2)
Here is my attempt at this:
E Q U A L S
Since the first and the last letters are fixed at L and Q respectively, then the remaining 2 letters out of 4 can be permuted in 4P2 =12 ways as follows:
LAEQ, LASQ, LAUQ, LEAQ, LESQ, LEUQ, LSAQ, LSEQ, LSUQ, LUAQ, LUEQ, LUSQ (12)