The position of how many letters will remain unchanged if all the letters in the word MOBILE are arranged in English alphabetical order?

Correct — C. Write the word out and write its sorted form directly underneath, then compare place by place.

MOBILE as printed: M, O, B, I, L, E.
MOBILE sorted: B, E, I, L, M, O.

Rule: a letter is unchanged only if it already stands where sorting puts it.

Place 1 has M against B, place 2 O against E, place 3 B against I, place 4 I against L, place 5 L against M, place 6 E against O.

Not one of the six agrees, so the count is None → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Three — Three would need half the word already in order. M, O, B, I, L, E and B, E, I, L, M, O share no place at all.
• (b)
  One — One would need a single place to agree. The nearest misses are I and L, and each still shifts by one place when the word is sorted.
• (d)
  Two — Two overcounts for the same reason. Checking all six places one at a time produces no match anywhere.

This item is a comparison, not a puzzle. Sort the letters, line the two words up, and count the places where the same letter sits in both.

The only real skill is doing it without slipping. Write the sorted word out in full rather than sorting in your head, and read down the pairs one place at a time — six comparisons and you are done.

Key facts

• MOBILE sorted into alphabetical order is BEILMO.
• No letter of MOBILE keeps its place when the word is sorted.
• The comparison is by position, so a letter appearing in both words is not enough.

Common traps

• Sorting in your head and dropping a letter.
• Counting a letter as unchanged because it appears in both words rather than in the same place.
• Reading None as a trick option and choosing a number instead.

No directly related past PYQ was found.