What are the next three terms of the following sequence? N , O , M , P , L , Q…

Concept: This is an alternating (interleaved) series — two independent sub-sequences occupy alternate positions, one running through the odd positions and the other through the even positions, and each sub-sequence follows its own separate rule.

1. Separate the given terms by position: the odd positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th) give N, M, L, K, and the even positions (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th) give O, P, Q, R.

2. Find the rule for the odd-position sub-series: each letter steps one place backward in the alphabet — N to M to L to K.

3. Find the rule for the even-position sub-series: each letter steps one place forward in the alphabet — O to P to Q to R.

4. Extend each sub-series by the same rule: the odd-position series continues K to J (the 9th term) and then J to I (the 11th term); the even-position series continues R to S (the 10th term).

5. Interleave the extended terms in position order to read off the three missing terms.

Cross-check: writing out the full extended sequence — N, O, M, P, L, Q, K, R, J, S, I — the odd positions read N, M, L, K, J, I (each one letter back) and the even positions read O, P, Q, R, S (each one letter forward), so both independent rules hold consistently across all eleven terms.

Result: the next three terms are J, S, I.