly once, which is the condition set. Working systematically by first letter - asking what can begin with R, then S, then O, then E - is more reliable than waiting for words to suggest themselves.

Answer: A

Correct answer: B

Reading through H D Y S M W N B Q P O C R T B L Z V E G U F, the letter B appears twice - at the eighth position and again at the fifteenth.

The series has twenty-two letters and every other letter appears once, so B is the only repeat. Working systematically rather than by impression is what makes this quick: a single pass marking each letter as it is met finds the duplicate without rereading.

Answer: D

Correct answer: J

Two steps. In QUICKSILVER, K is the 5th letter and R the 11th, so the letter midway between them is the 8th, L.

The distance from C to L in the alphabet is

\[ 12 - 3 = 9 \]

and the letter nine from A is the 10th:

\[ 1 + 9 = 10 \rightarrow J \]

The care needed is in switching frames: the midpoint is found by position within the word, and the distance is then measured in the alphabet.

Answer: A

Correct answer: 3

The test is that the gap between two letters in the word equals the gap between them in the alphabet, with the second letter later in the alphabet as well.

In CREATIVE three pairs qualify: C and E at positions 1 and 3, two apart in the word and two in the alphabet (3 and 5); T and V at positions 5 and 7, two apart in both (20 and 22); and A and E at positions 4 and 8, four apart in both (1 and 5).

Working through the pairs by separation - adjacent, then two apart, and so on - is the systematic way to be certain none is missed.

Answer: D

Correct answer: P

DEPRESSION has ten letters, so the swaps pair 1 with 2, 3 with 4, 5 with 6, 7 with 8 and 9 with 10:

E D R P S E I S N O

With ten letters, the 7th from the right is the 4th from the left, which is P.

Converting the count from right to left before reading off - rather than counting backwards through the string - removes the commonest source of error in these questions.

Answer: E

Correct answer: Groan

Comparing letter by letter, the alphabetical order of the five words is:

Groan → Grotesque → Group → Guarantee → Guard

The second letter splits the set, r before u, so the three Gr- words precede the two Gu- ones. Among the Gr- words the fourth letter gives a, t, u, putting Groan first. Guarantee then precedes Guard because their fifth letters are a and d.

Answer: C

Correct answer: T

MISFORTUNE has ten letters, so the swaps pair 1 with 2, 3 with 4, 5 with 6, 7 with 8 and 9 with 10:

I M F S R O U T E N

The eighth letter from the left is T.

Doing all five swaps before counting is essential - the eighth position is itself affected by the fourth swap, so counting in the original word would give N.

Answer: A

Correct answer: L

Two pairs in LEMON match by distance, and the question's phrasing points to the one running forwards. L is at position 1 and O at position 4, three apart in the word; in the alphabet L is 12th and O is 15th, again three apart.

Of those two letters L comes earlier in the alphabet, so L is the answer.

The other matching pair, O and N, is adjacent in both word and alphabet but runs backwards.

Answer: E

Correct answer: Probate

Comparing letter by letter, the alphabetical order of the five words is:

Probate → Probe → Problem → Proceed → Proclaim

All five share Pro, and the fourth letter gives b, b, b, c, c. Among the three Prob- words the fifth letter decides: a, e, l, so Probate leads. Note Probate before Probe - the a settles it before the shorter word's length becomes relevant.