Understanding Dictionary Order for Word Arrangement

To find which word comes at the third position after arranging them in dictionary order, we need to compare the given words letter by letter from left to right, just like you would find them in a dictionary.

The given words are:

• Sickle
• Sickly
• Sick
• Sicken
• Sickness

Step-by-Step Dictionary Sorting

Let's compare the words:

1. Compare the first letter: All words start with 'S'.
2. Compare the second letter: All words have 'i' as the second letter.
3. Compare the third letter: All words have 'c' as the third letter.
4. Compare the fourth letter: All words have 'k' as the fourth letter.
5. Compare the fifth letter: Now we see differences.
   • Sickle
   • Sickly
   • Sick
   • Sicken
   • Sickness
   The letters immediately following 'k' are 'l', 'l', (nothing), 'e', 'n'. In dictionary order, a word with fewer letters comes before a longer word if the shorter word is a prefix of the longer one (e.g., 'cat' comes before 'cats'). The absence of a letter at this position comes before any letter.

So, 'Sick' comes first because it ends after 'k', while all others continue.

Now let's compare the remaining words: Sickle, Sickly, Sicken, Sickness.

Look at the fifth letter:

• Sick(l)e
• Sick(l)y
• Sick(e)n
• Sick(n)ess

Comparing 'l', 'l', 'e', 'n': The letter 'e' comes before 'l' and 'n'. So, 'Sicken' is the next word.

Now let's compare the remaining words: Sickle, Sickly, Sickness.

Look at the fifth letter:

• Sick(l)e
• Sick(l)y
• Sick(n)ess

Comparing 'l', 'l', 'n': The letter 'l' comes before 'n'. So, 'Sickness' comes after Sickle and Sickly. We need to compare Sickle and Sickly.

Let's compare Sickle and Sickly letter by letter:

• S - S (Same)
• i - i (Same)
• c - c (Same)
• k - k (Same)
• l - l (Same)
• e - y (Different)

Comparing the sixth letters 'e' and 'y': The letter 'e' comes before 'y' in the alphabet.

Therefore, 'Sickle' comes before 'Sickly'.

Final Dictionary Order

Arranging all the words in dictionary order:

1. Sick
2. Sicken
3. Sickle
4. Sickly
5. Sickness

Based on this arrangement, the word that comes at the third position is 'Sickle'.

Thus, 'Sickle' is the word found at the third position.

Revision Table: Dictionary Ordering Concepts

Additional Information: Rules for Alphabetical Sorting

Alphabetical or dictionary sorting is a fundamental skill based on comparing strings of characters. Here are some additional points:

• Comparison starts with the first character of each word.
• If the first characters are the same, compare the second characters, and so on.
• The word with the character that appears earlier in the alphabet at the first point of difference is placed earlier.
• If one word runs out of characters while the other still has characters, and the shorter word's letters match the beginning of the longer word, the shorter word comes first. For example, "go" comes before "going".
• Case sensitivity might matter in some sorting systems, but for standard dictionary order, it's usually treated as case-insensitive (e.g., 'Apple' and 'apple' would be compared based on 'a' and 'p'). In this question, all words start with a capital letter, so case isn't an issue.