Five letter evenly spaced ladder – UGC NET Question

Each group is made of five letters that are equally spaced from each other in the alphabet, forming a regular ladder pattern. ADGJM, BEHKN, CFILO and DGJMP all have the same internal step size between successive letters and each new group is obtained by moving all letters one position forward. Applying this simple shift to DGJMP gives E, H, K, N and Q. The resulting group EHKNQ preserves the internal spacing and extends the vertical sequences of every column, so it is the correct continuation.

Option A:
Option A, EHJMQ, uses some of the right letters but places them in positions that break the constant spacing between adjacent letters. The sequence from H to J to M to Q does not match the regular step pattern of the series. Because the internal distances are wrong, EHJMQ cannot be the answer.

Option B:
Option B, EIKNQ, changes the second letter so that the equal increments between letters inside the group are lost. It does not arise from a uniform one step shift of DGJMP. As a result, EIKNQ fails to fit the exact construction rule.

Option C:
Option C, FHKNR, starts with F instead of E and moves the letters in a way that does not preserve the ladder structure or the column wise progressions. The clear transformation from one group to the next is no longer visible. Therefore FHKNR is not a valid continuation.

Option D:
Option D is correct because EHKNQ is formed by adding one to each letter of DGJMP and it keeps the same step between neighbouring letters as in all previous groups. The vertical sequences remain intact in every column. This strict adherence to the series rule makes EHKNQ the only suitable next term.