The position(s) of how many letters will remain unchanged if all the letters in the word ‘ENTOMB’ are arranged in English alphabetical order?

Correct — C. Number the slots, then sort the word underneath.

Rule: compare slot against slot, never letter against letter.

ENTOMB → E(1) N(2) T(3) O(4) M(5) B(6)
Sorted → B(1) E(2) M(3) N(4) O(5) T(6)

Slot by slot the pairs are E against B, N against E, T against M, O against N, M against O, B against T.

Not one slot holds the same letter twice, so the count is None — option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  One — The near miss is O, fourth in ENTOMB and fifth in BEMNOT. Moving by a single place is still moving, so it does not count.
• (b)
  Two — Two usually comes from trusting the ends of the word, but B travels from slot 6 to slot 1 and E from slot 1 to slot 2. Neither anchor holds.
• (d)
  Three — Three fixed letters would mean half the word was already in order. ENTOMB opens E, N, T against the sorted B, E, M, so the first three slots all change.

These items ask about positions, not about letters. Number the slots 1 to 6, write the alphabetical arrangement underneath and compare column by column.

The sorting is the only real work here: ENTOMB becomes BEMNOT. Do it on paper. A word carrying two neighbouring letters, as M and N are here, is exactly where a mental sort slips.

A letter scores only if it lands back in its own slot. Moved by one and moved by five count the same: not at all.

Key facts

• ENTOMB sorted alphabetically is BEMNOT.
• No letter of ENTOMB keeps its original position after sorting, so the answer is None.
• The six letters move by 1, 2, 3, 1, 2 and 5 slots respectively.

Common traps

• Comparing the two words letter by letter instead of slot by slot.
• Counting a letter that shifted by one place as unchanged.
• Mis-sorting M and N, which scrambles the whole tail of the sorted word.

No directly related past PYQ was found.