P32, Drill #1, 4, 6, 7, 8 - The Base

[Dave Killoran]

This morning I received the following question:

Dear David,

Trust you are well. I am preparing so hard for the Lsat, and I ran into some questions that are a bit confusing. If you check page "32 of Logic Games Bible 2016 Edition". The answer to No 1 question says" Because the days of the week have an inherent sense of order they should be chosen as the base."

"Base" simply means the lowest part or edge of something. The foundation, bottom, foot, support, etc.

Now, since you said that days of the week should be chosen as the base, does it mean we should write the answer from Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday and Monday? Because You wrote the answer starting From Monday which is not the base. I am so confused and worried about this.

Questions, 4,6, 7, and 8 are deeply confusing because you wrote: "Starting from the Base" which is contradictory to the what the questions portray. Can you explain more about what the Base means?

How come the answer to question 6 is not "12, 2, 4, 6, and 8. Why did it stop at 6?
When the end of the question says" which begins at noon and ends at 8: pm?"

Please, can you kindly break down the answers for me to enable me fully grasp them? I have been studying the questions for days, and I still do not understand your concepts.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks for the question! First, you are really early in the book, and so there's a LOT more to come on bases and diagramming. A base is simply the variable set you choose to build everything else on top of, meaning that in #1 days of the week rests on the bottom of your diagram, and everything else is built on top of it. The question stem states that: "A dancer must choose a single outfit to wear to rehearsal on each of five consecutive days—Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday" so the base is ordered as they state: "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday." I'm not sure why you mention that can't be the base, but in your answer you list the days in reverse order (Friday back to Monday). Are you thinking it should be in reverse order? You could, but since the days of the week chronologically travel forward (Tuesday follows Monday, Wednesday follows Tuesday, etc) I have put Monday on the left side. Actually, I have an idea: are you possibly a native speaker of a language that reads right to left (meaning this direction: , such as Arabic)? If so, that would explain this. English typically reads from left to right, so all text travels in this direct: . Thus, the base here starts at Monday, and then travels to the right.

In #4 the variables are again listed as state din the passage: "A student receives a lettered grade—A, B, C, and D" and so the base is A-B-C-D.

In #6, the festival ends at 8. This means that for a 2-hour film to be shown, the latest it can start is 6 (so it then ends at 8). A film starting at 8 would end at 10, well after the festival had concluded.

In #7, the variables are described as follows: "the five houses on one side of a street are numbered consecutively 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119" and so the base is then 111-113-115-117-119.

In #8, is vertical, but now the "base" shift to the side (as discussed in the book in multiple places). The variable set is described as: "The drawers are labeled in order from A through F, with drawer A at the top and drawer F at the bottom." Hence you see that exact alignment on the diagram.

I'm not sure if that clarifies things, but to be honest I'm not entirely following your question here. If it doesn't make sense, please let me know.

Thanks!

[paparazi]

Dear Dave,

What you wrote by stating. "Thanks for the question! First, you are really early in the book, and so there's a LOT more to come on bases and diagramming. A base is simply the variable set you choose to build everything else on top of, meaning that in #1 days of the week rests on the bottom of your diagram, and everything else; it on top of it."

Your above answer is clear and lucid. I guess I wrongly thought that because you wrote "base," it should start from the bottom instead of the top. It is more precise to me now.


Your other answers to the questions raised are all clearer to me now. Thanks once again. You are always helpful. I doff my hat for you.

I speak English, it is my official language, not Arabic. I do not understand nor know how to speak Arabic.

Paparazzi.

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Paparazzi,

Thanks for the reply! A few comments:

I guess I wrongly thought that because you wrote "base," it should start from the bottom instead of the top. It is more precise to me now.

This is where I get a bit confused, because aside from the one vertical setup (#8) in each case the base variable setup was on the bottom of the diagram.

I speak English, it is my official language, not Arabic. I do not understand nor know how to speak Arabic.

I wasn't saying you specifically spoke Arabic (I meant any language that goes from right to left, including Azeri, Hebrew, Persian, etc), but I mentioned the direction because you mentioned that, "does it mean we should write the answer from Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday and Monday?" and that reverse order suggested that you might be looking at it from right to left, not left to right. I'm glad to know that's not the case here.

Thanks!