In the word "DISTURBANCE", the first letter is interchanged with the last letter, the second letter is interchanged with the tenth letter, the third letter is interchanged with the ninth letter, and so on from both ends towards the centre. In the newly formed word, which letter comes immediately after the letter T?

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: S

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question checks your ability to follow a pattern of letter interchanges within a word and then identify the position of a specific letter in the transformed word. Such word manipulation questions are common in alphabet test and reasoning sections of competitive exams, where accuracy in following instructions is more important than mere speed.


Given Data / Assumptions:
• The original word is "DISTURBANCE".
• The first letter is swapped with the last letter, the second letter with the tenth letter, the third letter with the ninth letter, the fourth letter with the eighth letter, and the fifth letter with the seventh letter.
• The middle letter (sixth position) remains as it is, because there is no partner letter left to swap with from the opposite end.
• We must find which letter appears immediately after the letter T in the new word obtained after all these swaps.


Concept / Approach:
The concept is symmetric swapping from both ends toward the centre of the word. Instead of trying to imagine all changes in your head, it is better to write the positions and letters clearly, then perform the swaps step by step. After that, you examine the transformed word to locate the position of T and the letter that comes immediately after it.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the original word with positions: 1 D, 2 I, 3 S, 4 T, 5 U, 6 R, 7 B, 8 A, 9 N, 10 C, 11 E.Step 2: Swap position 1 with 11: D and E interchange, giving E at 1 and D at 11.Step 3: Swap position 2 with 10: I and C interchange, so C goes to 2 and I goes to 10.Step 4: Swap position 3 with 9: S and N interchange, so N goes to 3 and S goes to 9.Step 5: Swap position 4 with 8: T and A interchange, so A goes to 4 and T goes to 8.Step 6: Swap position 5 with 7: U and B interchange, so B goes to 5 and U goes to 7. Position 6 (R) remains unchanged.Step 7: Now write the final arrangement: 1 E, 2 C, 3 N, 4 A, 5 B, 6 R, 7 U, 8 T, 9 S, 10 I, 11 D. So the new word is "ECNABRUTSID".Step 8: In this new word, the letter T appears at position 8, and the letter immediately after T is at position 9, which is S.


Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by performing the swaps directly in the string "DISTURBANCE" without positions, but it is safer to keep positions to avoid missing any pair. Another quick check is to count the number of swaps: there are five swaps for an eleven letter word, leaving the sixth letter fixed. Repeating the process once again in reverse should bring you back to the original, confirming that the swap logic is correct and that T really moved to position 8 with S after it.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
• I: The letter I appears later in the word at position 10 in the transformed arrangement, not immediately after T at position 8.
• T: T itself is the reference letter; the question asks for the letter that comes after T, so choosing T means ignoring the instruction.
• N: N appears at position 3 in the final word and has no relation to the immediate neighbour of T.
• R: R appears in the middle at position 6 but is not adjacent to T in the new arrangement.


Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes swap incorrectly by mixing positions or by forgetting that the middle letter of an odd length word remains fixed. Another common error is to stop after writing the swapped word partially and guessing the answer without carefully checking the final arrangement. A disciplined, position based approach prevents these typical mistakes and leads to the correct neighbour of T.


Final Answer:
In the newly formed word, the letter that comes immediately after T is S.

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