Understanding Dictionary Order for Words

Arranging words in dictionary order, also known as lexicographical order, involves comparing words letter by letter from left to right. We determine the order based on the alphabetical position of the letters.

The given words are:

1. Greed
2. Green
3. Grown
4. Grip
5. Granite

Step-by-Step Dictionary Ordering

Let's compare the words letter by letter to determine their correct dictionary order:

• First Letter: All words start with 'G'. This letter does not help distinguish the order.
• Second Letter: All words have 'r' as the second letter. This also doesn't help in ordering.
• Third Letter:
  • Greed: 'e'
  • Green: 'e'
  • Grown: 'o'
  • Grip: 'i'
  • Granite: 'a'

Comparing the third letters ('e', 'o', 'i', 'a'), we know that 'a' comes first alphabetically, followed by 'e', then 'i', and finally 'o'.

Based on the third letter, the initial order is:

1. Granite (starts with 'Gra')
2. Greed, Green (both start with 'Gre')
3. Grip (starts with 'Gri')
4. Grown (starts with 'Gro')

Now we need to determine the order between 'Greed' and 'Green'. Both words start with 'Gre'. We compare the fourth letter:

• Greed: 'e'
• Green: 'e'

The fourth letters are the same. We move to the fifth letter:

• Greed: 'd'
• Green: 'n'

Comparing 'd' and 'n', 'd' comes before 'n' in the alphabet. Therefore, 'Greed' comes before 'Green'.

Combining this with the order determined by the third letter, the final dictionary order is:

1. Granite (5)
2. Greed (1)
3. Green (2)
4. Grip (4)
5. Grown (3)

Final Sorted Order

The correct order of the given words as they would appear in an English dictionary, based on their original numbers, is:

5, 1, 2, 4, 3

Revision Table: Dictionary Order Practice

Additional Information on Lexicographical Order

Lexicographical order is essentially the method used to arrange words in a dictionary or entries in an index. It's based on the alphabetical order of characters. When two words share a common prefix (starting letters), the comparison continues to the first character where they differ. The word with the character that appears earlier in the alphabet comes first.

This principle applies not just to single words but also to lists of words, phrases, or even sequences of numbers or symbols. The comparison proceeds element by element until a difference is found. If one sequence is a prefix of another (e.g., "car" and "carpet"), the shorter sequence typically comes first.