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Question

The number of letters that are preceded by a symbol but not followed by a number in the given expression is ______.

$M@A#N2B4O&3C5P+D2

This question was previously asked in
RRB ALP 2018 CBT 2 Fitter Question Paper (21-Jan-2019) (Shift 3)
The correct answer is

2

Analyzing the Expression for Letter Patterns

The question asks us to identify and count the number of letters in a given expression that satisfy two specific conditions: being preceded by a symbol and not being followed by a number. Let's carefully examine the provided expression:

$M@A#N2B4O&3C5P+D2

The conditions for a letter to be counted are:

  1. The character immediately before the letter must be a symbol.
  2. The character immediately after the letter must not be a number.

Let's break down the expression and analyze each character, specifically focusing on the letters and their preceding and following characters.

Position Character Type Preceding Character Following Character
1 $ Symbol - M
2 M Letter $ (Symbol) @ (Symbol)
3 @ Symbol M A
4 A Letter @ (Symbol) # (Symbol)
5 # Symbol A N
6 N Letter # (Symbol) 2 (Number)
7 2 Number N B
8 B Letter 2 (Number) 4 (Number)
9 4 Number B O
10 O Letter 4 (Number) & (Symbol)
11 & Symbol O 3
12 3 Number & C
13 C Letter 3 (Number) 5 (Number)
14 5 Number C P
15 P Letter 5 (Number) + (Symbol)
16 + Symbol P D
17 D Letter + (Symbol) 2 (Number)
18 2 Number D -

Now, let's check the conditions for each letter found in the expression (M, A, N, B, O, C, P, D):

  • Letter M:
  • Preceded by: $. This is a symbol. (Condition 1 met)
  • Followed by: @. This is not a number. (Condition 2 met)
  • Result: Count M.
  • Letter A:
  • Preceded by: @. This is a symbol. (Condition 1 met)
  • Followed by: #. This is not a number. (Condition 2 met)
  • Result: Count A.
  • Letter N:
  • Preceded by: #. This is a symbol. (Condition 1 met)
  • Followed by: 2. This is a number. (Condition 2 not met)
  • Result: Do not count N.
  • Letter B:
  • Preceded by: 2. This is a number. (Condition 1 not met)
  • Result: Do not count B.
  • Letter O:
  • Preceded by: 4. This is a number. (Condition 1 not met)
  • Result: Do not count O.
  • Letter C:
  • Preceded by: 3. This is a number. (Condition 1 not met)
  • Result: Do not count C.
  • Letter P:
  • Preceded by: 5. This is a number. (Condition 1 not met)
  • Result: Do not count P.
  • Letter D:
  • Preceded by: +. This is a symbol. (Condition 1 met)
  • Followed by: 2. This is a number. (Condition 2 not met)
  • Result: Do not count D.

The letters that satisfy both conditions are M and A.

The total number of such letters is 2.

Revision Table for Symbol and Number Counting

Letter Preceded by Symbol? Not Followed by Number? Counted?
M Yes ($) Yes (@) Yes
A Yes (@) Yes (#) Yes
N Yes (#) No (2) No
B No (2) - No
O No (4) - No
C No (3) - No
P No (5) - No
D Yes (+) No (2) No

Based on the analysis, only letters M and A meet both conditions.

Therefore, the number of such letters is 2.

Additional Information on Pattern Analysis

Problems like this involve analyzing sequences of characters based on specific rules or patterns. To solve these effectively, it's helpful to:

  • Clearly understand the definitions of the elements in the sequence (letters, numbers, symbols).
  • Break down the conditions into smaller, testable parts.
  • Examine each element in the sequence systematically.
  • Use a table or list to track the conditions for each element, especially when multiple conditions apply.
  • Pay close attention to "preceded by" (the character immediately before) and "followed by" (the character immediately after).

Recognizing different types of characters and their positions relative to others is a common skill tested in logical reasoning and data interpretation questions.

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