Understanding Dictionary Order for Word Arrangement

To arrange words in the order they appear in an English dictionary, we compare them letter by letter from left to right. The word with the letter that comes earliest in the alphabet at the first point of difference is placed earlier in the order.

Let's look at the given words and their corresponding numbers:

• 1. Priceless
• 2. Pristine
• 3. Prison
• 4. Priority
• 5. Prejudice

Step-by-Step Comparison

All the words start with 'Pr'. Let's compare the third letter:

• Priceless
• Pristine
• Prison
• Priority
• Prejudice

The letter 'e' comes before 'i' in the alphabet. Therefore, 'Prejudice' (5) comes first.

Now let's compare the remaining words, which all start with 'Pri'. We look at the fourth letter:

• Priceless
• Pristine
• Prison
• Priority

Comparing 'c', 's', 's', and 'o', the order in the alphabet is 'c', 'o', 's'.

• 'c' comes first, so 'Priceless' (1) is next.
• 'o' comes after 'c', so 'Priority' (4) is next.
• 's' comes after 'o'. We have two words starting with 'Pris': 'Pristine' and 'Prison'.

Now we compare 'Pristine' and 'Prison' by looking at the fifth letter:

• Pristine
• Prison

The letter 'o' comes before 't' in the alphabet. Therefore, 'Prison' (3) comes before 'Pristine' (2).

Final Arrangement in Dictionary Order

Following the step-by-step comparison, the words are arranged as follows:

1. Prejudice (5)
2. Priceless (1)
3. Priority (4)
4. Prison (3)
5. Pristine (2)

The correct order of the numbers corresponding to the words is 5, 1, 4, 3, 2.

Revision Table: Dictionary Ordering Concepts

Additional Information: Applying Dictionary Order Skills

The skill of arranging words in dictionary order is useful in many contexts, not just using a physical dictionary. It's fundamental to how information is organized in databases, file systems on computers, indexing, and library catalogs. Practicing word arrangement helps improve attention to detail and understanding of alphabetical sequence. When words share common letters at the beginning, you simply continue comparing the subsequent letters until you find a difference. The word with the letter that appears earlier in the alphabet at that point takes precedence. If you reach the end of one word and it is a complete prefix of another, the shorter word comes first.