Which of the following terms will replace the question mark (?) in the given series? IMHP, MPJQ, QSLR, UVNS, ?

Correct — B. Rule: each of the four letter positions has its own fixed step — +4, +3, +2, +1.

Position 1: I(9), M(13), Q(17), U(21) → +4 → Y(25)
Position 2: M(13), P(16), S(19), V(22) → +3 → Y(25)

Position 3: H(8), J(10), L(12), N(14) → +2 → P(16)
Position 4: P(16), Q(17), R(18), S(19) → +1 → T(20)

Reading the four answers across gives YYPT → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  XYPT — Position 1 lands on X(24), one letter short. The first letters step +4 from I, so U(21) + 4 is Y(25).
• (c)
  YXPT — Position 2 lands on X(24). The second letters step +3 from M, so V(22) + 3 is Y(25), and the term opens with two Ys.
• (d)
  YYOT — Position 3 lands on O(15). The third letters step +2 from H, so N(14) + 2 is P(16), not O.

A four-letter series is four independent series stacked on top of one another. Write the terms one under the next, number every letter, and read down each column — the columns rarely share a step.

Here the steps fall in a run: +4 in the first column, +3 in the second, +2 in the third, +1 in the fourth. Spotting that run tells you all four answers before you finish the arithmetic.

No column passes Z in this series, so no wrap is needed. Check for one anyway, because a column that crosses Z is where careless answers come from.

Key facts

• Reading IMHP, MPJQ, QSLR, UVNS down the columns gives steps of +4, +3, +2 and +1.
• U(21) + 4 = Y(25) and V(22) + 3 = Y(25), which is why the answer repeats a letter.
• N(14) + 2 = P(16) and S(19) + 1 = T(20).

Common traps

• Reading each term left to right as one chain instead of reading down the columns.
• Getting three columns right and rushing the fourth, which is exactly how option (d) is built.
• Miscounting in the teens, where M(13) and N(14) are easy to slip.

No directly related past PYQ was found.