Four letter - clusters have been given, out of which three are alike in some manner and one is different. Select the odd one.
WADH
This question asks us to find the letter cluster that is different from the other three given options. This is a common type of verbal reasoning problem where we need to identify a pattern or rule that applies to a set of items, and then find the one item that doesn't follow that rule. For letter clusters, the pattern usually involves the alphabetical position of the letters.
Let's look at each letter cluster and determine the position of each letter in the English alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3, ..., Z=26). We can then look for a pattern in the differences between the positions of consecutive letters within each cluster.
| Letter Cluster | Letter Positions | Difference between Positions |
|---|---|---|
| LPTX | L=12, P=16, T=20, X=24 | $16 - 12 = 4$ $20 - 16 = 4$ $24 - 20 = 4$ |
| DHLP | D=4, H=8, L=12, P=16 | $8 - 4 = 4$ $12 - 8 = 4$ $16 - 12 = 4$ |
| QUYC | Q=17, U=21, Y=25, C=3 (or 29) | $21 - 17 = 4$ $25 - 21 = 4$ $29 - 25 = 4$ (considering wrap-around Z to A) |
| WADH | W=23, A=1 (or 27), D=4, H=8 | $27 - 23 = 4$ (considering wrap-around W to A) $4 - 1 = 3$ $8 - 4 = 4$ |
From the analysis above, we can see the pattern of differences between consecutive letter positions for each cluster:
Three of the letter clusters (LPTX, DHLP, and QUYC) follow the same pattern where each subsequent letter is found by adding 4 to the alphabetical position of the preceding letter, wrapping around from Z to A if necessary. The letter cluster WADH does not follow this consistent +4 pattern, as the difference between A and D is +3.
Therefore, WADH is the odd letter cluster among the given options.
Based on the analysis of the pattern in the difference of alphabetical positions between consecutive letters, WADH is the cluster that deviates from the pattern observed in LPTX, DHLP, and QUYC.
| Letter Cluster | Positions Analysis | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| LPTX | 12 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 16 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 20 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 24 | +4, +4, +4 |
| DHLP | 4 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 8 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 12 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 16 | +4, +4, +4 |
| QUYC | 17 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 21 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 25 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 29 (C) | +4, +4, +4 |
| WADH | 23 $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 27 (A) $\xrightarrow{+3}$ 4 (D) $\xrightarrow{+4}$ 8 (H) | +4, +3, +4 |
When solving odd one out questions involving letter clusters or series, consider the following common patterns:
Always test one hypothesis at a time and check if it applies consistently to three options, leaving one as the outlier.
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Four letter-clusters have been given, out of which three are alike in some manner and one is different. Select the letter-cluster that is different.