#23 - Local, Must Be True

[Dave Killoran]

Complete Question Explanation
(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=15139)

The correct answer choice is (E)

The additional conditions in the question stem establish the exact placement of all of the variables:

J92_Game_#4_#23_diagram 4.png

Consequently, answer choice (E) is correct.

[alberto]

Good afternoon its Alberto.
Please futher explain so I am absolutely clear: the way its worded was sort of daunting,like: if tidetown is ranked first in location and riverdale is ranked second in friendliness then it is possible to deduce with certainty all three rankings for exactly how many of the towns? How did answer E. Five was arrived at? Is this like a maximium or minimium question and where can I find more questions similar to this one so I can practice and know what to do encase I encounter such in the future? Thanks. (This is from Prep Test 5 logic game June 1992).

[Adam Tyson]

Hey Alberto, I'm happy to help here. First, the question is asking about "how many" of something, so we know the answer will be a number. In this case, how many of the five towns can we be sure where they ranked in all three categories? Is there just one that has been completely determined, or two, or more? There are five towns, so the answer is somewhere from zero (none of the towns) to five (all of the towns).

As our diagram at the top of this thread shows, when we know that T is first in Location and R is second in Friendliness, we can actually determine the complete solution to the game. Every ranking for every variable is completely fixed in place! That means we know all three rankings for all five variables, and that's why the answer is five.

Do we know all of P's rankings? Yes. That's one.

Do we know all of Qs rankings? Yes. That makes two. And so on.

Try drawing this one out yourself - put T first in L, and put R second in F, and apply all of the remaining rules. You should get the same result shown in this thread, where every single variable is placed in all three rows with absolute certainly, no room for variation. All five towns are completely determined in every row. That's your answer!