Consider the word RECREATIONAL. If you take the first, seventh, ninth and tenth letters of this word and try to form a meaningful English word using each of those four letters exactly once, what will be the third letter of such a word? (If more than one meaningful word can be formed, answer X. If no meaningful word can be formed, answer Z.)

Introduction / Context:
This question checks verbal reasoning and attention to letter positions in a word. We must carefully pick specific letters from the given word RECREATIONAL based on their positions, then determine whether they can form a meaningful English word. If a valid word exists, we have to identify the third letter of that word. The question also allows for the possibilities of multiple words or no word at all, represented by special choices X and Z respectively.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The word is RECREATIONAL.
• We need letters at positions 1, 7, 9 and 10.
• We must use each selected letter exactly once.
• If a meaningful word exists, we report its third letter.
• If more than one meaningful word exists, we answer X.
• If no meaningful word exists, we answer Z.

Concept / Approach:
The first step is positional: identify which letters occur at the specified positions of the word. The second step is to attempt to form meaningful English words from these four letters. By examining common patterns and trying different orders, we can see whether a real word is possible. We then decide if there is a unique meaningful word or multiple possibilities. Finally, we read off the third letter of the word we have identified.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the letters of RECREATIONAL with their positions. R(1), E(2), C(3), R(4), E(5), A(6), T(7), I(8), O(9), N(10), A(11), L(12). Step 2: Extract the required letters. Position 1: R. Position 7: T. Position 9: O. Position 10: N. So, the letters are R, T, O and N. Step 3: Try to form a meaningful word using these four letters exactly once. One obvious word is TORN, which is a valid English word. Check other orders: RNOT, TRON, NORT and so on do not form standard English words. TORN appears to be the only common meaningful word. Step 4: Identify the third letter of TORN. The word TORN has letters T (1st), O (2nd), R (3rd), N (4th). Therefore, the third letter is R.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can systematically list all permutations of the letters R, T, O and N and check which, if any, are standard words: TORN is valid, while forms like TORN, NORT, RTON and others do not appear as normal dictionary words. Because we find only TORN as a familiar English word, we can safely assume there is a unique meaningful word. Therefore, we do not need to choose X or Z.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option T or N would be correct only if the third letter of the meaningful word was T or N, which it is not. Option X would apply if more than one meaningful word could be made from the letters, but only TORN is standard. Option Z would apply if there were no meaningful word, which is not the case here. The only correct third letter is R, so option R is correct.

Common Pitfalls:
Some students misread letter positions and pick the wrong characters from the word RECREATIONAL. Others might overlook TORN as a word or mistakenly consider non standard abbreviations as valid words, leading them to choose X. Carefully listing positions, extracting the correct letters and thinking of common four letter words is the key to solving this reliably.

Final Answer:
The meaningful word formed is TORN, whose third letter is R.