Civil Service Exam (Subprofessional) Clerical Ability Reviewer

File word by word, and "nothing comes before something": "Meg" (C) is shorter than "Mega", so it comes first; "Mega" (B) comes before any longer word that starts with Mega. Then Megaton (E), Megawatt (D) and Megaworld (A): t comes before w, and "Megawa" comes before "Megawo". Order: C, B, E, D, A.

Surnames first: Conception, Conception, Consolacion, Consuelo, Cosolasion ("Conc" < "Cons"; "Conso" < "Consu"; "Con" < "Cos"). The two Conceptions are then ordered by first name: Nelia (C) before Norma (A). Order: C, A, B, D, E.

All start with "Tro". "Troj" comes before "Tron", so the two Trojan names are first, and "Trojan Securities" comes before "Trojan Security" ("Securiti" < "Security"). Among the "Tron" names the fifth letter decides: Troncales (c), Tronixmaster (i), Trono (o). Order: D, B, C, E, A.

After "Ultra": Ultranoblia (n) comes before every "Ultras…" name. Then Ultrasafety before Ultrasales (f before l), and Ultrasecurity before Ultraseer (c before e). Order: A, B, D, C, E.

After "Info": Infoman and Infomax share "Infoma", and n comes before x, so Infoman (A) then Infomax (D). Infonxx (C) comes next (n after m). Informate (B) and Informed (E) share "Inform", and a comes before e. Order: A, D, C, B, E.

"Hope" comes before "Hopp" (e before p), so Hoppewell (E) is last. "Hopewell" comes before the longer "Hopewelle" and "Hopewelles" (nothing comes before something), and the two Hopewell names are ordered by the next word: Energy (D) before Industries (B). Then Hopewelle (A), then Hopewelles (C). Order: D, B, A, C, E.

Mercantile (C) and Mercator (D) come first ("Merca"), with n before t. "Merced" (B and A) comes before the longer "Mercedes" (E), and the two Merced names are ordered by the next word: Bakeshop before Motors. Order: C, D, B, A, E.

Xclusive (C) comes first because c comes before e. The "Xe" names are ordered by the next letters: Xellex (l), Xentrix (n), Xeongrafx (o), Xess (s). Order: C, B, A, D, E.

To alphabetize by last name, compare letters sequentially: Valdes (E) comes first as 's' follows 'dev' and 'devi'. Next is Valdevieso (A, D) where both share 'Valdevieso' but differ by first name (Sandra vs. Sonia—'Sa' precedes 'So'). Then Valdeviezo (C) with 'zo' instead of 'so'. Finally Valdez (B) comes last as 'ez' follows 'evi'. The correct order is E-A-D-C-B.

Jaffa (a) comes first and Jordan (o) last. The three "Je" words: Jericho and Jerusalem share "Jer" and i comes before u, so Jericho then Jerusalem; Jesus (s) follows. Order: Jaffa, Jericho, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jordan — d, c, b, a, e.

To alphabetize, compare the first letters of each word: Capitoline (C), Esquiline (E), Caelian (C), and Palatine (P). Since Capitoline and Caelian both start with C, compare their second letters: Capitoline has 'a' and Caelian has 'a', so compare the third letters where Capitoline has 'p' and Caelian has 'e'. This gives the order: Caelian (C), Capitoline (C), Esquiline (E), Palatine (P), or C-A-B-D.

To alphabetize these Renaissance artists by last name, arrange them as: Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo, Perugino. This corresponds to the order B, C, A, D, making the answer bcad.