A group of letters are numbered from 1 to 9. Four options given below depict…
2020
A group of letters are numbered from 1 to 9. Four options given below depict combinations of these numbers. Select that combination of numbers so that letters arranged accordingly form a meaningful word.
I E O G C N Z E R 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- A.
3, 5, 4, 7, 1, 6, 9, 2, 8
- B.
9, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6, 1, 7, 8
- C.
5, 3, 4, 1, 6, 2, 7, 8, 9
- D.
1, 7, 3, 4, 2, 6, 5, 8, 9
Attempted by 4 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
In a number-coding word puzzle, every letter of the given letter-row is assigned a fixed position number in that row (1st letter -> 1, 2nd letter -> 2, and so on). A candidate answer is a sequence of these position numbers; substituting each number with the letter that sits at that same position in the original row -- in the order the numbers are written -- must spell a real, meaningful English word. Only one such number sequence among the options will produce a genuine word; the rest produce meaningless letter strings.
The given letter-row and its position numbers are:
Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Letter | I | E | O | G | C | N | Z | E | R |
Apply this to the sequence 9, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6, 1, 7, 8, replacing each number with the letter at that position:
Position 9 -> R
Position 2 -> E
Position 5 -> C
Position 3 -> O
Position 4 -> G
Position 6 -> N
Position 1 -> I
Position 7 -> Z
Position 8 -> E
Reading the substituted letters in order gives R, E, C, O, G, N, I, Z, E, which spells "RECOGNIZE" -- a genuine English word.
Cross-check with the same substitution rule on the other three number sequences: 3,5,4,7,1,6,9,2,8 gives O-C-G-Z-I-N-R-E-E; 5,3,4,1,6,2,7,8,9 gives C-O-G-I-N-E-Z-E-R; and 1,7,3,4,2,6,5,8,9 gives I-Z-O-G-E-N-C-E-R. None of these letter strings form a recognizable English word, confirming that only 9,2,5,3,4,6,1,7,8 (which spells RECOGNIZE) is the meaningful arrangement.