Based on the English alphabetical order, three of the following four…
2025
Based on the English alphabetical order, three of the following four letter-clusters are alike in a certain way and thus form a group. Which letter-cluster DOES NOT belong to that group?
(Note: The odd one out is not based on the number of consonants/vowels or their position in the letter-cluster.)
- A.
FKH
- B.
LQN
- C.
PUR
- D.
INL
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept: In a letter-cluster alphabet-series question, convert each letter to its position in the English alphabet (A=1 … Z=26) and find the forward/backward shift from the first letter to the second and from the second letter to the third within each cluster. Three clusters sharing an identical pair of shifts form the group; the cluster whose shifts break that pattern is the exception.
Application:
Assign alphabet positions to every letter: F=6, K=11, H=8; L=12, Q=17, N=14; P=16, U=21, R=18; I=9, N=14, L=12.
Compute the first-to-second and second-to-third shift for each cluster: FKH gives F→K = +5 and K→H = −3; LQN gives L→Q = +5 and Q→N = −3; PUR gives P→U = +5 and U→R = −3; INL gives I→N = +5 and N→L = −2.
FKH, LQN, and PUR all share the identical shift pair (+5, −3), so these three form the group.
INL has a shift pair of (+5, −2), which does not match (+5, −3), so it breaks the pattern.
Cross-check: An independent check is the shift from the first letter directly to the third letter (skipping the middle letter). FKH: F→H = +2. LQN: L→N = +2. PUR: P→R = +2. INL: I→L = +3. The first three clusters again agree on a first-to-third shift of +2, while INL differs at +3, confirming the same exception.
Result: INL does not belong to the group formed by FKH, LQN, and PUR.