I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?

Solve the following series:
AZ, GT, MN, __, YB

Can anyone tell me a word in the English dictionary which has a silent 'z'?

Can you solve the tricky chess rebus puzzle below by ciphering the hidden meaning?

In a basket of apples,
when counted in twos, there was one extra
when counted in threes, there were two extra when counted in fours, there were three extra
when counted in fives, there were four extra
when counted in sixes, there was five extra.

However, if the apples were counted in sevens, no extra apple was left. Can you calculate the minimum number of apples that were present in the basket?

Seven Robbers robbed a bank and hide the coins in a lonely place.
They decide to divide the money equally the next morning. Two greedy robbers decided to cheat the others and reach the place at night. They equally divided the coins between them, one coin left. So they called another robber and then they decided to divide equally among the three. Sadly again one coin left. The same thing happened to the 4th 5th and the 6th robber.
However, when the 7th robber reached in the morning, they can divide the coins equally.

How many coins were there in total?

Replace the question mark with the correct number.

2 + 2= 4
3 + 3= 18
4 + 4= 48
5 + 5= ?

You can see three almost identical images below. Can you spot the odd one out from them?

There is a river to cross using a river raft and there are eight people (father, mother, policeman, thief, 2 daughters and 2 sons). No one knows to operate the raft except the adults and also excluding the thief. Only two people can go in the raft at a time. The raft should keep coming back and forth in order to pick and drop the people.
Rules to be followed:
Father: the father cannot stay in the raft or outside the raft without the presence of the mother.
Mother: the mother cannot stay in the raft or outside the rat without the presence of the father.
Thief: the thief is not allowed to stay with any of the family members unless there is a policeman.
Policeman: the policeman can travel with anyone.
2 sons and 2 daughters: they are not allowed to travel in the raft without the presence of an adult. They cannot either travel in the presence of only thieves without the policeman. The sons cannot be with their mothers without their father's supervision. The daughters are not allowed to be there with their fathers without the supervision of their mothers. But the daughters and the sons can be left unsupervised (as long as the other rules are applied).
What is the sequence that the people should follow in order to cross the river through the raft keeping in mind all the rules?
The rules are applicable not only in the raft but also outside the raft.

Name the three-letter word that can complete the below words:

A) L O _ _ _ E
B) E D U _ _ _ E
C) _ _ _ E R
D) _ _ _ T L E