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Position of Digits, Alphabets and Words

Practice MCQs

None

Reasoning Ability Position of Digits, Alphabets and Words Competitive Exams

Position of Digits, Alphabets and Words questions test your ability to find the correct place, order, rank, or arrangement of numbers, letters, and words. These questions are common in reasoning exams and are useful for testing observation, sequencing, and logical placement.

What does this topic include?

In this topic, questions may ask you to identify the position of a digit in a number, the position of an alphabet in the English alphabet, or the position of a word in a given sentence or dictionary order.

You may also be asked to arrange letters, digits, or words in ascending, descending, alphabetical, reverse alphabetical, or dictionary order.

Quick idea: First identify what is being arranged — digits, alphabets, or words. Then check whether the order is normal, reverse, ascending, descending, or dictionary-based.
Area What is Asked? Example
Digits Position of a digit in a number Find the 3rd digit from the left in 572946
Alphabets Alphabet position or letter order Position of M in English alphabet
Words Word position in a sentence or order Find the 4th word from the right
Dictionary Order Arrange words alphabetically apple, apply, apt, ant
Reverse Position Position from right or reverse alphabet order Z = 1, Y = 2, X = 3

“Position questions become easy when direction and order are clearly identified.”

Reasoning Tip
Key Points
  • Check whether counting is from left or right.
  • For alphabets, remember A = 1 and Z = 26.
  • For reverse alphabets, remember Z = 1 and A = 26.
  • Count words carefully in a sentence.
  • In dictionary order, compare letters one by one.
  • Do not ignore repeated letters or repeated digits.
digits alphabets words order

Alphabet Position Table

In alphabet position questions, each letter has a fixed numerical position.

ABCDEFGHIJKLM
12345678910111213
NOPQRSTUVWXYZ
14151617181920212223242526
Important: Reverse alphabet position can be found by using: \[ \text{Reverse position} = 27 - \text{Normal position} \]

Common Question Patterns

These questions usually involve counting, arranging, or finding positions from a given direction.

1. Position of Digit

Find a digit from left or right side.

Number: 735921
3rd digit from left = 5
2. Position of Alphabet

Find the alphabet position.

M is the 13th letter.
So, position of M = 13
3. Position of Word

Find word from left or right.

Sentence: I love learning reasoning
2nd word from right = learning
4. Dictionary Order

Arrange words alphabetically.

ant, apple, ball, cat
First word = ant
Tip: In position questions, underline or number each digit, letter, or word before answering.

Important Rules

Case Rule Example
Digit from left Count digits from the beginning In 482917, 4th from left = 9
Digit from right Count digits from the end In 482917, 2nd from right = 1
Alphabet position A = 1, B = 2, ..., Z = 26 R = 18
Reverse alphabet position Z = 1, Y = 2, ..., A = 26 R = 9 in reverse order
Word from left Count words from the beginning of sentence 3rd word from left
Word from right Count words from the end of sentence 2nd word from right
Dictionary order Compare words letter by letter bat comes before bed
Quick check: When two words start with the same letters, compare the first different letter. Example: apple comes before apply because e comes before y.

Step-by-Step Solving Method

Step Action Example
Step 1 Identify whether the question is about digits, alphabets, or words. Number: 573926
Step 2 Check direction of counting. From left or from right
Step 3 Number each item carefully. 5(1), 7(2), 3(3), 9(4), 2(5), 6(6)
Step 4 Pick the required position. 4th digit from left = 9
Step 5 Verify direction before marking answer. Left and right answers may differ
Important: Most mistakes happen because students count from the wrong side. Always circle or mark the direction first.

Worked Example 1: Position of Digit

In the number 8463927, what is the 5th digit from the left?

Digit 8 4 6 3 9 2 7
Position from left 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The 5th digit from the left is 9.

Worked Example 2: Alphabet Position

Find the normal and reverse alphabet position of R.

Normal position:
A = 1, B = 2, ..., R = 18
Reverse position:
\[ 27 - 18 = 9 \] So, reverse position of R = 9.

Worked Example 3: Position of Word

In the sentence “Practice improves reasoning ability quickly”, find the 2nd word from the right.

Word Practice improves reasoning ability quickly
From right 5 4 3 2 1
The 2nd word from the right is ability.

Common Types of Questions

Digit Position

Find digit from left or right.

  • 3rd digit from left
  • 4th digit from right
  • Middle digit
  • Digit after rearrangement
Alphabet Position

Find normal or reverse position.

  • A = 1
  • Z = 26
  • Reverse order
  • Letter gap
Word Position

Count words in a sentence.

  • From left
  • From right
  • Middle word
  • Word before/after another word
Dictionary Order

Arrange words alphabetically.

  • First word
  • Last word
  • Order of similar words
  • Compare letter by letter
Rule: Always confirm whether the question asks position before arrangement or after arrangement. Both can give different answers.

Solved Examples

Question Method Answer
Find the 4th digit from the left in 582947. 5(1), 8(2), 2(3), 9(4) 9
Find the 3rd digit from the right in 746291. From right: 1(1), 9(2), 2(3) 2
What is the position of P in the alphabet? A = 1, ..., P = 16 16
What is the reverse position of D? D = 4, reverse position = \(27 - 4 = 23\) 23
Find the 2nd word from right: “Hard work brings success”. success(1), brings(2) brings
Arrange: mango, apple, banana, cherry. Alphabetical order apple, banana, cherry, mango
Which comes first in dictionary order: apply or apple? Both start with appl; compare y and e. e comes first. apple
Find the middle digit of 73948. There are 5 digits. Middle is 3rd digit. 9

Note: For alphabet questions, memorizing positions of A, E, J, M, T, and Z can save time.

Common Traps and Shortcuts

Common Traps
  • Counting from left instead of right.
  • Forgetting that reverse alphabet position is different.
  • Ignoring repeated digits or repeated letters.
  • Mixing original order and arranged order.
  • Counting punctuation as a word.
  • Comparing only the first letter in dictionary order.
Useful Shortcuts
  • Write positions below digits while solving.
  • Use \(27 - \text{normal position}\) for reverse alphabet position.
  • For words, number each word from the required side.
  • For dictionary order, compare the first different letter.
  • For middle position, check whether total count is odd or even.
  • Underline the required direction before solving.
Exam approach: Identify whether the question is based on digit position, alphabet position, reverse alphabet order, word position, or dictionary order.

Practice

A) Multiple Choice Questions
  1. Find the 3rd digit from the left in 694728.
    4 7 9 2
  2. Find the 2nd digit from the right in 852961.
    6 9 1 2
  3. What is the alphabet position of T?
    18 19 20 21
  4. What is the reverse alphabet position of F?
    20 21 22 23
  5. Find the 3rd word from the right: “Students should practice reasoning daily”.
    should practice reasoning daily
B) Solve the Higher-Order Problems
  1. Find the 5th digit from the left in 7394826. Hint: Number the digits from left to right.
  2. Find the 4th digit from the right in 5829473. Hint: Count from the last digit.
  3. Find the normal and reverse alphabet position of M. Hint: M = 13 in normal order.
  4. Arrange the words in dictionary order: train, tree, track, trial. Hint: Compare letter by letter.
  5. Find the 2nd word from the left and 2nd word from the right: “Practice makes reasoning skills stronger”. Hint: Count words separately from both sides.
Reasoning Reminder

Position questions are simple when you count carefully from the correct side. For alphabets, remember normal and reverse positions. For words, count only actual words and ignore punctuation.

Task: Create five questions using digit position, alphabet position, reverse alphabet position, word position, and dictionary order.

Show Suggested Answers
Multiple Choice
  1. 4
    In 694728, digits from left are 6(1), 9(2), 4(3). Answer = 4.
  2. 6
    In 852961, digits from right are 1(1), 6(2). Answer = 6.
  3. 20
    T is the 20th letter of the English alphabet.
  4. 21
    F = 6. Reverse position = \(27 - 6 = 21\).
  5. practice
    From right: daily(1), reasoning(2), practice(3). Answer = practice.
Higher-Order Problems
  1. 7394826 → 7(1), 3(2), 9(3), 4(4), 8(5).
    Answer = 8.
  2. 5829473 from right → 3(1), 7(2), 4(3), 9(4).
    Answer = 9.
  3. M = 13.
    Reverse position = \(27 - 13 = 14\).
    Answer = Normal 13, Reverse 14.
  4. Words: train, tree, track, trial.
    Dictionary order = track, train, tree, trial.
  5. Practice makes reasoning skills stronger.
    2nd from left = makes.
    2nd from right = skills.
Clue Explanation

For digit and word positions, direction is most important. For alphabet questions, remember normal position and use 27 minus normal position for reverse order.

Exam Tips
  • Mark direction before counting.
  • Number digits or words while solving.
  • Use A = 1 and Z = 26 for alphabets.
  • Use \(27 - n\) for reverse alphabet position.
  • Compare words letter by letter in dictionary order.
  • Check whether arrangement is before or after sorting.
Practice MCQs