Which of the following elements should come in place of the '?' JQ4, HS9,…

Concept: In an alphanumeric series like this, the two letters and the number in each term form three independent sub-sequences, each following its own fixed step rule (a constant alphabet-position shift for each letter, and a constant or steadily changing rule for the number). Solve each sub-sequence on its own, then combine the results.

1. First letter: J (10) → H (8) → F (6), each term 2 positions earlier in the alphabet, so the next term is D (4).

2. Second letter: Q (17) → S (19) → U (21), each term 2 positions later in the alphabet, so the next term is W (23).

3. Number: 4, 9, 16 — the differences are 9 − 4 = 5 and 16 − 9 = 7, increasing by 2 each time, so the next difference is 9, giving 16 + 9 = 25.

4. Combine the three results: D, W and 25 give DW25.

Cross-check: The numbers 4, 9, 16 are also the consecutive squares 2², 3², 4², so the next term by this independent view is 5² = 25 — the same value the difference method gives, and only DW25 satisfies all three sub-patterns together.