Arrange the given words in the sequence in which they would appear in a standard English dictionary: 1. Dragon 2. Draculla 3. Dormont 4. Drapery 5. Deviate.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: 53214

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This is a dictionary order question involving five words that begin with the same letter D but differ in subsequent letters. The goal is to determine the sequence in which these words would appear on a dictionary page and then match that sequence to one of the given numeric patterns. This type of question checks a candidate's ability to perform lexicographic comparison, which is a common topic in verbal reasoning sections of competitive exams.


Given Data / Assumptions:
- The given words are: 1. Dragon, 2. Draculla, 3. Dormont, 4. Drapery, 5. Deviate.
- We assume normal English dictionary ordering, comparing letters from left to right.
- All words are distinct and correctly spelled for the purpose of this exercise, even if some may look unusual.
- We ignore capitalization and focus purely on letter sequence.


Concept / Approach:
Dictionary order, or lexicographic order, compares words letter by letter from the beginning. First, we compare first letters; if they match, we move to second letters, and so on. When one word ends and the other continues with extra letters, the shorter word comes first, provided all previous letters are the same. In this set, all words begin with D, so we must look at later positions to determine the final ordering.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Compare the second letters: Dragon (r), Draculla (r), Dormont (o), Drapery (r), Deviate (e). Step 2: Among second letters r, r, o, r, e, the earliest in the alphabet is e, so Deviate (5) comes first. Step 3: Next letter group starts with o, so Dormont (3) comes after Deviate because o comes after e but before r. Step 4: The remaining words start with Dr: Dragon (D r a...), Draculla (D r a...), Drapery (D r a...). Their first three letters are D, r, a which are equal. Step 5: Compare the fourth letters: Draculla has c, Dragon has g, Drapery has p. Since c < g < p, the order among these three is Draculla (2), Dragon (1), then Drapery (4). Step 6: Combine the results: Deviate (5) first, then Dormont (3), then Draculla (2), Dragon (1), and Drapery (4). Step 7: Convert this word order into the required numeric sequence: 5, 3, 2, 1, 4 which corresponds to 53214.


Verification / Alternative check:
To verify quickly, write down the words in your derived order as Deviate, Dormont, Draculla, Dragon, Drapery and scan through them like a dictionary page. Check that at every transition the later word has a letter that comes after the corresponding letter of the previous word. For example, Deviate (De...) precedes Dormont (Do...), Dormont (Do...) precedes all Dr... words, and within the Dr... group, Draculla (Drac...) precedes Dragon (Drag...) which precedes Drapery (Drap...). This confirms that 53214 is consistent.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B (53124) incorrectly compares Dormont and Draculla. Option C (53421) misplaces Dragon and Drapery relative to Draculla. Option D (53412) also does not maintain the correct internal order among the Dr words. Option E (52314) places Dormont after Dragon and Drapery, contradicting the De, Do, Dr sequence. Hence these patterns do not reflect true dictionary order.


Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often focus only on the first two or three letters and ignore later positions, which can be decisive. Mistakes also occur when two words share a long common prefix and the decision depends on a letter deep in the word. To avoid errors, always proceed systematically, comparing the next differing letter and keeping track of the ordering with small notes. Additionally, be careful when mapping the final word order back to the numeric pattern in the options, since a transcription error can invalidate a correct reasoning process.


Final Answer:
The correct dictionary order corresponds to the numeric sequence 53214, so option A is correct.

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