Alphabet Test Questions and Answers

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.

Answer: C

Correct answer: O

The tenth letter from the left is J, at position 10. The seventh from the right is T, at position

\[ 26 - 7 + 1 = 20 \]

The letter exactly between positions 10 and 20 is at position 15, which is O.

A midpoint exists here because the two positions differ by an even number; had they differed by an odd number, no single letter would lie between them.

Answer: C

Correct answer: U

Work inwards from the innermost description. Four to the left of I: H, G, F, E - so the reference letter is E, the 5th of the alphabet.

Sixteen to the right of E is the 21st letter:

\[ 5 + 16 = 21 \rightarrow U \]

Doing the arithmetic on the position numbers is faster and safer than counting letters twice, and it makes the two steps independent of each other.

Answer: A

Correct answer: S

Build the rearranged alphabet first. The second half comes first, then the first half reversed:

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z M L K J I H G F E D C B A

Counting from the right, A is 1st, so the 16th from the right is X, which stands at position 11 from the left. The 5th letter to the left of X is at position 6: counting W, V, U, T, S gives S.

The count excludes X itself, which is the convention used throughout this set of questions.