Civil Service Clerical Ability Practice exam

To determine the correct order when alphabetizing these words, you focus on the first letter of each word and proceed to subsequent letters if needed.

Starting with the first letter:

- microphone (m)

- neutral (n)

- lithograph (l)

- neutron (n)

The first letters 'l', 'm', and 'n' need to be compared. The letter 'l' comes before both 'm' and 'n', placing lithograph first.

Next, we compare the words beginning with 'm' and 'n'. The second word is microphone, which comes before neutral and neutron because 'm' precedes 'n'.

Now, looking at the words starting with 'n', we can examine the next letters:

- neutral (ue)

- neutron (eu)

When comparing 'e' in neutron to 'u' in neutral, 'e' comes before 'u'. Therefore, neutron comes before neutral.

Putting this all together based on the alphabetical order:

1. lithograph

2. microphone

3. neutron

4. neutral

Thus, the correct answer, which is fourth in alphabetical order, is neutral.