Setup and Rule Diagrams

[lsatprep1215]

Hi, can someone please teach me how to approach this game, my current set up is having two rows, one up(N:_ _ _) and one down(S:_ _ _), beside adding some deduction such like Q cannot go in slot 6 etc... I am totally lost. I end up going to each question and try each answer choice to find the correct answer, and I know in the real LSAT it is impossible for me to do that due to time limit.

[Robert Carroll]

lp,

I found an old diagram I did of this. Let me post it and explain it.

The main diagram has the time slots as the horizontal base, with two rows for the stages. Because each stage is missing a time slot the other has, I used "X" to indicate that no performance happens on the South stage at 6 or North at 12. P is a split dual-option in those two spaces. G is before H, so G is not at 12 nor H at 6. The performances at 10 must be the same type of music, as shown by the R and F blocks. L and T are on different stages, hence different rows. And Q is right after a folk group, either on the same stage or different stages.

Now, the placement of P is very restrictive. Wherever it goes, it leaves only 3 times left (more spaces than that, but only 3 distinct times). And the performances at 10 are both the same type of band. Thus, I split into templates based on that, shown on the left.

Robert Carroll

[ssmith87]

On the originally posted diagram: Are the L and T not laws on 6 and 12, as well as the G not law on 10, inferred from the original rules? If so, could that possibly be explained further?

My setup was identical, and I was able to get the not laws for H/Q on 6, the not law for G on 12, and even the P6--->no Q8. But that was it.

I was stuck from there, so I ended up making templates based on the RR or FF block in 10 rule (using QT/TQ, HL/LH and GL/LG), and while it ultimately was effective, it was not efficient and I wasted time trying to insert that GL/LG block into the 10 slot, only to then see as I was attempting to fill in the rest of those templates that it can never work.

Knowing only QT/TQ or HL/LH are possible in 10 would have allowed me to finish on time (I think). But I just can't make the connection on how to see that before starting in on the templates.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[Adam Tyson]

Those not-laws can be a little subtle, and you could discover them either by trial and error or else by creating templates, ssmith87.

By trial and error, if we place L at 6 on the North stage, P will be forced to 12 on the South stage. Now what do we do at 10? We cannot place the two other Rock bands (Q and T) there because that would force G and H to both be at 8, but G is supposed to be before H. For the same reason we cannot place the two other Folk bands (G and H) at 10 - again, g must be before H. So that means 10 would have to be one R and one F, violating the third rule.

Placing T at 6 would again force P to 12, and the two bands at 10 would have to both be Folk, and would have to be H and L. But that will force Q to 8, and it would not be immediately after a Folks band, violating the last rule.

Templates get us there much faster than this, though! Try basing them on the placement of Q, as follows:

If Q is at 8, a Folk band is at 6 and P is at 12. We are forced to place two Folk bands at 10, and they must be H and L with G going to 6. That leaves T to go at 8 with Q. Your setup would look like this (I did mine horizontally, but it's easier to show it vertically in this format):

6: G
8: Q/T T/Q
10: L/H H/L
12: P

If Q is at 10, so is T (we need two Rock bands there and P cannot be at 10). This template could be split into two sub-templates based on what we do with P, and here's what would happen:

6: P
8: L/G G/L
10: Q/T T/Q
12: H

6: G
8: L/H H/L
10: Q/T T/Q
12: P

Finally, if Q is at 12, P must be at 6, and here's what has to happen to make sure that G is before H:

6: P
8: G/T T/G
10: L/H H/L
12: Q

With these 4 templates (and we could do it with 3 if we didn't split the second one around the placement of P and just left it very open), we can see that only P or G can ever be at 6, and while it might take a while to build all of this we should be able to move through the questions very quickly. Just remember that L and T are on opposite stages, as that becomes the one "active" rule still at work no matter which template we are in!

[ssmith87]

Got it! Thank you so much for such a thorough explanation, Adam!

[dimi.wassef@yahoo.com]

All around, this game really confused me. I am wondering what I might think about/focus on when redoing this game? Is there a particular rule or inference that is key to this game?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Dimi,

For this one, it really is a lot of how the rules work together. If you are confused about the game as a whole, I'd recommend using the rules to build templates. The process of building the templates should make it more clear how the rules work together. For me, I drew templates starting with the placement of P, and worked from there. I wouldn't recommend this strategy on test day necessarily (though I do think templates are good in this case), but when you are trying to understand a game like this one, it can be really helpful as part of your study.

Hope that helps!