Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: DISMISS
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This verbal reasoning question asks you to determine which word cannot be formed using the letters of the base word ADMISSION. Problems of this type require careful counting of letters and attention to how many times each letter appears. The aim is to identify the single option that either uses a missing letter or requires a letter more times than it is available in the original word.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The method is to list the base word letters with their counts and then test each option. For each option, you verify whether every letter exists in the base word and whether the required frequency does not exceed the available frequency. If even one letter fails this check, that option cannot be formed. Exactly one such option is intended to be the correct answer in a well designed reasoning problem.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Record the frequencies of the letters in ADMISSION: A(1), D(1), M(1), I(2), S(2), O(1), N(1).Step 2: Check MISSION: letters M, I, S, S, I, O, N. The counts required are M(1), I(2), S(2), O(1), N(1), which exactly match or are within the available counts. So MISSION can be formed.Step 3: Check DISMISS: letters D, I, S, M, I, S, S. Required counts are D(1), I(2), M(1), S(3). The base word has only S(2), so there are not enough S letters. Thus DISMISS cannot be formed.Step 4: Check MASONS: letters M, A, S, O, N, S. Required counts M(1), A(1), S(2), O(1), N(1) all fit within available frequencies. So MASONS can be formed.Step 5: Check NOMADS: letters N, O, M, A, D, S. All these letters exist with sufficient counts in ADMISSION. Hence NOMADS can be formed.
Verification / Alternative check:
A quicker verification approach is to scan each option for obviously problematic letters. In DISMISS, you see three S letters, while ADMISSION visibly has only two S letters. This immediately flags DISMISS as invalid. For the other options, it is easy to see that each them uses S at most twice and introduces no new letters outside the set from ADMISSION. This visual and frequency based cross check confirms that DISMISS alone cannot be formed.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
MISSION is not the correct answer because all its letters, including M, I, S, O, and N, appear in ADMISSION in adequate numbers.MASONS is not the correct answer because it uses each of its letters within the frequency limits of the base word.NOMADS is not the correct answer because every letter it uses is present in ADMISSION and none is overused.
Common Pitfalls:
The most frequent error in such questions is failing to track repeated letters. Students may count a letter only once and overlook that an option uses the same letter three or more times. Another pitfall is scanning too quickly and missing a letter like D or N that might be missing or limited. To avoid these issues, always write down the frequency of each letter and then check options systematically, especially focusing on letters that recur multiple times in an option word.
Final Answer:
The word that cannot be formed using the letters of ADMISSION is DISMISS.
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