The position of how many letters will remain unchanged if each of the letters in the word ‘PRANKED’ is arranged in the English alphabetical order?

Correct — B.

Rule: write the word out, write the sorted letters directly beneath it, and compare slot by slot.

PRANKED = P R A N K E D
Sorted = A D E K N P R

Slot by slot: P against A, R against D, A against E, N against K, K against N, E against P, D against R.

Not one slot holds the same letter, so None of the positions is unchanged — option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  One — One would need some letter to hold the same rank in the word as in the sorted list. K is the nearest miss, standing fifth in PRANKED but fourth in alphabetical order.
• (c)
  Three — Three is far too generous. All seven letters move, and the check takes a single pass down the two lines once they are written one above the other.
• (d)
  Two — Two survives only if the comparison is abandoned part-way. Laid side by side, no slot matches — not P against A at the front, not D against R at the end.

This item tests one narrow piece of clerical accuracy: can you sort seven letters and compare two ordered lists without slipping a place?

The safe method is to write the word, write the sorted letters immediately beneath it, and run a finger down the pairs. Sorting in your head and comparing from memory is where the mistake happens.

PRANKED in alphabetical order is A, D, E, K, N, P, R. Nothing that started at the front of the word is still at the front.

Key facts

• PRANKED in alphabetical order is A, D, E, K, N, P, R.
• No letter of PRANKED keeps its position when the word is sorted.
• SSC offers None as an option in these items, so zero is a legitimate answer.

Common traps

• Sorting the letters mentally and losing a place during the comparison
• Answering One because a letter moved by only a single position
• Assuming a word must fix at least one letter

No directly related past PYQ was found.