Number and Alphabetical Series Tips and Tricks for Government Exams

Important Facts Of Alphabet Test

1. Position number of letters in English
   
2. Position number of letters in English alphabets in reverse
   
3. We know A, E, I, O and U are vowels of English alphabet and remaining letters are consonants of English
4. A → 4 M (A to M) letters are called first half of English
5. N →  4 Z (N to Z) letters are called second half of English
6. To the left means Z →  A (Z to A)
7. To the right means A →  Z (A to Z)
8. From A →  Z (A to Z) letters are called left to right of English
9. From Z →  A (Z to A) letters are called right to left of English alphabets.

Types Of Question-Based On Alphabet Test

There are four types of questions based on Alphabet test:

Type 1: Arrangement According To The Dictionary

Arranging words in alphabetical order implies ‘to arrange them in the order as they appear in a dictionary’. For this arrangement, first we shall consider the first letter of each word. Arrange the words in the order in which these letters comes in the English alphabets.

Example 1: The following four words are arranged in alphabetical order, which word will come in the second place
(a) Electric
(b) Elector
(c) Elect
(d) Electrode
Ans: (b)
Solution: Arranging the words in alphabetical order, we have: Elect, Elector, Electric, Electrode. Hence, Elector will come in the second place.

Example 2: Arrange the given words in alphabetical order and choose the one that comes at the third place?
(a) Bathing
(b) Banking
(c) Backing
(d) Banishing
Ans: (d)
Solution: Arrange the words in alphabetical order, we have, Backing, Banishing, Banking, Bathing. Hence, Banking will come in the second place.

Type 2: Alpha-Numeric Sequence

In these types of questions, a jumbled sequence of some letters, numbers and symbols are given. Sometimes only English alphabets from A to Z are given.

Example (Q. 3 to 6): Study the following arrangement carefully and answer the questions given below.

Example 3: How many such symbols are there in the above arrangement, each of which is immediately preceded by a number and immediately followed by a letter?
(a) None
(b) One
(c) Two
(d) Three
Ans: (a)
Solution: According to the question, in the given arrangement, none of such symbols is immediately preceded by a number and immediately followed by a letter.

Example 4: Three of the following four are alike in a certain way based on their positions in the above arrangement and so form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to that group?
(a) D%©
(b) 58R
(c)  T V 8
(d) E%$
Ans: (d)
Solution: Except ‘E % $’all follow same rule in the given arrangements.

Example 5: If all the symbols in the above arrangement are dropped, which of the following will be the twelfth from the left end?
(a) 4
(b) K
(c) 2
(d) U
Ans: (c)
Solution: After droping all the symbols, the given arrangement order is
F 3 9 H A D I 4 E M K 2 U R P 5 W 8 1 T J V 7
Twelfth from the left

Example 6: How many such consonants are there in the above arrangement, each of which is immediately preceded by a number and not immediately followed by a symbol?
(a) None
(b) One
(c) Two
(d) Three
Ans: (c)
Solution: According to the question, in the given arrangements two such consonants 1TJ and 5 W 8 are immediately preceded by a number and not immediately followed by a symbol.

Type 3: Letter-Word Problems

In these types of problems, a certain word is given and candidates are required to answer asked, how many letters in the word is as far away from the beginning of the word as, it is from the beginning of the English alphabet. Sometimes, a certain word is given and then asked how many letters remain same in its position if they arrange in alphabetical order. Sometimes, a certain word is given and asked, if vowel and consonants constitutes

Example 7: How many such pairs of letters are there in the word CHANNEL each of which has as many letters between them in the word as in the English alphabets?
(a) None
(b) One
(c) Two
(d) Three
Ans: (c)
Solution:

So, such number of pairs are: AC, LN  

Example 8: How many such letters are there in the word PMCLNOB remain same in its position, if they are arranged in alphabetical order?
(a) None
(b) One
(c) Two
(d) Three
Ans: (c)
Solution:
P    M    C     L    N    O    B
B    C     L    M    N    O    P
So, such type of letters are N and O.

Example 9: Each vowel of the word GLADIOLUS is substituted with the next letter of the English alphabetical series and each consonant is substituted with the letter preceding it. How many vowels are present in the new arrangement?
(a) None
(b) One
(c) Two
(d) Three
Ans: (a)
Solution: G    L    A    D    I    O    L    U    S
F    K    B    C     J    P    K    V    R
So, none such vowels are present in the new arrangement.

Type 4: Rule Detection

In these types of problems or questions, a certain rule is given in questions and candidates are asked. choose the correct alternatives that follow this given rule.

Example 10: Find out the correct alternatives in which numbers of letters skipped in between adjacent letters in the series is two?
(a) LORTW
(b) GJMPS
(c) KNPSV
(d) EHKLO
Ans: (b)
Solution: