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What should come in place of ? in the given series based on the English alphabetical order? CHM FKK INI LQG ?
OTE
HGY
OLI
NHG
OTE
Break the triplets into three separate series: the first letters shift by +3, the second letters by +5, and the third letters by -2.
Break the triplets into three separate series: the first letters shift by +3, the second letters by +5, and the third letters by -2.
Analyze the first letters of each triplet
C (3), F (6), I (9), L (12). The pattern is +3. The next letter is 12 + 3 = 15, which corresponds to O.
Analyze the second letters of each triplet
H (8), K (11), N (14), Q (17). The pattern is +3. The next letter is 17 + 3 = 20, which corresponds to T.
Analyze the third letters of each triplet
M (13), K (11), I (9), G (7). The pattern is -2. The next letter is 7 - 2 = 5, which corresponds to E.
B: HGY starts with H, which doesn't match the +3 shift of L; C: OLI ends with I, while the sequence requires E; D: NHG starts with N, failing the +3 shift required for the first letter.
A is correct because applying the +3, +3, and -2 shift patterns to the last term LQG results in the letters O, T, and E respectively.
When faced with multi-letter series, always decompose them into individual letter streams to isolate the shift logic for each position independently.