C, E, K, Q, W, ?
Last updated Jun 24, 2026
Correct Answer:
Option C —
E
To find the next letter in this sequence, we can look at the positions of the letters in the English alphabet.C is the third letter.
E is the fifth letter.
K is the eleventh letter.
Q is the seventeenth letter.
W is the twenty-third letter.
If we list these alphabetical positions, we get the numbers three, five, eleven, seventeen, and twenty-three. You might notice that these are all prime numbers—numbers that can only be divided by one and themselves.
However, they are not just any prime numbers; the sequence is skipping exactly one prime number between each step:
Between three and five, we skip nothing, but if we look at the gap between the next steps:
Between five and eleven, the prime number seven is skipped.
Between eleven and seventeen, the prime number thirteen is skipped.
Between seventeen and twenty-three, the prime number nineteen is skipped.
Following this consistent pattern of skipping one prime number, we look at what comes after twenty-three. The next prime number is twenty-nine, which we must skip. The prime number following twenty-nine is thirty-one.
Since the alphabet only has twenty-six letters, we start over from the beginning once we pass twenty-six. To find the thirty-first letter, we subtract twenty-six from thirty-one, which leaves us with five.
The fifth letter of the alphabet is E.
Answer verified by Quintessence Classes faculty — Karan Nagar, Srinagar.
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