Letter series
A series of letter pairs moves along the alphabet. Each letter in the pair follows its own pattern, so work them out one at a time.
What the question looks like
AZ, BY, CX, DW, ( ? )
How Thena would solve it
Look at the first letters on their own: A, B, C, D. Each moves one place on.
Now the second letters: Z, Y, X, W. Each moves one place back.
Put the next of each together: E and V.
A B C D E
Z Y X W V
The answer is EV
Answer: EV
The usual mistakes
Looking only at the first letter
Work out each letter of the pair on its own.
Counting the start letter
Count the hops between letters, not the letters.
Going the wrong way
Check whether each letter moves towards Z or back towards A.
Try ten
Ten letter series questions
A new set every time, marked when you finish.
Have paper and a pencil ready for working out.
Questions parents ask
How do you answer Letter series questions?
Work out each letter of the pair on its own. Count how many places it moves each time along the alphabet, and which way, then make the same move again.
More in the alphabet
- Alphabet positionsCounting on, back and from the end of the alphabet.
- Letter pairs that match"AB is to CD as PQ is to?", by counting moves.
All 21 kinds of verbal reasoning question
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