Ranking means arrangement of persons/objects in a specific (ascending/descending order).

The
questions on ranking can be based on determining position of a person/object in a row of
persons/objects or finding the total number of persons/objects in the row. The questions on ranking
are sometimes based on the arrangement of letters, symbols or numbers in a row. Some questions
of ranking are also based on time sequence test, which are generally based on finding the days and
dates according to the information given in the question.

POSITIONING IN A QUEUE / ROW

Some formulas we should know to find the ranks of a person/objects from the either ends of a row
or total number of persons/objects are:
I. Position (or rank) from the left end (or top) = (Total number of persons/students) - Rank from the
right end (or bottom) + 1
II. Position (or rank) from the right end (or bottom) = (Total number of persons/students) - Rank
from the left end (or top) + 1
III. Total number of persons/in a row or queue = Position (or rank) of a person from the left end (or
top or front) + Position (or rank) of the person from the right end (or bottom or last) - 1
Note: If we know the rank of a single person from both the ends, then only we can find the total
number of persons in that row.

1. In a class of students, Ravi occupies fifth position from the top and 25th from the bottom in a test.
How many students are there in the class?
a. 30 b. 28 c. 29 d. 25
Ans. 29
2. In a class Sharmila is 6th from the top and Sunita is 18th from the bottom. Ritu is 14 ranks below
Sharmila and 15 ranks above Sunita. How many students are there in the class?
a. 55 b. 53 c. 52 d. Data inadequate
Ans. 52
3. In a row of forty children, P is thirteenth from the left end and Q is ninth from the right end.
How many children are there between P and R if R is fourth to the left of Q?
a. 13 b. 14 c. 15 d. 12
Ans. 14
4. 58 cars are standing in a row facing the office building. Jaguar is 9th from the right end. If it is
shifted six placed to the left, then what is its position from the left end?
a. 44th b. 45th c. 46th d. 47th
th
Ans. 44
5. Jeevan is 7th from the left and Jyoti 8th from the right. When they exchange their positions, then
Jeevan becomes 12th from the left. What will be Jyoti's position from the right?
a. 12th b. 13th c. 11th d. 14th
Ans. 13th
ALPHABET/ SYMBOL/ NUMBER SEQUENCE

Alphabet Test

111
In this type, the questions asked are based on finding the place of an English letter to the left or right
of another English letter in the alphabetical order. Sometimes the questions are based on findings
the number of English letter(s) between two different English letters.
This type of questions vary on the arrangement of alphabetical order. It can be backward, first half
backward, second half backward, multiple letter segments in changed order etc.
Some of the questions asked are based on finding the middle letter of two specified letters and in
some questions it is asked that which letters do not change their places after alphabetical
arrangement.

6. Find the 11th letter to the left of 20 th letter from left in the English alphabet.
a. D b. J c. K d. I
Ans. letter I
7. If 1st half of the English alphabet is written in backward order, then what will be the 7th letter to
the left of the 10th letter from your right?
a. C b. E c. D d. J
Ans. D
8. How many letters are there between 20th letter from left and 18th letter from right in the English
alphabet?
a. 15 b. 6 c. 10 d. 12
Ans. 10
9. How many such letters are there in the word 'CADMP which remain same in their position, if they
are arranged in an alphabetical order?
a. One b. Two c. Three d. Four
Ans. Three (D, M, P)
10. If the vowels of the word 'ROUTINE are 1st arranged in alphabetical order, followed by the
consonants in the alphabetical order, which of the following will be 4th from the right end after the
rearrangement?
a. N b. U c. T d. O
Ans. U
11. If in the word 'CONGREGATION', 1st and 3rd letters are interchanged, 2nd and 4th letters are
interchanged, 5th and 7th letters are interchanged, and this interchange goes on in the same
manner then find the 10th letter from right in the new arrangement.
a. E b. C c. G d. P
Ans. letter C
12. If it is possible to make only one meaningful word with the 3rd, the 6th, the 8th and the 11th
letters of the word 'COMPUTERISE', using each letter only once in the word, last letter of that word
will be your answer. If no such word will be formed, then answer will be X.
a. M b. T c. R d. X
Ans. M
Alphabet, Number and Symbol Sequence Test

Letter and number sequence test is based on a sequence of letters and numbers in which a series of
letters and /or numbers with or without repetitions are given. The students are required to find the

112
total number of a particular number or letter in the series applying certain condition. Apart from
that, the question may be based on some series pattern, analogy, classification, etc.
Sometimes, the given sequence also includes symbols along with numbers and letters. Such
sequence is called Alpha-numeric sequence'. Let us see all types of sequence given below.
I. Number sequence: 4 9 6 9 4 4 6 2 2 1 5 0 3 0 3
II. A letter sequence: B A B C D L L C L B A M A N
III. Alpha-numeric sequence: 4 3 A × * 1 J > + 5

13. How many 7's immediately preceded by 6 but not immediately followed by 4 are there in the
following series
74276436753578437672406743
a. One b. Two c. Four d. Six
Ans. Two
Directions for examples 14 to 17: Study the following sequence carefully and answer the questions
that follow.
B5R1@EK4F7©DAM2P3%9HIW8*6UI$VQ#
14. How many such symbols are there in the given arrangement each of which is immediately
preceded by a number but not immediately followed by a consonant?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three
Ans. three
15. Four of the following, three are alike in a certain way based on their position in the given
arrangement and so form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to that group?
a. P M 3 b. K F E c. 6 J * d. 7 D 4
Ans. 7 D 4
16. Which of the following is exactly in the middle between D and U in the given arrangement?
a. % b. H c. 9 d. 3
Ans. 9
17. Which of the following is the 7th to the left of the 17th from the left end of the above
arrangement?
a. 7 b. W c. * d. 4
Ans. 7
TIME SEQUENCE TEST

In these questions, the candidate is required to find out a particular day/date on the basis of several
statements provided to them. The questions asked from this section neither require a special
methodology nor any special formulae. The questions are very basic in nature and require common
sense. Examples given below will help you to understand this type of questions.

18. Kamal remembers that his brother Dinu's birthday falls after 20th May but before 28th May,
while Garima remembers that Dinu's birthday falls before 22nd May but after 12th May. On what
date Dinu's birthday falls?
a. 22nd May b. 21st May c. Cannot be determined d. None of these
Ans. 21st May

113
19. Radha remembers that her father's birthday is after 16th but before 21st of March, while her
brother Mahesh remembers that his father's birthday is before 22nd but after 19th of March. On
which date is the birthday of their father?
a. 19th March b. 20h March c. 21st March d. Can't be determined
Ans. 20th March
Exercise
Position In a Row
1. Akshay is 16th from the left end in the row of boys and Vijay is 18th from the right end. Avinash
is 11th from Akshay towards the right end and 3rd from Vijay towards the right end. How many
boys are there in the row?
a. Data inadequate b. 42 c. 40 d. None of these
2. In a row of 40 girls, when Kamal was shifted to her left by 4 places her number from the left end
of the row became 10. What was the number of Sujata from the right end of the row if Sujata
was three places to the right of Kamal's original position?
a. 22 b. 26 c. 24 d. 23
3. In a row of girls facing North, Ligna is 10th to the left of Maya who is 21st from the right end. If
Komal, who is 17th from the left end is 4th to the right of Jigma, how many girls are there in the
row?
a. Data inadequate b. 44 c. 37 d. 43
4. In a row of boys there are 18 boys between Naresh and Kunal. Naresh is 31st from the left end
of the row. If Naresh is nearer than Kunal to the right end of the row. How far away is Kunal
from the right end of the row?
a. 13th b. 49th c. 14th d. Data inadequate
5. In a group of friends Raman is 15th from the start and 26th from the end. In another group of
friends, Anshul is 25th from the start and 8th from the end. How many boys are there in both
groups together?
a. 72 b. 73 c. 74 d. None of these
6. In a queue of girls, Raja is 12th from left and Manisha is 14th from right. If the positions of Raja
and Manisha are interchanged, then new position of Raja is 18th from left. Find the number of
girls between Manisha and Raja.
a. 4 b. 5 c. 6 d. 7
7. At ticket counter there are 19 persons in a queue. If every second person in the queue is a
female and also in the starting and at the end there is a female, then the total number of males
in the queue is:
a. 7 b. 10 c. 8 d. 9
8. Naman parked his scooter in a group of 37 scooters. The parking attendant shifted his scooter by
7 places to left and the scooter was now at the middle what was the original position of scooter
from left end?
a. 26th b. 23rd c. 24th d. 27th
9. There are 40 students in a class. Swati ranks second among the girls in the class. Rajat ranks 6th
among the boys in the class. Swati is one rank below Rajat in the class. No, two students hold the
same rank in the class. What is Rajat's rank in the class?
a. 7th b. 5th c. 8th d. Can't say
10. In a row of 25 children, Piyush is 14th from the right end. Chirag is 3rd to the left of Piyush in the
row. What is Chirag's position from the left end of the row?

114
 a. 8th b. 9th c. 7th d. 10th
11. In a row of children facing North, Raghav is 12th from the left end. Suresh, who is 22nd from the
right end, is 4th to the right of Raghav. Total how many children are there in the row?
a. 35 b. 36 c. 37 d. 34
12. In a row of girls, Ritika is fifth from the left and Ruchi is sixth from the right. When they exchange
their positions, then Ritika becomes thirteenth from the left. What will be Ruchi's position from
the right?
a. 7th b. 14th c. 11th d. 18th
13. In a class of 32 students, Sohan is 16th from the left and Rajan is 20th from the right end. How
many students are there between Rajan and Sohan?
a. 3 b. 2 c. 4 d. Data inadequate
14. There are 55 students in a class. Valka ranks 4th among the girls in the class. Kapil ranks 7th
among the boys in the class. Valka is one rank below Kapil in the class. No, two students hold the
same rank in the class. What is Kapil's rank from end?
a. 47th b. 46th c. 45th d. 48th
15. Children are standing in the school assembly facing the sun. Hitesh is 15th from the right end.
Varun, who is 22nd from the left end, is 4th to the left of Hitesh. How many children are there in
the row?
a. 41 b. 43 c. 40 d. 42
16. Raman ranks fifteenth from top and twenty seventh from bottom in a class of students. How
many students are there in total in the class?
a. 40 b. 41 c. 42 d. 39
17. Suresh is 7 ranks ahead of Ashok in the class of 39 students. If Ashok's rank is 17th from the last,
what is Suresh's rank from the start?
a. 16th b. 23th c. 24th d. 15th
18. Manoj and Sachin are ranked seventh and eleventh respectively from the top in the class of 31
students. What will be their respective ranks from the bottom in the class?
a. 20th and 24th b. 24th and 20th c. 25th and 21st d. 26th and 22nd
19. If you are the ninth person in the queue starting from either end, then the number of persons in
the queue is:
a. 19 b. 17 c. 10 d. 15
20. Hrishikesh ranked sixteenth from the top and twenty-ninth from the bottom among those who
passed an examination. Six boys did not participate in the competition and five failed in it. How
many boys were there in the class?
a. 44 b. 45 c. 48 d. 55
21. In a row of girls, there are 16 girls between Deepa and Nada. Deepa is thirty-second from the left
end of the row. If Deepa is nearer than Nada to the right end of the row, then how far away is
Nada from the left end of the row?
a. 16th b. 15th c. Data Inadequate d. None of these
22. In a row of girls, Ravina is 15th from the left and Mohini is 18th from the right. If they inter
change their places, Mohini becomes 15th from the left. How many girls are there in the row?
a. 33 b. 48 c. 32 d. Data inadequate
23. In a class among the passed students Nitu is 22nd from the top and Aparna, who is 5 ranks
below Nitu is 34th from the bottom. All the students from the class appeared for an

115
 examination. If the ratio of the students who passed in the examination of those who failed is 4:
1 for the class, how many students were there in the class?
a. Data Inadequate b. 75 c. 60 d. None of these
24. Aman is 16th from the left end in a row of boys and Vivek is 18th the from right end. Gagan is
11th from Aman towards the right and 3rd from Vivek towards the right end. How many boys
are there in the row?
a. 40 b. 42 c. 48 d. 41
25. There are 30 plants of Chiku, Guava, Sitafal and Mango in a row. There is one pair of Mango
plants after Chiku and Guava and Mango plants are followed by one Chiku and one Sitafal plant
and so on. If the row begins with a plant of Chiku, then which of the following will be the last in
the row?
a. Guava b. Mango c. Chiku d. Sitafal

Alphabet, Number, Symbol

1. Which letter is between midway of 8th letter from left and 7th letter from right in the English
alphabet?
a. N b. M c. P d. O
2. In English alphabet is written in backward order, then find the 7th letter to the left of 11th letter
from left?
a. W b. H c. I d. D
3. If the 2nd half of the English alphabet is written in backward order, then which letter comes 5th
to the left of the 20th letter from left?
a. J b. H c. Y d. Z
4. If each consonant in the word replaced by the previous letter in the English
alphabet and each vowel in the word is replaced by the next letter in the English alphabet and a
new set of the letters is arranged alphabetically, which of the following will be the 4th from the
right end after the replacement?
a. M b. P c. Q d. K
5. In the case FAINTS', will their order in the word remains the
same when the letters are arranged in the alphabetical order?
a. Two b. One c. Three d. Nil
6. If the letters of the word 'DOLPHIN as they appear in the English alphabetical
order, which of the following letters will be the 5th from left?
a. O b. K c. I d. None the these
7. How many such letters are there in t CATEGORY each of which is as far away from the
beginning of the word as when they are arranged in alphabetical order?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three
8. How many meaningful English words can be formed with the letters LEGU, using each letter only
one in each word?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three
9. Which of the following will be the second digit of the third number from top when they are
arranged in descending order after the first digit in each number is changed to its next higher
digit in the same number?
738, 429, 156, 273, 894
a. 3 b. 2 c. 7 d. 5

116
10. How many such pair of letter are there in the word 'IMAGINATION
letters between them as there are between them in English alphabet?
a. 4 b. 3 c. 5 d. 2
11. If the first and last digits of the following numbers are interchanged, then find the sum of the
largest and the smallest numbers.
435, 851, 311, 128, 980
a. 1000 b. 945 c. 815 d. 910
12. If the following numbers are arranged in ascending order, then what will be the square of the
digits sum of the second number from the left end of the new arrangement?
315, 117, 472, 301, 137
a. 324 b. 196 c. 169 d. 121
13. If the digits in the number 86435192 are arranged in ascending order, what will be the
difference between the digits which are second from the right and fourth from the left in the
new arrangement?
a. One b. Two c. Three d. Four
14. How many such digits are there in the number 62591483 each of which is as far away from the
beginning of the number as when the digits are arranged in ascending order within the number?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three
15. The position of how many digits in the number 53269718 will remain unchanged, if the digits
within the number are rearranged in ascending order?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three

Directions for questions 16 to 20: Study the following arrangement carefully and answer the
questions given below.

F4©J2E%MP5W9@IQR6UH3Z7 ATB8V#G$YD
16. Which of the following is the 10th to the right of the 19th from the right end of the above
arrangement?
a. M b. T c. # d. 2
17. How many such consonants are there in the above arrangement, each of which is immediately
preceded by a number but not immediately followed by a number?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three
18. If all the symbols are dropped from the above arrangement, which of the following will be the
14th from the left end?
a. R b. Q c. U d. None of these
19. What should come in place of the question mark (?) in the following series based on the above
arrangement?
JEM, 591, RU3, ?
a. 7AB b. 7AT c. 78 d. ABV
20. How many such symbols are there in the above arrangement, each of which is immediately
preceded by number and immediately followed by a letter?
a. None b. One c. Two d. Three

Directions for questions 21 to 25: Study the following arrangement carefully and answer the
questions given below.
8CM@N£T2Y6S£Q$7 2#Z3UE%A4

117
21. How many symbols are there in the above series each of which is immediately preceded and
also immediately followed by a vowel?
a. One b. Two c. Three d. None of these
22. If each symbol is first converted into a numeral and then all the numerals are converted into
English letters, how many such converted English letters will be there in the above arrangement
of element?
a. 25 b. 7 c. 12 d. 14
23. Three of the following four are alike in a certain way with respect to their positions in the above
arrangement. Which is one that is different from the other four?
a. #3E b. SQ7 c. ZU% d. TMN
24. If all the vowels are dropped from the above series, which of the following would be the 8th
element to the right of the 13th element from the left end?
a. 4 b. % c. 8 d. C
25. What should come in place of question mark (?) in the following series based on the above
arrangement?
CMA, N£E, 2Y3, ?, $7
a. S£6 b. S£Z c. S£# d. None of these

Time Sequence

1. Pratap correctly remembers that his mother's birthday is before 23rd April but after 19th April,
whereas his sister correctly remembers that their mother's birthday is not on after 22nd April. On
which day in April is definitely their mother's birthday?
a. 20th b. 21st c. 20th or 21st d. Can't say
2. Ayush remembers that Sanjay's birthday is certainly after January 12 but not later than 16th
January. If Mehar remembers that Sanjay's birthday is before 17th of January but not before
13th January. On which of the following day was Sanjay's birthday?
a. 14th b. 15th c. 16th d. Either 14th or 15th
3. Rajat correctly remembers that his mother's birthday is not after 18th of June. His sister
correctly remembers that their mother's birthday is before 20th June but after 17th June. On
which day in June was definitely their mother's birthday?
a. 17th b. 19th c. 18th d. 17th or 18th
4. Vinay remembers that his brother Anupam's birthday is after 20th August but before 28th of
August, while Rita remembers that Anupam's birthday is before 22nd of August but after 12th of
August. On which date does Anupam's birthday fall?
a. 20th August b. 21st August c. 22nd August d. Can't say
5. Nitin correctly remembers that Nidhi's birthday is before Friday but after Tuesday. Deepak
correctly remembers that Nidhi's birthday is after Wednesday but before Saturday. On which of
the following days does Nidhi's birthday definitely fall?
a. Monday b. Tuesday c. Wednesday d. Thursday
6. Satish read a book on Sunday. Sudha read that book one day prior to Anil but 4 days after Satish.
On which day did Anil read the book?
a. Friday b. Thursday c. Tuesday d. Saturday
7. Sneha correctly remembers that her father's birthday is before 16th June but after 11th June
whereas, her younger brother correctly remembers that their father's birthday is after 13th June

118
 but before 18th June and her elder brother correctly remembers that their father's birthday is
on an even date. On what date of June, is definitely their father's birthday?
a. 16th b. 12th c. 14th d. Data inadequate
8. Ranjana correctly remembers that Kiran's birthday was after Tuesday but before Friday. Rajan
correctly remembers that Kiran's birthday was after Wednesday but before Sunday. On which
day of the week does Kiran's birthday definitely fall?
a. Monday b. Thursday c. Saturday d. Can't say
9. Mohan correctly remembers that his father's birthday is before 20th January but after 16 th
January whereas his sister correctly remembers that their father's birthday is after 18th January
but before 23rd January. On which date in January is definitely their father's birthday?
a. 18th b. 19th c. 20th d. Data inadequate
10. Meena correctly remembers that her father's birthday is after 18th May but before 22nd May.
Her brother correctly remembers that their father's birthday is before 24th May but after 20th
May. On which date in May was definitely their father's birthday?
a. 20th b. 19th c. 18th d. None of these
11. Sneha correctly remembers that her father's birthday is before 16th June but after 11th June
whereas, her younger brother correctly remembers that their father's birthday is after 13th June
but before 18th June and her elder brother Correctly remembers that their father's birthday is
on an even date. On what date in June, is definitely their father's birthday?
a. Sixteenth b. Twelfth c. Fourteenth d. Data inadequate
12. Ratan remembers that his brother Harman's birthday falls after 20th August but before 28th
August, while Vinod remembers that Harman's birthday falls before 22 nd August but after 12th
August. On what date Harman's birthday falls?
a. 21st August b. 22nd August c. 19th August d. 20th August
th
13. Ashok remembers that his father's birthday is after 16 but before 21st of December, while his
brother Saurabh remembers that his father's birthday is before 22nd but after 19th of
December. On which date is the birthday of their father?
a. 19th December b. 17th December c. 18th December d. 20th December
th
14. Samant remembers that his brother's birthday is after 15 but before 18th of Feb, while his
sister remembers that her brother's birthday is after 16th but before 19th of Feb. On which date
in Feb is Samant's brother's birthday?
a. 16th b. 18th c. 19th d. None of these
15. Radha remembers that her father's birthday is after 16th but before 21st march, while her
brother Mahesh remembers that his father's birthday is before 22nd but after 19th of march. On
which date is the birthday of their father?
a. 19th b. 20th c. 21st d. None of these
16. Sadashiv remembers that Sanjay's birthday is certainly after January 12 but not later then 16th
January, If Mehar remembers that Sanjay's birthday is before 17th of the Jan but not before 13th
Jan, on which of the following was Sanjay's birthday?
a. 14th b. 15th c. 16th d. Cannot be determined
17. Lokesh remembers that his brother Laxman's birthday is after 20th of August but before 28th of
August, while Gita remembers that Laxman's birthday is before 22 nd of August but after 12th of
August. On which date does Laxman's birthday fall?
a. 20th August b. 21st August c. 22nd August d. Cannot be determined

119
18. How many days will be there from 22nd October 2012 to 5 th March 2013 (both days are not
included?
a. 128 b. 133 c. 138 d. 135
19. Nikhil remembers that his sister Kranti had certainly been in Pune for one day after 16th Feb, but
before 21st Feb while his mother remembers that Kranti had certainly visited Pune, before 20th
Feb but after 17th Feb. If both of them are correct, then on which day in Feb had Kranti visited
Pune?
a. 18th b. 19th c. Either 18th or 19th d. None of these
20. If the seventh day of the month is three days earlier than Friday; what will it be on the fifteenth
day of the month?
a. Monday b. Tuesday c. Wednesday d. Thursday
21. According to Ram's mother, Ram joined the school after 17th June 2015, but before 27th June
2015. According to Ram's father, he joined the school after 18th June 2015 but before 25th June
2015. On which date Ram joined the school?
a. 19th b. 20th c. 23th d. Cannot be determined
22. Nalini went to the movies 11 days ago. She goes to the movies only on Saturday. What day of
the week is today?
a. Wednesday b. Thursday c. Saturday d. Tuesday
23. Shiva remembers that her mother's birthday was certainly after 8th March but before 13th of
March. Her sister Neha remembers that their mother's birthday was definitely after 9th March
but before 12th of March. On which date of March was their mother's birthday?
a. 10th b. 11th c. Either 10th or 11th d. Cannot be determined
24. A bus for Jaipur leaves every thirty minutes. An enquiry clerk told the passenger that the bus had
already left 15 minutes ago and the next bus will leave at 10:45 am. As what time clerk give the
information to the passenger?
a. 10:15 am b. 10:30 am c. 10:00 am d. None of these
25. Rahul Correctly remembers that his mother Asha's birthday comes after 12th of April and before
16th of April Naveen remembers that his Aunt birthday come before 15th of April. Sonia who is
the daughter of Asha remembers that her mother's birthday occurs after 13th of April and
before 19th of April. Find the day on which Asha's birthday occurs?
a. 12th b. 13th c. 14th d. 15th

Answers
Position in a Row
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
d c a d a b d a b b
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
c b b b c b a c b d
21 22 23 24 25
b d b d d

Alphabet, Number, Symbol

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A a c b a d b b a b
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
D d d c b b b d a d

120
21 22 23 24 25
A d d b c

Time Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
c d c b d a c b b d
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
c a d d b d b b c c
21 22 23 24 25
d a c b c

121