Order and ranking questions

Reasoning Updated 11 Oct 2026

These order and ranking questions, together with alphabet test and dictionary order questions, are a regular part of the reasoning section in SSC, bank, railway and placement exams. Each question has four options, one correct answer and a worked solution.

The page starts with alphabet position questions, moves to dictionary order, then covers ranking in a row or class, and ends with order and comparison puzzles where you arrange people by height, marks or finishing position. Every answer has been worked out step by step, so you can check your method as well as your result.

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Alphabet test reasoning questions

Q1. In the English alphabet, which letter is 7th from the right end?
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Answer: A. T
7th from the right = 27 - 7 = 20th from the left, which is T.
Q2. Which letter is 5th to the left of the 15th letter from the left end of the English alphabet?
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Answer: C. J
15th letter from the left is O; 5 places to its left is 15 - 5 = 10th letter, J.
Q3. Which letter is 9th to the right of the 10th letter from the right end of the alphabet?
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Answer: A. Z
10th from the right = 27 - 10 = 17th letter (Q). Moving 9 places right gives 17 + 9 = 26th letter, Z.
Q4. If the English alphabet is written in reverse order, which letter will be 8th from the left?
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Answer: D. S
In reverse order, the 8th from the left is the 8th from the right of the normal alphabet: 27 - 8 = 19th letter, S.
Q5. If the first half of the English alphabet is written in reverse order, which letter will be 4th to the right of the 10th letter from the left?
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Answer: A. N
New order: MLKJIHGFEDCBA NOP...; we need the 10 + 4 = 14th letter, which is unchanged from the normal alphabet: N.
Q6. If every alternate letter starting from A is removed from the English alphabet, which letter will be 6th from the left?
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Answer: B. L
Remaining letters are B, D, F, H, J, L, ... (even positions); the 6th is the 12th letter, L.
Q7. If A is paired with Z, B with Y, C with X and so on, which letter is paired with K?
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Answer: C. P
Paired letters add up to 27. K = 11, so its pair is 27 - 11 = 16, which is P.
Q8. If each letter stands for its position in the alphabet (A = 1, B = 2 and so on), what is the value of the word CAT?
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Answer: D. 24
C = 3, A = 1, T = 20, so 3 + 1 + 20 = 24.
Q9. How many pairs of letters in the word REASONING have as many letters between them in the word as in the English alphabet (counting both directions)?
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Answer: A. 3
Pairs found: A-G, O-N, I-G. So there are 3 such pairs.

Dictionary order reasoning questions

Q10. If the words Branch, Brain, Bread, Brave and Brass are arranged in dictionary order, which word comes third?
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Answer: A. Brass
Dictionary order: Brain, Branch, Brass, Brave, Bread. The third word is Brass.
Q11. Which of these words will come last in dictionary order?
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Answer: C. Pattern
Order: Pastel, Patient, Patrol, Pattern. Pastel is first because s comes before t in the third place; among the Pat words the fourth letters i, r, t put Pattern last.
Q12. Which of these words will come first in dictionary order?
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Answer: B. Golden
All start with Go, so compare the third letter: l (Golden) comes before s, u and v. Order: Golden, Gossip, Gourd, Govern.
Q13. Arrange in dictionary order: 1. Night 2. Nickel 3. Nimble 4. Niece
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Answer: A. 2, 4, 1, 3
Compare the third letters: c (Nickel), e (Niece), g (Night), m (Nimble). So the order is Nickel, Niece, Night, Nimble.
Q14. If Mango, Melon, Maple and Medal are arranged in dictionary order, which word comes second?
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Answer: D. Maple
Order: Mango, Maple, Medal, Melon. Mango comes before Maple because n comes before p, so Maple is second.
Q15. If the letters of the word PLANET are arranged in alphabetical order, how many letters stay in the same position?
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Answer: A. 2
Alphabetical order is AELNPT. Comparing with PLANET, N (4th) and T (6th) stay in place, so the answer is 2.

Ranking reasoning questions

Q16. Ravi is 12th from the left end and 15th from the right end of a row. How many people are there in the row?
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Answer: B. 26
Total = left position + right position - 1 = 12 + 15 - 1 = 26.
Q17. In a class of 40 students, Meena is 14th from the top. What is her rank from the bottom?
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Answer: C. 27
Rank from bottom = total - rank from top + 1 = 40 - 14 + 1 = 27.
Q18. In a row of 35 children, Arjun is 9th from the left end. What is his position from the right end?
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Answer: D. 27
Position from right = 35 - 9 + 1 = 27.
Q19. In a row, A is 7th from the left and B is 11th from the right. When they swap places, A becomes 15th from the left. How many people are in the row?
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Answer: B. 25
After the swap A takes B's old place, which is 15th from the left and 11th from the right. Total = 15 + 11 - 1 = 25.
Q20. In a row of girls, Rita is 10th from the left and Sita is 13th from the right. Rita is to the left of Sita and there are 4 girls between them. How many girls are in the row?
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Answer: D. 27
Girls up to Rita = 10, between = 4, from Sita to the right end = 13. Total = 10 + 4 + 13 = 27.
Q21. In a row of 50 students, P is 20th from the left and Q is 18th from the right. How many students are there between P and Q?
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Answer: C. 12
Q from the left = 50 - 18 + 1 = 33. Students between = 33 - 20 - 1 = 12.
Q22. Among the students who passed, Mohan is 8th from the top and 29th from the bottom. If 3 students failed and 2 were absent, how many students are in the class?
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Answer: B. 41
Passed = 8 + 29 - 1 = 36. Total = 36 + 3 + 2 = 41.
Q23. In a queue, Ram is 16th from the front. Shyam is 4 places behind Ram and is 10th from the back. How many people are in the queue?
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Answer: A. 29
Shyam is 16 + 4 = 20th from the front. Total = 20 + 10 - 1 = 29.
Q24. Neha is 17th from both ends of a row. How many people are in the row?
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Answer: D. 33
Total = 17 + 17 - 1 = 33.

Order and comparison questions

Q25. A is taller than B but shorter than C. D is shorter than B, and E is taller than C. Who is the tallest?
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Answer: A. E
From tallest to shortest: E > C > A > B > D. So E is the tallest.
Q26. A is taller than B but shorter than C. D is shorter than B, and E is taller than C. Who is the shortest?
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Answer: C. D
From tallest to shortest: E > C > A > B > D. So D is the shortest.
Q27. In a test, P scored more than Q, R scored more than P, S scored less than Q, and T scored more than R. Who scored the second highest marks?
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Answer: B. R
Highest to lowest: T > R > P > Q > S. The second highest is R.
Q28. A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. C is in the middle, A is to the immediate left of C, B is at the right end, and E is not at the left end. Who sits at the left end?
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Answer: B. D
Left to right the seating is D, A, C, E, B. So D is at the left end.
Q29. X is heavier than Y, Z is lighter than Y, and W is heavier than X. Who is the third heaviest?
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Answer: C. Y
Heaviest to lightest: W > X > Y > Z. The third heaviest is Y.
Q30. In a race of five runners, M finished before N but after O, P finished after N, and Q finished first. Who finished third?
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Answer: D. M
Finishing order: Q, O, M, N, P. So M finished third.

How to prepare

For alphabet questions, learn the position of every letter and remember the reverse position rule: a letter's position from the right is 27 minus its position from the left. The mnemonic EJOTY (E = 5, J = 10, O = 15, T = 20, Y = 25) lets you find any letter in a second. For dictionary order, compare words letter by letter and stop at the first letter that differs.

Ranking questions use three formulas: total = left position + right position - 1; position from one end = total - position from the other end + 1; and people between two persons = difference in their positions from the same end - 1. For comparison puzzles, write the names in a line from highest to lowest as you read each clue, then answer from the final line.

Study tips

Memorise EJOTY and the rule that opposite letters add up to 27.
Draw a quick line diagram for every ranking question before using a formula.
In comparison puzzles, place each new clue on one vertical line so the final order is visible at a glance.

Questions people ask

How do I solve order and ranking questions quickly?

Use total = left + right - 1 and position from the other end = total - position + 1. Draw a short line diagram when two people or a swap are involved.

What is the EJOTY trick in alphabet test questions?

EJOTY marks the letters at positions 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. From these anchors you can reach any letter in one or two steps, which saves time in alphabet test reasoning questions.

How are dictionary order reasoning questions solved?

Compare the words from the first letter onwards and stop at the first position where the letters differ; the word with the earlier letter comes first. If one word is the start of another, the shorter word comes first.

Are ranking reasoning questions asked in bank and SSC exams?

Yes, ranking and order questions appear regularly in SSC, bank, railway and state exams, usually as 1 to 3 easy marks. They are worth practising because they can be solved in under a minute.

Every question on this page is written and fact-checked by the GK Quizzes team. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it. How we make our questions.