From the given words, select the word which cannot be formed using the letters of the word LATCHING, assuming that no letter is used more times than it appears in the original word.

Introduction / Context:
This question uses the base word LATCHING and asks you to determine which option cannot be formed from its letters. By practising this, you improve your ability to quickly recognize which letters are present and to detect when a new letter has been introduced that is not available in the base word. This skill is directly applicable to many similar verbal reasoning problems.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Base word: LATCHING.
• Letters available: L, A, T, C, H, I, N, G (each once).
• Options: THING, CHAIN, CHEAT, CLING.
• No letter may be used more times than in the base word, and new letters cannot be added.

Concept / Approach:
The approach is straightforward. First, list the letters in LATCHING. Then, check each option one by one, confirming whether every letter appears in the base letter pool. If even one letter is absent, that option is impossible to form. Here, we should be particularly wary of letters like E, R or O that might appear in options but not in the base word.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Create the letter set from LATCHING: {L, A, T, C, H, I, N, G}. Step 2: Check THING: T, H, I, N, G all appear in the base letter set, so THING can be formed. Step 3: Check CHAIN: C, H, A, I, N all exist in LATCHING, so CHAIN can be formed. Step 4: Check CLING: C, L, I, N, G are all available, so CLING can also be formed. Step 5: Check CHEAT: C, H, E, A, T require the letter E, which is not present anywhere in LATCHING. Therefore CHEAT cannot be formed from the base word.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick alternative is to note that LATCHING does not contain the vowel E. When looking at the options, THING, CHAIN and CLING all avoid using E, while CHEAT includes E. As we are not allowed to introduce letters that do not exist in the base word, CHEAT must be impossible to construct. This simple observation confirms our detailed step-by-step conclusion.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
THING uses only T, H, I, N and G, which are all present in LATCHING. CHAIN uses C, H, A, I and N, again all drawn from the base letters. CLING uses C, L, I, N and G, which are also available. Since these words are all formable, they cannot be the correct choice for the question, which asks for the word that cannot be formed.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes forget to check every letter of an option and might overlook a single new letter like E in CHEAT. Another pitfall is assuming that because a word seems familiar or common, it must be possible to build from any given base word. To avoid such errors, always perform a systematic letter check or at least pay attention to whether all vowels and consonants in the option appear in the base word.

Final Answer:
The word that cannot be formed from LATCHING is CHEAT, so CHEAT is the correct answer.