Number in Alphabetical Order

Logic Level pending

What is the only number which has its letters in alphabetical order when written in English? Give your answer as a number; e.g. "8", not "eight".

By alphabetical order, it means that if the number has the letters A and B, then A precedes B.

Alphabetical order means the letters are arranged so that each letter comes before the next in the alphabet.

The answer is 40.

5 solutions

Michael Mendrin
Jan 5, 2016

ONE is another number that's written in alphabetical order---the other way. This question doesn't specify which way it has to go.

Edit: That's right, Henny, I guessed "one" first, and then tried "forty".

You would make an excellent lawyer.

Pi Han Goh - 5 years, 5 months ago

Fixed. Though technically alphabetical order does not refer to reverse alphabetical order. Otherwise, I've just gotten hundreds of homework problems from my primary school wrong. :P

Sharky Kesa - 5 years, 5 months ago

Yes I got that point as well. I answered "forty" as my second attempt. My first attempt was "one", because I thought just like you.

Henny Lim - 5 years, 5 months ago

Anish Harsha
Jan 5, 2016

First, we must check that if there are any possibilities in numbers between 1- 20. But, there aren't any numbers written in alphabetical order. After that number, there aren't any possibilities because it starts with the first two letters of 1-10 except 40. Hundred, Thousand, Million, Billion, Trillion, etc doesn't follow any alphabetical order, so the number s following couldn't be in alphabetic order. Thus the only possibility is :

$\huge \text{F O R T Y}$

F is the 6th letter.
O is the 15th letter.
R is the 18th letter.
T is the 20th letter.
Y is the 25th letter.

Ha I guess I need to work on spelling. I forgot forty doesn't have a u

Mike Durkin - 5 years, 5 months ago

How do you know that this is the only number?

Pi Han Goh - 5 years, 5 months ago

First, we must check that if there are any possibilities in numbers between 1 - 20. But, there aren't any numbers written in alphabetical order. After that number, there aren't any possibilities because it starts with the first two letters of 1-10 except 40. Hundred, thousand, million, billion, trillion, etc doesn't follow alphabetic order , so the numbers following couldn't be in alphabetic order. So, it could only be 40.

Anish Harsha - 5 years, 5 months ago

Great! You should write that down in your solution!!

Pi Han Goh - 5 years, 5 months ago

@Pi Han Goh – I've added it .

Anish Harsha - 5 years, 5 months ago

But only in the US can you spell it without the "u". How was someone out of America supposed to answer this...

Mateo Klopp - 5 years, 5 months ago

We spell forty without the u here in Britain too. (At least I thought we did)

Daniel Ellesar - 5 years, 5 months ago

Which country spells 40 with a "u"? I thought "forty" is the only spelling for it. Unless you were thinking of words like "favor" or "color" ...

Reginald Micu - 5 years, 5 months ago

The true spelling indeed is forty, universally.

Sharky Kesa - 5 years, 5 months ago

Finn C
Jun 8, 2016

I kind of cheated... googled it

Rian Nelson
Jan 11, 2016

As one throughout twenty will not have its letters listed in alphabetical order, all numbers after twenty will include the numbers from one to ten, with the exception of multiples of ten, up to a hundred. Hence, as ThirTy is not accepted due to the letter T repeating twice, the next number, forty (in American English spelling) works as a solution.

Brill Aritonang
Jan 10, 2016

Logically, you'd want a number that starts early in the alphabet. One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, nor Ten meet that requirement.

So then I scouted out in multiples of tens Ten Twenty Thirty Forty

So yeah. I thought forty was the right one and it was

Number in Alphabetical Order

The answer is 40.

5 solutions

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