Setup and Rule Diagrams

[Dave Killoran]

Setup and Rule Diagram Explanation

This is a Grouping: Defined-Moving, Balanced, Numerical Distribution game.

This game appears relatively simple at first glance, but the uncertainty in the first two rules increases the difficulty of the game.

The initial setup appears as follows:

PT61_O2010 LG Explanations_game_#1_setup_diagram 1.png

Note that H and J can ride in the same car as long as F is the driver.

[asaini]

This was the first game of the section and somehow my numerous attempts in creating an effective diagram have been futile.

The game seems straight forward, but gets complicated with Q. 3 and $. In particular I thought the distribution in this game could be 3-3, or 4-2.

Anyone has an effective diagram on this game? Also I was unable to make any extensive inferences after creating all the rules.

Help please!

[Adam Tyson]

I agree with your assessment of the numerical distributions - 3-3 or 4-2 unfixed. The rules are:

1. F(d)H or G(d)H (the d indicates driver in my diagram)
2. F(d)J or K(d)J
3. A GL block

Some inferences you might make include:

1. If GL are in a car alone, then F has to drive the car with 4 (so that the first two rules are satisfied)

2. If F doesn't drive, then G and K both drive, with GLH in one car and KJ in the other, F riding in either of those cars. Following up on that, if anyone other than F, G or K drives one of the cars, F has to drive the other one.

Applying this to q3, what must happen when L drives one of the cars? LG have to ride together per rule 3. Since G can't drive now, F has to drive the car with H in it, and since that means K can't drive a car, F's car also has to have J in it. The cars then look like this:

LG
FHJ

K can now ride in either car. No surprise, then, that the answer to this "could be true" question involves our one unknown worker, K (answer choice A)

q4 gets us into the scenario covered by the second inference above - F doesn't drive, so G and K have to drive, with GLH in one car and KJ in the other. If F is in a car with two others, he has to be with KJ, and K drives that car. Answer choice C identifies the other non-driver in that car.

Hope that helps!

Adam Tyson
PowerScore LSAT Instructor

[lusk2006]

I have no idea how to set this up. I did a PT with it, and got #s 1,3,and 4 wrong, and the others right,
But I never got a set up really established. HOW do you set this up?

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Lusk,

Thanks for the question. I know you weren't able to get a setup established, but can you tell me what you thought you were seeing? As in, game type, what setup moves you made (if any), inferences you made, etc.

Thanks!

[lusk2006]

Hi Dave, well, basically I went blank. I wasn't sure (at ALL) how to even begin the set up. I did all the rules/not laws like F/G --> H (F or G must drive the car that Hannah rides in). Then I did the distribution 4-2, 3-3 ...but then I didn't know what to do. I tried diagraming out all the different ways those distributions could work out (drivers, blocks, etc.) but I just got lost. I never did get a workable setup. I have no idea how I got ANY of the answers correct, although I did!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi,

I think templates do work in this game, but you may need to use the H/J rule to set them up. Here's how I would think about it: H and J will either ride in two separate cars, or they will ride together. Exactly which cars they end up in does not matter, since there are no rules that pertain to, say, Car 1 but not Car 2 (or vice versa). The two cars are just two separate groups to which the rules apply all the same.

The H/J rule gives us three avenues (and 4 templates) in which to set up the game:

1. H and J ride in two separate cars. If one of them has F as the driver, you will know who the driver of the other car is. This gives us the following 2 templates:

Template 1
Car 1: H, F (driver)
Car 2: J, K (driver)
The GL block can go in either car.

Template 2
Car 1: J, F (driver)
Car 2: H, G (driver), L
K can go in either car

2. H and J ride in two separate cars, but F is not a driver in either car.

Template 3
Car 1: H, G (driver), L
Car 2: J, K (driver)
F can go in either car

3. H and J drive in the same car. The only driver who can drive that car would be F.

Template 4
Car 1: H, J, F (driver)
Car 2: G, L (anyone can be a driver)
K can go in either car, and can also be the driver if it's in car 2.

I'm sure there are other ways of approaching this game, but if you can identify a factor (or a combination of factors) limiting the potential solutions of a game to a manageable number, it may be worth pursuing a templates approach.

[netherlands]

Hi there Powerscore,

This was a game that seemed simpler than most - but for some reason it just didn't click with me.

I think again my confusion was over whether this was a game where we could create early hypotheticals or not - and if so, based off which rule. That H requires either F or G to be the driver and J requires F or K to be the driver seem to carry the same amount of weight in the game.

I've watched an online video that made the decision to create strong sub-diagrams based off the H requiring F and G rule, with one diagram where F and H are placed together and one where G and H are placed together. I could only assume that this one was chose because linked with the GL rule, combined it gives us more to work with in the setups.

Just wondering how I should have approached this one. I completely stalled and froze up on this one for some reason. I'd appreciate your help!

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Netherlands,

Thanks for the question. This game looks easy on the surface, and the topic is so easy to understand that it feels like it should be simple. But, there are a lot of moving parts: the group size shifts via a Numerical Distribution, and the assignment of a driver within the group complicates matters. So, it ends up being a bit more difficult than most people expect.

For me, the "correct" approach here is somewhat of a judgment call. You can either diagram the rules and jump in, or take the time to write out the six major templates. If there were more than 5 questions, I'd say go the template route for sure. But, I felt like the three blocks were so powerful that I didn't need to make templates for a game with only 5 questions.

That said, there is a clear basis for templates in this game, and sometimes the mere viability of that approach draws people into making them. The first rule creates four basic templates (FH in car 1 and then car 2, GH in car and then car 2), and the second rule then splits two of those templates (the FH ones), resulting in six templates. Throw in the GL rule and while you can't place every single variable, you can place a fair number of them throughout the six templates.

One strike against the templates is how easily the blocks solve some of the questions, like #3 and #4. Regardless, in the final analysis, you have to take the approach that you feel best matches your abilities. Some people really like the defined aspect of seeing all the options written out (and there are some games where that approach is a requirement). However, the power and simplicity of the three rules can also be used by other test takers to save time during the setup and to then simply go attack the questions with a fair degree of confidence that they can mentally "see" the connections pretty well. It just depends on what kind of LG person you are.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[anahi78]

I am not understanding how to set up the templates. I was looking at the powerscore explanation but it was very brief. Why can't either H or J be drivers? Could you also explain how to set up the templates. If for instance F is the driver, then the passengers can be H and J and then the other car could be anybody except HJ and F? Sorry totally confused on this one.

Thanks,

Anahi