Find the two letters in the word EXTRA which have as many letters between them in the word as they have between them in the English alphabet. If these two letters are arranged in alphabetical order, which letter will come second?

Introduction / Context:
This question is another example of alphabet pair reasoning. It asks us to compare letter spacing within a word with spacing in the alphabet. After identifying a valid pair, we must arrange those two letters alphabetically and state which one comes second. Such problems improve attention to detail and systematic checking of combinations.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Word: EXTRA.
- We consider all unordered pairs of letters taken in the order they appear in the word.
- For a valid pair, the number of letters between them in the word equals the number of letters between them in the alphabet.
- Once the pair is found, we arrange the two letters in alphabetical order and report the second one.

Concept / Approach:
We label each letter with its position in the word and its alphabet position. For each pair (i, j), we compute j − i (letters between positions) and the absolute difference between the alphabet positions of the corresponding letters. If these match, the pair satisfies the condition. There will typically be only one such pair in a short word like EXTRA.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the word with indices: 1 E, 2 X, 3 T, 4 R, 5 A. Step 2: Assign alphabet positions: E=5, X=24, T=20, R=18, A=1. Step 3: Check pair (E, A) at indices (1, 5). There are 3 letters (X, T, R) between them in the word (5 − 1 − 1 = 3). In the alphabet, positions 5 and 1 have letters B, C, D between them, which are also 3 letters. So this pair satisfies the condition. Step 4: Quickly confirm that other pairs, such as (E, X) or (X, T), do not match both word and alphabet spacing. Step 5: Now arrange the letters of the valid pair E and A alphabetically: A, E. Step 6: The second letter in this alphabetical order is E.

Verification / Alternative check:
After selecting the pair (E, A), double check at least one other pair to ensure uniqueness. For example, (X, T) at positions (2, 3) have 0 letters between them in the word but their alphabet positions 24 and 20 have three letters between (U, V, W), so they do not satisfy the condition. This confirms that (E, A) is a special pair and validates the choice. Once that is secure, the alphabetical ordering A, E is straightforward.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- "X" and "R" are part of other pairs but none of those pairs satisfy the spacing condition.
- "A" is the first letter when the pair A and E is arranged alphabetically, not the second.
Only "E" appears as the second letter after arranging the correct pair in alphabetical order.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates lose count of letters between positions or confuse index difference with the number of letters in between. Others may find a pair that looks close but does not exactly match the alphabet spacing. Writing the word clearly, labelling indices, and listing the alphabet positions of letters prevents miscalculation and helps ensure that the only valid pair is chosen.

Final Answer:
The correct pair is A and E, and the second letter when arranged alphabetically is E.