#23 - Global, Could Be True-Except

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10929)

The correct answer choice is (D)

To answer this question correctly, proceed by the process of elimination: any answer choice suggesting a possible solution would be incorrect.

Answer choice (A) is incorrect, because a newsletter with a single F feature and no I or M features can still comply with the rules of the game. Each of the remaining two (or more) features would simply be T’s. Since an F or a T feature would also occupy slot 1, such a solution would not be in violation of the second rule.

Answer choice (B) is incorrect, because a newsletter with a single I feature and no F or M features does not violate any of the rules. As with answer choice (A), each of the remaining two (or more) features would simply be T’s. As long as a T feature occupies slot 1, the solution would comply with the second rule as well:

June15_game_4_#23_diagram_1.png

Answer choice (C) is incorrect for the same reason as answer choice (B) is incorrect. F and T are functionally identical variables, as there are no rules that apply to F but not T (or vice versa). So, if we can have a newsletter with only I and T features, we can also have one with only I and F features. This fact alone would be sufficient to eliminate both answer choices (B) and (C), as the correct answer choice must be logically unique.

Answer choice (D) is the correct answer choice. If there is exactly one M feature and no F or T features, then the maximum number of features in this newsletter would be two. This is because the newsletter can have at most one I feature in accordance with the third rule. Regardless of how these features are spread out, such a solution would violate the fundamental requirement of the scenario that there be at least three features in any issue of the newsletter.

Answer choice (E) is incorrect, because a newsletter with a single M feature and no I or T features can still comply with the rules of the game. Each of the remaining two (or more) features would need to be F’s. As long as one of the F features occupies slot 1, the solution would not be in violation of the second rule:

June15_game_4_#23_diagram_2.png

[NeenStudies]

Does 'Graphics' not count as a feature? It has to have three features: so, what if there is one industry feature that spreads one slot, and the marketing spreads across two slots, and the remaining being graphics?

[Jeremy Press]

Hi NeenStudies,

That's a great, and important, question. You can answer it from the language of the scenario: "Each feature can be one of four types—finance, industry, marketing, or technology." That means there are no other types of feature, and the graphic is something else. The graphic is a slot-filler, when a slot doesn't have a feature. Notice the next sentence in the scenario: "Any slot not containing a feature contains a graphic." That languages distinguishes a graphic from a feature (where there is no feature, there is a graphic). That language wouldn't make sense if we counted the graphic as a feature.

So the scenario you described is impossible, because according to the above language, it would only have two features (the one Industry and the one Marketing; even though Marketing takes up two slots, it's still just one single feature). Those remaining graphics don't help you get up to the 3 minimum features you need.

I hope this helps!

[NeenStudies]

Hey Jeremy

Thank you for clarifying. It was bugging me a lot but now I get it. That was really helpful!

[joliekwok8@gmail.com]

Hi,

I was a bit confused by the answer choices because they all seemed to be missing too many features? The stimulus says "The policy of the newsletter requires that there are at least three features per issue, with each feature completely occupying one or more of the slots. "

For example, answer choice A says "There is exactly one finance feature and no industry or marketing feature." which means the only other feature can be technology. Since the graphic is a feature, I am confused as to how this is still possible. I was confused in the same way for all of the other choices.

Thank you!

[Adam Tyson]

A graphic is not a feature, but you can have more than one feature of the same type. The solution in this case would be to have at least two technology features. They didn't say you need three types of features, just that you need three features! So for example, here's a workable solution to the game with that answer choice:

FGTGT

or

FTTTG

or

FTGTT

and there could be others.