From the given alternatives, and according to standard dictionary ordering, which of the following words will come at the last position among these five: 1. Toast 2. Torpedo 3. Tounge 4. Trickle 5. Trick?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Trickle

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
In this question, you are given five English words beginning with T and asked to determine which one would appear last if they were arranged in standard dictionary order. This is a slight variation on the usual ordering questions because instead of the full sequence, only the last word is required. It still tests the same understanding of alphabetical comparison and dictionary logic.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Words: 1. Toast, 2. Torpedo, 3. Tounge, 4. Trickle, 5. Trick.
  • We treat all words as they are spelled in the question statement.
  • Standard English dictionary ordering is assumed; we compare letters from left to right.


Concept / Approach:
When ordering these words, we compare them alphabetically character by character. First, we notice that some begin with To while others begin with Tr. Words beginning with Tr will come after all words beginning with To because the letter 'r' comes after 'o' in the alphabet. After separating into groups To and Tr, we then compare within each group to determine which word is furthest to the end of the dictionary list.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Group the words based on the first two letters: To... group (Toast, Torpedo, Tounge) and Tr... group (Trickle, Trick). Step 2: Since 'r' comes after 'o' in the alphabet, all Tr words come after all To words. Therefore the last word overall must be either Trickle or Trick. Step 3: Now compare Trick and Trickle. Both start with T, R, I, C, K. Step 4: After the shared sequence 'trick', the word Trick ends, while Trickle continues with 'le'. When one word is an exact prefix of another, the shorter word comes earlier in dictionary order. Step 5: Thus Trick appears before Trickle because it ends earlier. That means Trickle comes later and will be last among the given words.


Verification / Alternative check:
As a quick verification, imagine listing the words as they would appear: Toast, Torpedo, Tounge, Trick, Trickle. All To words are grouped together first, then Tr words. Among the Tr words, since Trick is shorter but shares the entire initial sequence with Trickle, it naturally appears first, followed by Trickle. Because no other word can come after Tr in the alphabetical sense here, Trickle must be last overall.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Toast, Torpedo and Tounge all start with 'To' and therefore must come before any word starting with 'Tr'. Hence none of them can be last. Trick starts with 'Tri' and is a direct prefix of Trickle, so by dictionary rules it must come before Trickle. Therefore Trick is not the last word either. Only Trickle satisfies the condition of coming last after all the others in dictionary order.


Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to assume that the longest word automatically comes last, or to compare only the first letter and ignore subsequent letters. Another pitfall is misinterpreting the prefix rule and thinking that the longer continuation should come first. Remember that in dictionaries, a shorter word that is a complete prefix of a longer word comes first, not last. Being clear about this rule helps avoid confusion in many similar questions.


Final Answer:
Among the given words, the one that will appear last in dictionary order is Trickle, so Trickle is the correct answer.

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