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Question

If the following words are arranged as per their order in the English dictionary which of the following words will come third in the sequence?

1. Isomer

2. Isoline

3. Isotope

4. Isolate

5. Isologs

6. Isonomy

The correct answer is

Isologs

Understanding Alphabetical Order

This question requires us to arrange a list of words in alphabetical order, as they would appear in an English dictionary, and then identify the word that comes third in that sequence.

To arrange words in alphabetical order, we compare them letter by letter from left to right. We start with the first letter. If the first letters are the same, we move to the second letter, and so on, until we find a letter that is different.

Step-by-Step Word Arrangement

Let's look at the given words:

  • Isomer
  • Isoline
  • Isotope
  • Isolate
  • Isologs
  • Isonomy

All the words begin with the prefix "Iso". So, we need to compare the fourth letter of each word.

Word First 3 Letters 4th Letter
Isomer Iso m
Isoline Iso l
Isotope Iso t
Isolate Iso l
Isologs Iso l
Isonomy Iso n

Comparing the fourth letters (l, l, l, m, n, t) alphabetically, 'l' comes first, followed by 'm', then 'n', and finally 't'.

We have three words starting with "Isol": Isoline, Isolate, and Isologs. To determine their order, we compare the fifth letter:

Word First 4 Letters 5th Letter
Isoline Isol i
Isolate Isol a
Isologs Isol o

Comparing the fifth letters (i, a, o) alphabetically, 'a' comes first, followed by 'i', and then 'o'.

Therefore, the order of these three words is:

  1. Isolate (Iso-l-a...)
  2. Isoline (Iso-l-i...)
  3. Isologs (Iso-l-o...)

Now, let's place the other words based on their fourth letter:

The fourth letters in alphabetical order are l, m, n, t. The words corresponding to these are Isolate/Isoline/Isologs, Isomer, Isonomy, Isotope.

Combining the order for the words starting with "Isol", the complete alphabetical sequence is:

  1. Isolate
  2. Isoline
  3. Isologs
  4. Isomer
  5. Isonomy
  6. Isotope

Identifying the Third Word in the Sequence

Based on the alphabetical arrangement above, the third word in the sequence is Isologs.

Revision Table: Key Learnings

Concept Description
Alphabetical Order Arranging words based on the sequence of letters in the alphabet.
Letter-by-Letter Comparison Starting from the first letter, compare words until a differing letter determines the order.
Handling Same Prefixes If words share a common prefix, compare the letters immediately following the prefix.

Additional Information: Dictionary Arrangement

Understanding dictionary order is fundamental for vocabulary building and language skills. When arranging words alphabetically, if one word is a prefix of another (e.g., "cat" and "catalogue"), the shorter word typically comes first unless the dictionary follows specific rules for prefixes/suffixes. In this question, all words are distinct and do not pose this specific challenge, making the standard letter-by-letter comparison the primary method.

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Important Questions from Word Formation

  1. In the following question, from the given alternative words, select the word which cannot be formed using the letters of the given word.

    Nightwalker

  2. In the following question, from the given alternative words, select the word which cannot be formed using the letters of the given word.

    UNIFORMITY

  3. From among the given options, select the word which CANNOT be formed using the letters of the given word.

    LAUGHTER

  4. From among the given options, select the word which CANNOT be formed using the letters of the given word.

    DAUGHTER

  5. Select the word-pair that best represents a similar relationship to the one expressed in the pair of words given below.

    (The words must be considered as meaningful English words and must not be related to each other based on the number of letters/number of consonants/vowels in the word.)

    Larva : Insect

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