Choose the group of letters which is different from others.
PSVX
PSVX is the odd group — option 2. In the other three the letters advance by a constant three places, but in PSVX the last step is only two.
Write down the alphabet positions and take the gaps.
| Group | Positions | Gaps | Regular ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORUX | O = 15, R = 18, U = 21, X = 24 | +3, +3, +3 | Yes |
| PSVX | P = 16, S = 19, V = 22, X = 24 | +3, +3, +2 | No |
| CFIL | C = 3, F = 6, I = 9, L = 12 | +3, +3, +3 | Yes |
| JMPS | J = 10, M = 13, P = 16, S = 19 | +3, +3, +3 | Yes |
Three groups share the pattern “every letter three places after the last”; only PSVX breaks it, because after V the next letter should be Y, not X.
The method. For odd-one-out questions on letter groups, always convert to numbers first and then look at the differences. Trying to spot the pattern by eye is unreliable, because letters near the end of the alphabet look unfamiliar and because a gap of two and a gap of three are hard to distinguish visually. It also helps to remember a few anchor positions — A = 1, E = 5, J = 10, O = 15, T = 20, Y = 25 — from which any letter can be counted in a moment.
A useful cross-check. Notice that ORUX and PSVX both end in X. In ORUX, X is correctly the fourth term of a +3 chain starting at O; in PSVX it is not, because a +3 chain from P would run P, S, V, Y. The shared final letter is what makes the two groups look alike, and that is exactly the confusion the question is designed around.
Hence, the answer is PSVX.
Important Questions from Letter and Number Based
Select the related number from the given alternatives that will complete the series:
Y 2 : 4 : : V 2 : ?Select the related number from the given alternatives:
F : 216 : : L : ?Select the option in which the numbers are related in the same way as are the numbers of the following set.
(12, 60, 84)
Three of the following four number-pairs ale alike in a certain way and one is different. Find the odd one out.
In the following question, select the related number from the given alternatives.
52 : 57 ∷ 46 : ?
