Directions: Read the following arrangement of symbols, letters, and numbers carefully and answer the questions based on it. & F A # L K 4 $ 9 G P @ 8 B S M @ € 5 D % L β K 4 A 9 @ S W ¥ 6 B & 8 # J Step I: All the symbols, which are immediately followed by a letter, will be placed from extreme left end in the same order. Step II: If a letter is immediately followed by a symbol, then such letters are placed from extreme right end in the English Alphabetical order. Step III: All the numbers between the 7 element from the left end and 7 element from the right end are placed between the 11 and the 12 element from the left end in descending order. Step IV: The first ten elements of the arrangement from the left end are placed from extreme right end in the same order. Note: Step II is performed after the completion of Step I, similarly, Step III is performed after the completion of Step II, and so on. How many elements are between two 'A' after applying step IV in the given arrangement?

### Concept & Strategy Alphanumeric series problems with sequential steps require methodical processing. The key is to meticulously track the elements and the precise conditions (e.g., "immediately followed by") for each step without rushing. ### Step-by-Step Solution **Initial Arrangement:** & F A # L K 4 $ 9 G P @ 8 B S M @ € 5 D % L β K 4 A 9 @ S W ¥ 6 B & 8 # J **Step I:** Symbols followed by a letter move to the extreme left. * Symbols followed by letters in the original series: `&` (by F), `#` (by L), `%` (by L), `β` (by K), `@` (by S), `#` (by J). * Moving them to the extreme left gives the new arrangement: `& # % β @ # F A L K 4 $ 9 G P @ 8 B S M @ € 5 D L K 4 A 9 S W ¥ 6 B & 8 J` **Step II:** Letters followed by a symbol move to the right in alphabetical order. * In the sequence from Step I, letters followed by symbols are: `P` (by @), `M` (by @), `W` (by ¥), `B` (by &, the second B). * Notice the first B is followed by S (a letter), so it stays. * Alphabetical order of these letters: B, M, P, W. * Moving them to the extreme right gives: `& # % β @ # F A L K 4 $ 9 G @ 8 S @ € 5 D L K 4 A 9 S ¥ 6 & 8 J B M P W` **Step III:** Numbers between the 7th element from the left and 7th from the right move between the 11th and 12th elements. * 7th from the left is `F`. 7th from the right is `&`. * Numbers between `F` and `&` are: 4, 9, 8, 5, 4, 9, 6. * Extracting these numbers leaves the 11th element as `$` and the 12th as `G`. * Sorting the numbers descending (9, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, 4) and placing them between `$` and `G`: `& # % β @ # F A L K $ 9 9 8 6 5 4 4 G @ B S @ € D L K A S ¥ & 8 J B M P W` **Step IV:** First ten elements move to the right end. * First 10 elements: `& # % β @ # F A L K` * Moving them to the extreme right gives the final arrangement: `$ 9 9 8 6 5 4 4 G @ B S @ € D L K A S ¥ & 8 J B M P W & # % β @ # F A L K` **Finding the Answer:** * We need to count the elements between the two 'A's in this final sequence. * Position of the first `A`: 18th from the left. * Position of the second `A`: 35th from the left. * Total elements between them = $35 - 18 - 1 = 16$. ### Exam Strategy & Shortcut Instead of rewriting the entire sequence from scratch for every step, practice "crossing out and re-indexing" elements if allowed on your scratchpad. Since multiple questions rely on the exact final string, perfectly generating the Step IV string once ensures absolute accuracy for all sub-questions. ### Common Pitfall The most common mistake occurs in Step II by missing that the first `B` is followed by `S` (a letter) and incorrectly moving it. Always read the character immediately following the target letter carefully! ### Final Answer Therefore, the correct answer is **16**.