Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: Empathy
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question presents a word series and asks you to determine the missing term in order to complete the pattern. The given series is Good, Odour, Urban, Anthem, ?. Such questions test your ability to identify hidden patterns, often based on letter positions or overlapping segments between consecutive words. Recognising the pattern is the key to choosing the correct final word from the options.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In word series, a common pattern is that a specific group of letters at the end of one word becomes the starting group of letters in the next word. By examining the transition from Good to Odour, from Odour to Urban, and from Urban to Anthem, we may detect such overlapping pairs. Once this overlap pattern is identified, we apply it to the last given word Anthem and see which option begins with the required letters. This reveals the missing word that correctly completes the chain.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Look at Good and Odour. The last two letters of Good are "od" and the first two letters of Odour are also "od".Step 2: Look at Odour and Urban. The last two letters of Odour are "ur" and the first two letters of Urban are "ur".Step 3: Look at Urban and Anthem. The last two letters of Urban are "an" and the first two letters of Anthem are "an".Step 4: The clear pattern is: the last two letters of each word become the first two letters of the next word in the series.Step 5: The last two letters of Anthem are "em". Therefore, the next word in the series must start with "em".Step 6: Among the options, only Empathy begins with "em". Hence Empathy is the correct missing word.
Verification / Alternative check:
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Anthill is wrong because it starts with "an" instead of "em", and thus does not match the overlap from Anthem.Europe is wrong because it starts with "eu", which does not match the required "em" pattern.Goose is wrong because it starts with "go" and does not continue the overlapping letter rule.
Common Pitfalls:
Students may look for meaning based patterns in the words and miss the straightforward letter overlap rule. Another pitfall is to focus only on first letters and ignore the important contribution of the last letters of each word. To succeed in such questions, always check for structural patterns in letters, positions, and overlapping segments rather than relying on word meanings or guesswork.
Final Answer:
The word that correctly completes the series Good, Odour, Urban, Anthem is Empathy.
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