Basic Linear Game Rule Diagramming-HELP!!

[karlaurrea]

As I am doing Lesson 3 HW, (page3-29) question 3 states:

"C must sit 4 chairs behind D, and E must sit 3 chairs before C"

in what context should I be seeing the "behind" or "front" when asked, in terms of "before" or "after"

What confuses me, is that I interpreted "behind" as BEFORE and the answer did not show that.... According to the text the correct diagramming is: D E_ _ C

But why would D be behind C, when the initial questions clearly says: "C must sit 4 chairds behind D"

Confused....

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Karla,

Think of "before" as "ahead of" or "earlier than," and "behind" as "later than" or "after." From a linear standpoint, lower numbers (1, 2, 3) will be before or earlier than higher numbers (4, 5, 6).

Thus, when "C must sit 4 chairs behind D," we get:

D ___ ___ ___ C

When "E must sit 3 chairs before C," we get:

E ___ ___ C

Combining the two parts, we get:

D E___ ___ C

Please let me know if that makes sense. Thanks!

[karlaurrea]

Thanks so much for the reply!!

I "think" I know what you are trying to tell me, but lets see if I understand you...

Basically in terms of the numbers I can definitely see why "lower numbers (1, 2, 3) will be before or earlier than higher numbers (4, 5, 6)" - and seeing it this way made me see that D should be placed in "lower numbers" as opposed to "higher" since D is "BEHIND"

But one thing is still not very clear to me, if "behind" can otherwise be seen as "after" as you stated, why isn't D still after C?

Am I making sense?

[Jon Denning]

Hey Karl (Karla?) - let's see if I can jump in here and help out. The statement is essentially that "C is behind D" (or, in other words, "D is before C"). That means that if we're numbering from left to right, and C is behind/after D, then C is to the right of D, as Dave's diagram shows. "E is before C" (or "C is after/behind E") means E is to the left of C, which is also shown in Dave's diagram.

Think of standing in second place in a line. You're "behind/after" the person in first place, and you're "before/ahead of" the person in third place.

I think you may have actually just misread the rule when you were reading Dave's reply (since you say "D is BEHIND...", which is backwards). Read it again and see if it's clear.

Thanks!

[karlaurrea]

Hello Mr. Denning,

Thanks! It is Karla and that does make a lot sense, I was misreading it like you mentioned!But I get it!!!!Thanks so much!!!

[jcastro060651]

Hello,

This is my 3rd day using your book and I have been very impressed so far in how much your diagramming is much better explained than other brands (i.e. Kaplan) but this question astounded me. While your explanation makes sense, I am just wondering if this logic game concept (and words used to describe it) was drawn from an actual LSAT test --or is this a drill that you made yourself? It just seems a little too much of a gray concept that is debatable (why not just say "earlier" instead of "behind" for the sake of clarity) to be an LSAT question. If it is then it is very deceiving.

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi J,

You ask a good question The examples in the book are all based on real LSAT questions from the past, and this before/earlier issue is one that has caused issues in the past, so I knew it had to be included in the book. The problem is that depending on the language they use in the game scenario, "before" or "earlier" (or other variants) can properly be applied to the situation. So, you have to read very closely to make sure that you don't get turned around. However, the good news is that once you do lock into this idea, you spot it really quickly and it becomes a lot easier to handle.

As far as your point about clarity—I totally agree with that, but the more you study the LSAT the more deeply you realize that their goal isn't always to be clear. It's one of the tools they use to attack you during the test, to everyone's annoyance!

Please let me know if that answers your question, and thanks for using our books!