Setup and Rule Diagrams

[Kristina Moen]

Hi lsatstudier,

This is a basic linear game. You are putting the bids in order of cost. Thus, your base will be "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6."

When determining whether to go lowest to highest (i.e. 1 is lowest and 6 is highest) or highest to lowest (i.e. 1 is highest and 6 lowest), you can look at the rules or even the first question. The first question asks for the order from lowest to highest, with lowest on the left side and highest on the right side. Thus, I'd put 1 as lowest and 6 as highest.

Also, the rules use phrases like "fourth lowest" which tell me that I want it go lowest to highest where 1 is lowest and 6 is highest. This means that whatever goes in spot 4 is "fourth lowest." It's fourth from the left, or the lowest spot of 1.

It can help to put arrows under your diagram, so it looks like this:

1 2 3 4 5 6
lowest highest

One important part of diagramming basic linear games is making sure you know what direction it's going in before you diagram the rules. For example, with rankings the left side might get MORE votes than the right side. So even though the number is lower, it has a higher ranking (i.e. Number 1 is ranked higher than Number 5). It's easy to make an error, so it's important to establish the direction right away and be consistent. For example, when putting people in order of height, you could make the left side taller and the right side shorter or vice versa. The first question will often give you a clue.

So with this diagram, then if J is in the 4th slot, it is to the left of both S and T. Which restricts the game considerably because then S and T have to be in the 5th and 6th slots (but not in that order).

Hope this helps!

[litigationqueen]

Hi Dave,
Thank you very much for your prompt response.

Based on all my diagramming and re- doing the questions, I would rank the conditions in the following order:

1st Condition: After having overread the condition and reading too much into it, I understand why its so simple. (I get a bit confused because i thought that if R is 2nd or 3rd, then K could be anywhere according to the rules and vice versa). Am I understanding your explanation correctly? I would rank this as the 45h most important rule.

2nd Condition- 2nd most important rule- because it restricts movement of "H" in the remaineder of the game.

3rd and 4th condition- 3rd most important rule- J virtually controls the game and the placement of the other variables, but it does not provide any certainty as to where they could be placed.

5th condition- most important rule- restricts what can go into the 5th spot.

I think the reason I had so much trouble with this question is because I was trying to combine the conditions and solidify the variables that had only a few spots to go into. If you could provide a diagram of some sort of how I should work through this problem, I would really appreciate it.

I feel like all the variables were moving throughout the game and there weren't enough variables with restrictions on their movement to make correct decisions.

If you could help me out, I would really appreciate it.

Best Regards
Raj

Hi,

I also thought that the 1st condition meant that if R is 2nd or 3rd then K could go anywhere. I read Dave's responses, but I'm still not clear on why K is bound to 2/3 when there is an either/or option - K/R. Please advise, thank you!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi Dave,
Thank you very much for your prompt response.

Based on all my diagramming and re- doing the questions, I would rank the conditions in the following order:

1st Condition: After having overread the condition and reading too much into it, I understand why its so simple. (I get a bit confused because i thought that if R is 2nd or 3rd, then K could be anywhere according to the rules and vice versa). Am I understanding your explanation correctly? I would rank this as the 45h most important rule.

2nd Condition- 2nd most important rule- because it restricts movement of "H" in the remaineder of the game.

3rd and 4th condition- 3rd most important rule- J virtually controls the game and the placement of the other variables, but it does not provide any certainty as to where they could be placed.

5th condition- most important rule- restricts what can go into the 5th spot.

I think the reason I had so much trouble with this question is because I was trying to combine the conditions and solidify the variables that had only a few spots to go into. If you could provide a diagram of some sort of how I should work through this problem, I would really appreciate it.

I feel like all the variables were moving throughout the game and there weren't enough variables with restrictions on their movement to make correct decisions.

If you could help me out, I would really appreciate it.

Best Regards
Raj

Hi,

I also thought that the 1st condition meant that if R is 2nd or 3rd then K could go anywhere. I read Dave's responses, but I'm still not clear on why K is bound to 2/3 when there is an either/or option - K/R. Please advise, thank you!

Hi litigationqueen,

You're correct in your original understanding that K is not bound to 2/3! Dave's earlier posts did not convey that both K and R had to be second and third. Instead, he was explaining that only one of them has to be second or third (as the accepted bid). Once you have one of those established as the accepted bid, the other one is definitely "set free" to go anywhere else that's consistent with the remaining rules. So here's an acceptable solution, for example, that would allow K to go somewhere other than 2 or 3: T-R(accepted)-H-K-S-J.

I hope this helps!

[morganduffield]

Hi,

A bit late to this. Can you combine Rule 2 with Rules 3 and 4? So you have a chain that looks something like this? I assumed you could but didn't see this on the list of inferences. I'm asking because this is how I determined that J cannot go in spot 3 when J is not in spot 4, and I want to make sure that wasn't a lucky accident.

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

You can indeed do that, and that's a great way to make that inference! And when you combine it with the last rule, you can infer that when J is not 4th it must be 6th.