Setup and Rule Diagrams

[Dave Killoran]

Setup and Rule Diagram Explanation

This is a Basic Linear Game.

The game features six foods added one at a time, and thus we have created a diagram with six spaces. Because no food can be added more than once, the variables are in a one-to-one relationship with the spaces:

J03_Game_#1_setup_diagram 1.png

The first two rules of this game are conditional, and Linear games that feature conditional rules often are slightly harder than games that feature only Not Law, block, and sequencing rules. A close examination of the first two rules yields some useful inferences:

• When Z is added first, L must be added before O. Thus, when Z is added first, L cannot be added sixth and O cannot be added second:
  
  Z1 L6
  
  Z1 O2
  
  
  Note: The “ ” symbol means that the two events at the ends of the arrow cannot both occur.
  
  From the first rule, we know that when M is added third, L must be added sixth. Thus, if M is added third, then L could not come before O, and therefore when M is third, Z cannot be first:
  
  
  Z1 M3
  
  
  Clearly, when Z is added first, the number of solutions to the game is limited. These scenarios are tested in question #5 and will be discussed in more detail then.
  
  The last rule also bears examination. The rule is sequential, but contains an element of uncertainty because you cannot determine the exact relative order of the variables. There are only two possible orders that result from the rule:
  
  
  T M K
  or
  K M T
  
  
  Regardless of the exact order, we can infer that M is never added first or last (this is shown on our diagram with Not Laws). Additionally, if M is added second, either T or K must be added first; if M is added fifth, either T or K must be added sixth.
  
  Combining the third and fourth rules, we can infer that if M is added fourth, then T or K must be added sixth.
  
  If we combine the first and last rule, we can infer that if M is added third, then either T or K must be added fourth.

The above discussion should help you focus on M and Z as key variables in this game. Of additional note is the fact that there are no randoms in this game.

[Katya W]

When we see conditional statements, are we supposed to spend time deducing what it means for the other variables in the set? Doesn’t this waste time? I feel like if I did that I would have to sit there and spend time thinking about the implications of the conditional statement on all the other variables. And then additional time trying to deduce links thereafter too. Is this a normal approach? It just seems time-consuming because if there are no direct implications from the conditional statement then you just wasted your time thinking about it instead of moving forward.

Please help. Thank you

[Paul Marsh]

Hi Katya! I just responded to your other post about Question #3 for this game. Please see my answer over there, as it addresses what you're asking about here. But to briefly answer your question here as well - yes, it is extremely important to take the time to understand how each rule affects all the other rules (especially when two rules share a variable in common). Spend a significant amount of time working through how the rules can work together. This is time-consuming initially, but as you continue practicing you will get much faster at it. When you become adept at making inferences about how rules build upon each other, you'll find yourself able to complete Logic Games significantly faster and more accurately than you could previously. You've got this!

[amason]

Hi Admin! How did you all infer that M cannot be first?

[Jeremy Press]

Hi amason,

This comes from the ending of the 4th rule, which states that mushrooms are "not [added] before both" of T and K. That means one of T or K has to be added before M (we're not sure which, but we know one of them will be), so M cannot be first. Check out the diagram of that rule in the first post, which shows the order must be either T - M - K, or K - M - T. Since those are the only two possible orderings permitted by the rule, there is always something before M.

I hope this helps!

Jeremy

[studybuddy]

Hi there!

I made an inference that because when Z is first L must come before O, is it true that when Z is not first, O must come before L?

Thanks!

[Paul Marsh]

Hi studybuddy! That's not quite right.

Rule 2 is a conditional:

Z1 L - O

Whenever we have a conditional, we also know that the contrapositive of the conditional is true. Here, that would be:

O - L Z1

Or to write it out, we know that if O is before L, then Z is not first.

However, we can only read conditionals from left to right. So we can't say for sure that:

Z1 O - L

That would be a Mistaken Reversal.

All of this stuff is reviewed in the Conditional Reasoning section of the PowerScore books (Lesson 2 in the Course Book, or early on in the LR Bible). If anything about this is confusing, please refer back to that.

Hope that helps!

[RAB]

Dear Expert,

Do not understand why T and K are not laws for position number 5.

The rules are:

if M3 then L6
if Z1 then (L-O)
K/T - M - T/K

Thank you.

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hi RAB,

Thanks for the post! I have moved your question to the thread discussing this topic. Please review the official explanations above as well as the ensuing discussion, and let us know if that helps or if you still have further questions! Thanks!

[RAB]

Dear Stephanie.

Thank you for taking the time to provide the post; amazed how the team at PowerScore keeps track of all these questions

What I am trying to understand is why T and K cannot be in position 5. Have read the book and the post you provided but would like to explicitly understand why T and K cannot be in position 5. What global rule provides that inference?

RB