Understanding Dictionary Word Order

To determine the correct order of words as they would appear in an English dictionary, we need to compare them letter by letter from the beginning.

Words for Ordering:

• 1. Operation
• 2. Opera
• 3. Option
• 4. Opposite
• 5. Opinion
• 6. Optical

Step-by-Step Ordering Process:

All the given words start with the letters 'Op'. We need to look at the third letter to start the comparison:

• Opera
• Operation
• Opinion
• Opposite
• Option
• Optical

Comparing the third letters: 'e', 'i', 'p', 't'. The alphabetical order is e, i, p, t.

Comparing Words Starting with 'Ope':

We have 'Opera' and 'Operation'. Both start with 'Ope'.

• Opera
• Operation

'Opera' ends after 'a', while 'Operation' continues with 'r'. Since 'Opera' is shorter and is a prefix of 'Operation', 'Opera' comes first.

Current order: Opera (2), Operation (1)

Comparing Words Starting with 'Opi':

We have 'Opinion'. It comes after words starting with 'Ope'.

Current order: Opera (2), Operation (1), Opinion (5)

Comparing Words Starting with 'Opp':

We have 'Opposite'. It comes after words starting with 'Opi'.

Current order: Opera (2), Operation (1), Opinion (5), Opposite (4)

Comparing Words Starting with 'Opt':

We have 'Option' and 'Optical'. Both start with 'Opt'. We look at the fourth letter:

• Option
• Optical

The fourth letters are both 'i'. We look at the fifth letter:

• Option
• Optical

Comparing 'o' and 'c', 'c' comes before 'o' in the alphabet. Therefore, 'Optical' comes before 'Option'.

Order for these two: Optical (6), Option (3)

Final Dictionary Order:

Combining all the steps, the final order of the words as they would appear in an English dictionary is:

1. Opera (2)
2. Operation (1)
3. Opinion (5)
4. Opposite (4)
5. Optical (6)
6. Option (3)

This corresponds to the sequence: 2, 1, 5, 4, 6, 3.