Question:

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Read the sentences and decide on the correct order for the paragraph.

1. The operation is what has to be done to one proposition in order to make other out of it.

2. Structure of proposition stands in internal relations to one another.

3. In order to give prominence to these internal relations we can adopt the following mode of expression: we can represent a proposition as the result of an operation that produces it out of other propositions (which are bases of the operation).

4. An operation is the expression of a relation between the structures of its result and of its bases.

Which of the following is the correct order?

Show Hint

Look for the statement that gives a general, standalone definition of operation, since a definition sentence usually needs to open the paragraph before the term gets used with 'the' or 'an' elsewhere.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • 1-2-3-4
  • 2-3-4-1
  • 4-3-1-2
  • 2-1-3-4
Show Solution
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Find the phrase in statement 3 that points back to an earlier statement.
Statement 3 opens with 'In order to give prominence to these internal relations...' The words 'these internal relations' only make sense if some earlier statement has already named internal relations. Statement 2 does exactly this: 'Structure of proposition stands in internal relations to one another.' So statement 2 must come immediately before statement 3, giving the fixed pair 2-3.

Step 2: Eliminate any option that breaks this 2-3 pair.
Option A (1-2-3-4) actually does keep 2 and 3 together as the second and third terms, so it is not eliminated by this check alone; keep it in mind and check further. Option C (4-3-1-2) does not have 2 immediately before 3, since 3 is preceded by 4 here, so option C is ruled out at this step. Option D (2-1-3-4) places 1 between 2 and 3, breaking the required pair, so option D is also ruled out.

Step 3: Check where statement 4, the idea of operation, should sit.
Statement 4 says, 'An operation is the expression of a relation between the structures of its result and of its bases.' This is the sentence that first properly introduces and defines the term operation in a general sense. Since statements 1 and 3 both use the word operation in a way that assumes the reader already knows what it means (statement 1 talks about 'the operation,' with the definite article, and statement 3 says 'an operation that produces it,' treating the concept as already available), statement 4 should logically come before both 1 and 3, introducing the concept first. This means statement 4 should be the opening statement of the paragraph, which immediately makes option A (1-2-3-4) and option B (2-3-4-1) both look wrong, since neither starts with 4.

Step 4: Assemble the full order starting from 4.
Starting with statement 4, defining operation in general terms, the paragraph then needs to connect to propositions. Statement 3 talks about representing a proposition as the result of an operation, which links directly back to the general definition given in statement 4. So 4 is followed by 3, giving 4-3. Looking at what follows 3, statement 1 explains that the operation is what has to be done to one proposition to make another out of it, which unpacks the mechanism just described in statement 3, so 3 is followed by 1. Finally, statement 2 wraps up by stating the general principle that the structure of a proposition stands in internal relations to others, tying back to why representing propositions via operations in statement 3 made sense in the first place. This gives the full order 4-3-1-2.

Step 5: Confirm this is one of the given choices.
Option C reads exactly 4-3-1-2, matching the order built in Step 4.

Step 6: Why the other options fail.
Option A (1-2-3-4) opens with statement 1, which uses 'the operation' with a definite article, assuming operation has already been defined, so it cannot be the very first sentence. Option B (2-3-4-1) puts statement 4 in the third position, after already discussing internal relations and prominence in 2 and 3, but statement 4 reads as a foundational definition, which fits better as an opener than as a mid-paragraph addition. Option D (2-1-3-4) breaks the mandatory 2-3 pair identified in Step 1 by inserting statement 1 between them.

Final Answer:
The coherent order is 4-3-1-2. \[ \boxed{\text{Option C: } 4\text{-}3\text{-}1\text{-}2} \]
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