Arrange the following words in the same sequence in which they would appear in an English dictionary, and then select the correct code from the alternatives: i. Nuzzled ii. Nozzle iii. Nonjury iv. Nocking.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: iv, iii, ii, i

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question focuses on dictionary order for words that start with very similar letter combinations, here involving No and Nu. You need to carefully examine the second, third, and later letters to place the words accurately, a typical skill evaluated in verbal reasoning segments.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Words: i. Nuzzled, ii. Nozzle, iii. Nonjury, iv. Nocking.
  • We must order these words as they would appear in a dictionary.
  • Standard alphabetical comparison is used.


Concept / Approach:
Dictionary order rules:

  • Compare first letters. If they are identical, compare second letters, and so on.
  • When letters differ, the word with the earlier letter in the alphabet comes first.
  • Words with the same starting letters are ordered by the first point of difference further along the word.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the words clearly: Nuzzled, Nozzle, Nonjury, Nocking. Step 2: Compare the first letters. All words start with N, so move to the second letter. Step 3: Second letters are: Nuzzled (U), Nozzle (O), Nonjury (O), Nocking (O). In the alphabet, O comes before U. Therefore, all words beginning with NO come before the word beginning with NU, so Nuzzled must be last. Step 4: Now investigate the NO words: Nozzle, Nonjury, Nocking. Compare the third letter. They are Z in Nozzle, N in Nonjury, and C in Nocking. Alphabetically C comes first, then N, then Z. So the order among these three is Nocking (iv), Nonjury (iii), Nozzle (ii). Step 5: Append the remaining word Nuzzled (i) at the end because it starts with NU, which comes after NO. The final dictionary sequence is Nocking (iv), Nonjury (iii), Nozzle (ii), Nuzzled (i).


Verification / Alternative check:
A quick check is to visualise listing them: Nocking, Nonjury, Nozzle, Nuzzled. Reading them in that order sounds natural when you follow the NO then NU grouping and then refine inside the NO group by the next letters C, N, and Z.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option iii, i, ii, iv puts Nonjury first, even though Nocking should appear earlier due to the third letter C versus N. Option iv, i, ii, iii incorrectly places Nuzzled second, although NU should come after any NO word. Option ii, i, iii, iv starts with Nozzle, which begins with NOZ and must come after both Nocking and Nonjury. Option iii, ii, iv, i also fails to place Nocking at the beginning of the list and has multiple positions misordered.


Common Pitfalls:
Students often misjudge order when unfamiliar clusters like NOZ and NOC appear, or they may focus on word length rather than spelling. Another common error is to think that NU automatically precedes NO because U is later in the alphabet, but we must compare letters in order, not in isolation.


Final Answer:
The correct dictionary sequence is Nocking, Nonjury, Nozzle, Nuzzled, which corresponds to the code iv, iii, ii, i.


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