#21 - Global, Could Be True

[Dave Killoran]

Complete Question Explanation
(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=11733)

The correct answer choice is (A)

Answer choice (A) can be proven correct by the following hypothetical:

J91_Game_#4_#21_diagram 1.png

This hypothetical shows that it could be true that no January ticket is green. Therefore, (A) is correct.

[Chrismen30]

This is from Powerscore's lesson 4 hw: page 4-33.

I will use past/present verb language to indicate what I knew whilst attacking the game, and what I currently know of the game.

I was doing great until I hit a wall with this question. The question states "Which one of the following statements could be true?" I knew/know why (A) was/is correct, but what threw me off was answer choice (B): No February ticket is green. I knew/know that answer choice (B) Must Be True, and the question was asking "what could be true" and that (A) Could Be True. But I hesitated and selected neither because I felt if (B) was/is True, and (A) was/is True, then it could be neither because there cannot be two answers in a game. So I ended up selecting (C) out of frustration and confusion from (A) and (B), to realize that If (C) is true that would violate rule 2 of the game. So is my reasoning of the answer choices correct? And that I should have choose (A) because it answers the question, and not (B) because its a Must be True answer and not a Could Be True answer, which case should have been an indication for elimination?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi,

Thanks for your question. When attacking "Could Be True" questions, you need to ensure that the four incorrect answer choices must be false, i.e. they CANNOT be true. In Question 21, answer choice (B) cannot be true. Since no February tickets are purple, the three February tickets must be red, green, and yellow. Thus, it is impossible that "no February ticket is green."

The best approach to Global, Could Be True questions is the process of elimination: it's easier to spot what cannot be true than to spot what could be true.

Hope this helps!

[KhaliaCWilliams]

So to attack this question, would the best way be through hypotheticals?

I had a hard time coming to a conclusion on this.I see why E, C, and B are incorrect but why is the answer A and not D?

Also how do you decide which questions absolutely need hypotheticals?

Thanks

[Jeremy Press]

Hi Khalia,

The ideal approach to most Global, Could Be True questions is the process of elimination approach that Nikki described above. Always give each of the 5 answer choices a quick read, comparing the scenario they describe to your global diagram, to see if the answer sticks out to you as something that obviously cannot be true. Eliminate any answer choices that can be eliminated using this quick-scan method. Whatever you have left after going through the quick-scan process will require hypothetical diagrams to either choose as correct or eliminate as incorrect.

With answer choice D, the scenario described cannot be true because the global rules require one of the sets of January tickets to be Red, as well as the line 2 set of January tickets to be Purple. That means two of the three January colors have to be Red and Purple, leaving only one other color option for January. So, you cannot have both Green and Yellow tickets in January. You can only have one of those two.

I hope this helps!

Jeremy

[lolaSur]

To be efficient and save time, how do you advice I begin approaching a question like Question 21 which states "which one of the following statements could be true?"

How do I avoid having to test every answer?

Thank you!

For my reference L4-Game #2

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hi Lola!

Please take a look at the above discussion and explanations, and let us know if this helps! Thanks!

[ynam5401]

Hello!

I don't understand how the answer choice (E) is incorrect.

Feb P _____ _____
Jan P _____

This is the diagram I have drawn for answer choice (E).
Would you please explain why this answer is incorrect.

Thank you!
Rebecca

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Rebecca!

I can certainly explain why answer choice (E) is incorrect. That answer choice provides, "The line 2 tickets for January are the same color as the line 1 tickets for February."

Since this is a could be true question, we know that 1 answer choice could be true, and the other 4 must be false. We know answer choice (E) must be false because of the application of two of the original rules of the game. First, we are told, "The January tickets for line 2 are purple," which can be diagrammed as:

Feb _____ _____ _____
Jan _____ __P__ _____
1 2 3

Second, we are told, "No February tickets are purple." We can diagram this as a not-law to the side of February:

Feb _____ _____ _____ P
Jan _____ __P__ _____
1 2 3

Based on these two rules alone, we know answer (E) must be false. The line 2 tickets for January (which are purple) cannot be the same as the line 1 tickets for February because there are no purple tickets in February.

[cd1010]

Do you have advice for how to do hypotheticals effectively and efficiently? I noticed that the solutions for most of the questions for this game involve hypotheticals, and I'm generally apprehensive about them because there seems to be so many potential solutions. Sometimes, it turns out that there's only a few solutions left, and writing out hyotheticals isn't that time consuming, but when I'm trying to solve a problem, attempting a hypothetical is rarely my solution. Thank you!