Alphabetical Order - First and Last - Topic: Astronomy ... - Free Printable

Let's solve this step by step. The task is to:

1. Circle the word that comes first in alphabetical order
2. Draw an X through the word that comes last in alphabetical order

We’ll go through each row, sort the words alphabetically, and identify the first and last.

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1) gravity, space, orbit, star, crater

Sorted: crater, gravity, orbit, space, star
- First: crater → ✔ Circle it
- Last: star → ✘ Draw X

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2) Neptune, Saturn, astronaut, Jupiter, asteroid

Sorted: astronaut, asteroid, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn
- First: astronaut → ✔ Circle it
- Last: Saturn → ✘ Draw X

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3) comet, mass, light, Moon, cosmic

Sorted: cosmic, comet, light, mass, Moon
- First: cosmic → ✔ Circle it
- Last: Moon → ✘ Draw X

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4) spectrum, nebula, planet, force, Pluto

Sorted: force, nebula, planet, Pluto, spectrum
- First: force → ✔ Circle it
- Last: spectrum → ✘ Draw X

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5) photon, galaxy, radiation, vacuum, universe

Sorted: galaxy, photon, radiation, universe, vacuum
- First: galaxy → ✔ Circle it
- Last: vacuum → ✘ Draw X

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6) Earth, rocket, supernova, equator, Sun

Sorted: Earth, equator, rocket, Sun, supernova
- First: Earth → ✔ Circle it
- Last: supernova → ✘ Draw X

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7) stellar, physics, energy, fusion, eclipse

Sorted: eclipse, energy, fusion, physics, stellar
- First: eclipse → ✔ Circle it
- Last: stellar → ✘ Draw X

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8) solar, satellite, meteor, telescope, meteorite

Sorted: meteor, meteorite, satellite, solar, telescope
- First: meteor → ✔ Circle it
- Last: telescope → ✘ Draw X

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9) velocity, x-ray, Venus, zenith, wave

Sorted: Venus, velocity, wave, x-ray, zenith
Note: "x-ray" starts with 'x', which comes after 'w' and 'z'? Wait — actually, x comes before z, so let's check:

Alphabetical order:
- Venus (V)
- velocity (v)
- wave (w)
- x-ray (x)
- zenith (z)

So: Venus, velocity, wave, x-ray, zenith
But wait — Venus and velocity both start with 'v'. Compare second letters:
- Venus → e
- velocity → e → same
- Third letter: n vs l → n > l → So velocity comes before Venus

Wait! Let’s be careful.

Actually:
- velocity = v-e-l-o-c-i-t-y
- Venus = V-e-n-u-s

Compare:
- v vs v → same
- e vs e → same
- l vs n → l < n → so velocity comes before Venus

So correct order:
- velocity
- Venus
- wave
- x-ray
- zenith

Therefore:
- First: velocity → ✔ Circle it
- Last: zenith → ✘ Draw X

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10) Orion, matter, NASA, Mercury, magnetic

Sorted: Mercury, magnetic, matter, NASA, Orion

Now compare:
- Mercury → M
- magnetic → m
- matter → m
- NASA → N
- Orion → O

So:
- M comes before N and O
- Among M words: magnetic, matter, Mercury

Now compare:
- magnetic → m-a-g...
- matter → m-a-t...
- Mercury → M-e-r...

M vs m: uppercase M and lowercase m — in sorting, they are treated as equal (usually case-insensitive), but here we must consider how they're written.

In standard alphabetical sorting, uppercase and lowercase are treated as equal, so we compare based on letters.

So:
- Mercury → M-e-r-c-u-r-y
- magnetic → m-a-g-n-e-t-i-c
- matter → m-a-t-t-e-r

Compare first letters: all 'm/M' → same

Second letter:
- Mercury: e
- magnetic: a
- matter: a

So 'a' comes before 'e' → so magnetic and matter come before Mercury

Now between magnetic and matter:
- m-a-g vs m-a-t → third letter: g vs t → g < t → magnetic comes first

Then matter, then Mercury, then NASA, then Orion

So full order:
1. magnetic
2. matter
3. Mercury
4. NASA
5. Orion

So:
- First: magnetic → ✔ Circle it
- Last: Orion → ✘ Draw X

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Final Answers:

1) Circle: crater, X: star
2) Circle: astronaut, X: Saturn
3) Circle: cosmic, X: Moon
4) Circle: force, X: spectrum
5) Circle: galaxy, X: vacuum
6) Circle: Earth, X: supernova
7) Circle: eclipse, X: stellar
8) Circle: meteor, X: telescope
9) Circle: velocity, X: zenith
10) Circle: magnetic, X: Orion

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✔ Summary of Circled Words (First Alphabetically):
1. crater
2. astronaut
3. cosmic
4. force
5. galaxy
6. Earth
7. eclipse
8. meteor
9. velocity
10. magnetic

✘ Words with X (Last Alphabetically):
1. star
2. Saturn
3. Moon
4. spectrum
5. vacuum
6. supernova
7. stellar
8. telescope
9. zenith
10. Orion

You can now mark the worksheet accordingly.