Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: ROYALTY
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Again, this is a word-formation problem based on letter availability and frequency. The base word here is PERSONALITY, and you must identify which one of the options cannot be formed from its letters. This type of verbal reasoning question is designed to test careful counting and attention to repeated letters rather than vocabulary alone.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Base word: PERSONALITY.
- Letters: P, E, R, S, O, N, A, L, I, T, Y.
- Each letter can be used at most once, because it appears at most once in PERSONALITY.
- Option words: REALITY, REASON, PERSON, ROYALTY.
Concept / Approach:
The strategy is to list the letters of PERSONALITY and note that each is available only once. Then, for each option, break it into letters and check whether any letter either does not appear in PERSONALITY at all or is required more times than it appears. If either happens, that word cannot be formed. You must find the single option that fails this test.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: List letters of PERSONALITY with counts.
P(1), E(1), R(1), S(1), O(1), N(1), A(1), L(1), I(1), T(1), Y(1).
Step 2: Check REALITY: R, E, A, L, I, T, Y.
Each letter occurs once in REALITY and also occurs at least once in PERSONALITY. Counts are within limits, so REALITY can be formed.
Step 3: Check REASON: R, E, A, S, O, N.
All these letters are present in PERSONALITY exactly once each. So REASON can be formed.
Step 4: Check PERSON: P, E, R, S, O, N.
Again, each letter occurs once in both the option and the base word, so PERSON can be formed.
Step 5: Check ROYALTY: R, O, Y, A, L, T, Y.
Here, the letter Y appears twice (at the third and last positions), but PERSONALITY has only one Y. Therefore, you do not have enough Ys to form ROYALTY.
Verification / Alternative check:
Summarise quickly: every letter of REALITY, REASON and PERSON appears in PERSONALITY and none of them requires a duplicate letter that is missing. ROYALTY, however, needs two Ys, while PERSONALITY provides only one. Since frequency limits are violated here, ROYALTY alone cannot be formed from PERSONALITY.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- REALITY uses R, E, A, L, I, T, Y, all available exactly once in PERSONALITY.
- REASON uses R, E, A, S, O, N, again all present and not repeated beyond what is available.
- PERSON uses P, E, R, S, O, N, which also matches the available letters exactly.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often forget to check repeated letters within the option word. ROYALTY looks plausible at a glance because all its letters appear somewhere in PERSONALITY, but the duplication of Y is the crucial detail. To avoid such mistakes, always count each letter carefully and compare required counts with what the base word actually offers.
Final Answer:
The word that cannot be formed from PERSONALITY is ROYALTY because it requires Y twice while the base word has only one Y.
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