Why do we auscultate abdomen before palpation?

We do auscultation to hear peristalsis (bowel movement). If we do auscultation and the patient has ileus, we won’t hear the bowel movement; however, if we palpate first we may mobilize the liquid and the gas present in the intestine and they produce sound that it is heard as peristalsis leading to false diagnosis. That is why we go step by step as mentioned previously. (Observation, Auscultation, Percussion, Palpation)