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Question

Select the option that represents the correct order of the given words as they would appear in an English dictionary. (Note : the given words may or may not be meaningful words).

1. Judgement

2. Journal

3. Jurisdiction

4. Juice

5. Journey

The correct answer is

2, 5, 1, 4, 3

Ordering Words Alphabetically in an English Dictionary

To determine the correct dictionary order of words, we compare them letter by letter starting from the beginning. The word with the letter that appears earlier in the alphabet at the first point of difference comes first.

Let's apply this process to the given words:

  1. Judgement
  2. Journal
  3. Jurisdiction
  4. Juice
  5. Journey

Step-by-Step Dictionary Ordering Analysis

All the words begin with the letter 'J'. So, we move to the second letter to compare.

Comparing the second letters:

  • Judgement: Ju
  • Journal: Jo
  • Jurisdiction: Ju
  • Juice: Ju
  • Journey: Jo

In the alphabet, 'o' comes before 'u'. Therefore, the words starting with 'Jo' will come before the words starting with 'Ju'.

Words starting with 'Jo': Journal (2), Journey (5)

Words starting with 'Ju': Judgement (1), Jurisdiction (3), Juice (4)

Ordering the 'Jo' words:

We compare Journal (2) and Journey (5) letter by letter:

  • J (same)
  • o (same)
  • u (same)
  • r (same)
  • n (same)
  • a (Journal) vs e (Journey): 'a' comes before 'e'

So, Journal (2) comes before Journey (5).

The order of 'Jo' words is: 2, 5.

Ordering the 'Ju' words:

We compare Judgement (1), Jurisdiction (3), and Juice (4) letter by letter. They all start with 'Ju'. We compare the third letter:

  • Judgement: Jud
  • Jurisdiction: Jur
  • Juice: Jui

Comparing the third letters d, r, and i. In the alphabet, 'd' comes first, then 'i', then 'r'.

So, the order based on the third letter is:

  1. Judgement (d)
  2. Juice (i)
  3. Jurisdiction (r)

The order of 'Ju' words is: 1, 4, 3.

Combining the ordered lists:

The 'Jo' words (2, 5) come before the 'Ju' words (1, 4, 3). Combining these two ordered lists gives the final dictionary order.

Final order: 2, 5, 1, 4, 3.

Summary Table of Dictionary Ordering

The table below shows the comparison steps for clarity.

Word IndexWord1st Letter2nd Letter3rd LetterOrder within groupFinal Order
2JournalJou1st ('Jo' group)1st
5JourneyJou2nd ('Jo' group)2nd
1JudgementJud1st ('Ju' group)3rd
4JuiceJui2nd ('Ju' group)4th
3JurisdictionJur3rd ('Ju' group)5th

The correct order of the given words as they would appear in an English dictionary is 2, 5, 1, 4, 3.

Revision Table: Key Concepts in Dictionary Ordering

Review the fundamental principles used for arranging words in alphabetical order.

ConceptExplanationApplication Example
Letter by Letter ComparisonStart comparing words from the first letter. Move to the next letter if the current letters are the same.Cat vs Car: Compare 'C', then 'a', then 't' vs 'r'.
Alphabetical SequenceThe order is based on the standard sequence of letters from A to Z.'a' comes before 'b', 'b' before 'c', and so on.
First Point of DifferenceThe word with the letter that comes earlier in the alphabet at the first position where the words differ determines the order.Apple vs Apply: 'p' is same, 'p' is same, 'l' is same, 'e' vs 'y'. 'e' comes before 'y'. Apple < Apply.
Shorter Word RuleIf one word is a prefix of another, the shorter word comes first (e.g., 'go' before 'going'). This rule applies when one word ends while the other continues with more letters, and the matched part is identical.Art vs Artist: Art comes before Artist.

Additional Information: Lexicographical Order and Applications

The process of arranging words in dictionary order is a specific instance of what is known as lexicographical order or lexicographical sorting. This concept is widely used in various fields.

  • Computer Science: Strings (sequences of characters) are sorted lexicographically in databases, programming languages, and search algorithms. This is how file explorers sort filenames or contact lists are ordered.
  • Mathematics: Lexicographical order can be applied to sequences of numbers or other elements, not just letters. For example, comparing coordinate points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) can be done lexicographically: (x1, y1) < (x2, y2) if x1 < x2, or if x1 = x2 and y1 < y2.
  • Linguistics: Dictionary order is fundamental to how dictionaries, indexes, and glossaries are organized, making information retrieval efficient.

Understanding lexicographical order provides a structured way to sort any sequence of comparable elements.

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Important Questions from Sequence

  1. Select the correct option that indicates the arrangement of the given the words in the order in which they appear in an English dictionary.

    1. Photographic

    2. Photocopier

    3. Photography

    4. Photographer

    5. Photocopy

  2. Select the correct option that indicates the arrangement of the given words in the order in which they appear in an English dictionary.

    1. Relatival

    2. Relation

    3. Related

    4. Relative

    5. Relatable

  3. Select the correct option that indicates the arrangement of the given words in a logical and meaningful order.

    1. Treatment

    2. Recovery

    3. Virus

    4. Symptoms

    5. Infection

  4. Select the correct option that indicates the arrangement of the given course of actions in a logical and meaningful order.

    1. Open email account

    2. Compose email

    3. Start computer

    4. Enter email address

    5. Write the content

    6. Send the mail

  5. Select the correct option that indicates the arrangement of the given words in the order in which they appear in an English dictionary

    1. Likelihood

    2. Likenesses

    3. Likewise

    4. Likens

    5. Likeliest

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