How many letters of the English alphabet (capitals) appear same when looked at in a mirror ?

examrobotsa's picture
Q: 67 (IAS/2009)
How many letters of the English alphabet (capitals) appear same when looked at in a mirror ?

question_subject: 

Logic/Reasoning

question_exam: 

IAS

stats: 

0,4,11,5,5,4,1

keywords: 

{'english alphabet': [0, 0, 1, 2], 'many letters': [0, 0, 1, 1], 'mirror': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'capitals': [1, 0, 3, 1]}

This question asks for the number of capital letters in the English alphabet that look the same when reflected in a mirror. Mirror images flip objects; only symmetric objects or letters look the same when reflected.

Option 1 suggests there are 9 such letters. This can`t be correct since less than 9 capital letters are symmetric along the vertical axis.

Option 2 suggests that there are 10 such letters. This also can`t be correct as the number of symmetric capital letters is greater than that.

Option 3 suggests that there are 11 such letters. This is the correct answer. The 11 symmetric capital letters in the English alphabet are A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X, and Y.

Option 4 suggests that there are 12 such letters. This is incorrect as there are only 11 symmetric capital letters, not 12.

The confusion often arises from letters such as Z, E or B which look fairly symmetrical but are not identical when mirrored.

Practice this on app