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Question

Three of the following four letter-clusters are alike in a certain way and one is different. Select the odd one

The correct answer is

HLQ

Finding the Odd Letter Cluster Out

This question asks us to identify the letter cluster that does not follow the same pattern as the other three. To solve this type of reasoning problem, we usually look at the position of each letter in the English alphabet and find the relationship or difference between consecutive letters in each cluster.

Analyzing Each Letter Cluster by Position

Let's assign numerical values to each letter based on its position in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26).

Letter Cluster Letter 1 Letter 2 Letter 3
QUY Q (17) U (21) Y (25)
LPT L (12) P (16) T (20)
HLQ H (8) L (12) Q (17)
GKO G (7) K (11) O (15)

Finding the Pattern in Letter Positions

Now, let's calculate the difference in positions between the consecutive letters within each cluster:

  • QUY:
    • Position of U - Position of Q = $21 - 17 = 4$
    • Position of Y - Position of U = $25 - 21 = 4$
    • Pattern for QUY: +4, +4
  • LPT:
    • Position of P - Position of L = $16 - 12 = 4$
    • Position of T - Position of P = $20 - 16 = 4$
    • Pattern for LPT: +4, +4
  • HLQ:
    • Position of L - Position of H = $12 - 8 = 4$
    • Position of Q - Position of L = $17 - 12 = 5$
    • Pattern for HLQ: +4, +5
  • GKO:
    • Position of K - Position of G = $11 - 7 = 4$
    • Position of O - Position of K = $15 - 11 = 4$
    • Pattern for GKO: +4, +4

Identifying the Odd One Out Letter Cluster

Comparing the patterns we found:

  • QUY follows a +4, +4 pattern.
  • LPT follows a +4, +4 pattern.
  • HLQ follows a +4, +5 pattern.
  • GKO follows a +4, +4 pattern.

All letter clusters except HLQ show a consistent difference of +4 between consecutive letters based on their alphabetical positions. The letter cluster HLQ shows a difference of +4 followed by a difference of +5.

Therefore, HLQ is the odd one out because its pattern is different from the others.

Revision Table: Alphabetical Positions

Letter Position Letter Position Letter Position
A 1 J 10 S 19
B 2 K 11 T 20
C 3 L 12 U 21
D 4 M 13 V 22
E 5 N 14 W 23
F 6 O 15 X 24
G 7 P 16 Y 25
H 8 Q 17 Z 26
I 9 R 18

Additional Information on Letter Reasoning

Letter reasoning questions often involve patterns related to:

  • Alphabetical position (as seen in this problem).
  • Skipping a fixed number of letters.
  • Consonants and vowels.
  • Reverse alphabetical order.
  • Combination of patterns.
  • Patterns related to symmetry or structure of letters.

Practicing different types of letter series and coding-decoding problems helps improve speed and accuracy in identifying such patterns.

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Important Questions from Letter based

  1. 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.

  2. Three of the following four letter-clusters are alike in a certain way and one is different. Pick the odd one out.

  3. Four letter-clusters have been given, out of which three are alike in some manner, while one is different. Select the odd letter-cluster.

  4. Four letter-clusters have been given, out of which three are alike in some manner and one is different. Select the one that is different.

  5. 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.

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