Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: seagulls
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question asks you to identify the correctly spelled word among four similar looking options. Spelling questions check your familiarity with everyday vocabulary as well as less frequent words. Here, three options contain typical spelling errors, while one matches standard English usage.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The best method is to think of familiar real world contexts where these words might appear: sports pages for marathon, nature writing for seagulls, taste descriptions for pungency, and medical or physical exams for palpated. When you recall these contexts, the correct spelling usually comes to mind. Then you compare the options with that internal reference.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Verification / Alternative check:
Think of example sentences: Seagulls circled above the fishing boats. You will find this spelling in dictionaries and nature articles. In contrast, you will always see the race spelled as marathon, the noun pungency for a strong taste or smell, and palpated as the past tense when a doctor examines a patient by touch. None of these standard spellings use the forms found in the other options here.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Marothon is wrong because the vowel o is incorrect; the event is marathon.
Pungancy is wrong because the suffix is ency in pungency, not ancy.
Palpatted is wrong because it doubles the t incorrectly; the regular past form is palpated.
Common Pitfalls:
Spelling traps often play on confusion about vowels and doubled consonants. To avoid them, pay attention to how words look in print. Another pitfall is to overcomplicate by distrusting even simple correct words like seagulls. When one option is clearly familiar and the others contain obvious distortions, it is usually safe to choose the familiar one.
Final Answer:
The correctly spelled word is seagulls.
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