LSAT Logic Games : Linear Games

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for LSAT Logic Games

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Example Questions

Example Question #102 : Two Variable

A Postman has six packages to deliver: A, B, C, D, E and F. He must deliver all of the packages, and each package is delivered to a different address. The order in which he delivers the packages must conform to the following restrictions:

  • Package E must be the only package delivered between packages C and D
  • Package A cannot be the first, third or fifth package delivered
  • Package D must be delivered sometime before Package C
  • Package F must be either the first or last package delivered

Which of the following is a complete and accurate order in which the packages could be delivered?

Possible Answers:

F, A, C, E, D, B

F, A, D, B, E, C

B, F, D, E, C, A

A, D, E, C, B, F

D, E, C, A, B, F

Correct answer:

D, E, C, A, B, F

Explanation:

F must be first or last, which eliminates one answer. D must come before C, which eliminates another. E must be immediately surrounded by D and C, which eliminates yet another. And the last we take out because A cannot be first.

Example Question #103 : Two Variable

A Postman has six packages to deliver: A, B, C, D, E and F. He must deliver all of the packages, and each package is delivered to a different address. The order in which he delivers the packages must conform to the following restrictions:

  • Package E must be the only package delivered between packages C and D
  • Package A cannot be the first, third or fifth package delivered
  • Package D must be delivered sometime before Package C
  • Package F must be either the first or last package delivered

 

Which of the following must be true?

Possible Answers:

Package B cannot be delivered first

If Package B is delivered third, then Package E is delivered fifth

Package B must be delivered sometime before Package C

If Package F is delivered first, then Package A is delivered last

Package A cannot be delivered last

Correct answer:

If Package B is delivered third, then Package E is delivered fifth

Explanation:

If Package B is delivered third, then the only place the DEC block can fit is in spots four, five and six, respectively. Therefore we know the only place E could go is in spot five, which means it must be true.

 

 

 

Example Question #373 : Linear Games

A Postman has six packages to deliver: A, B, C, D, E and F. He must deliver all of the packages, and each package is delivered to a different address. The order in which he delivers the packages must conform to the following restrictions:

  • Package E must be the only package delivered between packages C and D
  • Package A cannot be the first, third or fifth package delivered
  • Package D must be delivered sometime before Package C
  • Package F must be either the first or last package delivered

 

If Package A is delivered second, which of the following could be true?

Possible Answers:

Package B is delivered fourth

Package D is delivered fifth

Package B is delivered first

Package E is delivered third

Package C is delivered fourth

Correct answer:

Package B is delivered first

Explanation:

If Package A is delivered second, there are only two spots where the DEC block can fit: either in spots three, four and five, or four, five and six. Leaving us with two possible set ups:

 

_ A D E C _     OR    _ A _ D E C

 

Leaving us to place F and B. In the first solution, F and B are interchangeable - since the only rule we are working with is that F must go either first or last. In the second solution, F must go first, leaving us with only one way to solve. Therefore, the following three solution are the only possibilities:

 

F A D E C B;  B A D E C F;  F A B D E C

 

 

Example Question #373 : Linear Games

A Postman has six packages to deliver: A, B, C, D, E and F. He must deliver all of the packages, and each package is delivered to a different address. The order in which he delivers the packages must conform to the following restrictions:

  • Package E must be the only package delivered between packages C and D
  • Package A cannot be the first, third or fifth package delivered
  • Package D must be delivered sometime before Package C
  • Package F must be either the first or last package delivered

 

Which of the following, if true, would determine the order in which every package must be delivered?

Possible Answers:

Package E is delivered fourth

Package C is delivered third

Package F is delivered last

Package F is delivered first

Package A is delivered last

Correct answer:

Package C is delivered third

Explanation:

If Package C is third, the we know that package D and E must be second and third, respectively.

_ D E C _ _

Package A cannot go first or fifth, so we must place it last.

_ D E C _ A

F must then go first, and we fill in B in the second spot.

F B D E C A

Example Question #104 : Two Variable

A photographer is hanging six portraits on the wall in a straight line. The portraits are of six family members: Lily, Mildred, Nancy, Owen, Peter and Quentin. The order in which the portraits are hung must conform to the following restrictions:

 

Mildred's portrait must be either first or last

There must be exactly one portrait between Nancy and Quentin

Nancy's portrait must come after Lily's but before Quentin's

If Mildred's portrait is first, which is a complete and accurate list of all the possible portraits that could appear second?

Possible Answers:

Owen, Lily, Peter

Nancy, Owen Peter, Lily

Owen, Peter

Owen, Lily

Nancy, Owen, Peter

Correct answer:

Owen, Lily, Peter

Explanation:

Knowing that Mildred's portrait comes first lets us plot out the possible locations for the Nancy/Quentin block. They can either go in spots three and five or four and six, respectively. (Nancy cannot go in spot two, because Lily has to come before her.) This creates two possibilities for solutions. The first, with Nancy and Quentin in spots three and six gives us Lily in two, and either Peter or Owen in four and the other one in six. The second possibility with Nancy and Quentin in spots four and six gives us the option of Peter, Lily or Owen for spots two and three, and then whomever is left of Peter and Owen for spot five. Therefore, considering both possibilities the only people who could occupy the second spot when Mildred is in the first spot are Owen, Lily and Peter.

Example Question #1 : Solving Three Variable Logic Games

A baker is making three pizzas, one at a time, each with two toppings. The baker has six available toppings--anchovies, bacon, mushrooms, peppers, sausage, tomatoes. No topping can be put on more than one pizza. The pairings of toppings must conform to the following rules:

Anchovies cannot be paired with peppers

Mushrooms and tomatoes must be on the same pizza

Sausage must be on the second pizza if mushrooms are on the first

Peppers must be on a pizza made after the pizza with sausage

Which of the following is a possible ordering of the pizzas and toppings?

Possible Answers:

Sausage and anchovies; mushrooms and tomatoes; peppers and bacon

Mushrooms and tomatoes; sausage and peppers; bacon and anchovies

Peppers and bacon; mushrooms and tomatoes; anchovies and sausage

Sausage and tomatoes; peppers and anchovies; mushrooms and bacon

Sausage and bacon; mushrooms and tomatoes; anchovies and peppers

Correct answer:

Sausage and anchovies; mushrooms and tomatoes; peppers and bacon

Explanation:

If peppers must be on a pizza made after the sausage pizza, then peppers can never be on the first pizza or the same pizza as sausage.  We can also easily eliminate any option in which tomatoes and mushrooms are not paired.  Remember, sausage is only required to be on the second pizza if mushrooms are on the first.

Example Question #2 : Solving Three Variable Logic Games

A baker is making three pizzas, one at a time, each with two toppings. The baker has six available toppings--anchovies, bacon, mushrooms, peppers, sausage, tomatoes. No topping can be put on more than one pizza. The pairings of toppings must conform to the following rules:

Anchovies cannot be paired with peppers

Mushrooms and tomatoes must be on the same pizza

Sausage must be on the second pizza if mushrooms are on the first

Peppers must be on a pizza made after the pizza with sausage

If sausage is on the second pizza, which of the following is a complete list of toppings that must be on the third pizza?

Possible Answers:

Bacon

Bacon and peppers

Peppers

Mushrooms and tomatoes

Peppers and tomatoes

Correct answer:

Bacon and peppers

Explanation:

Since peppers must be on a pizza made after the pizza with sausage, peppers must be on the third pizza.  Now, since the second and third pizzas already have one topping each, and since mushrooms and tomatoes must be on the same pizza, they must be on the first pizza.  As a result, anchovies must be on the second pizza because they cannot be on the same pizza as peppers.  The only remaining spot for bacon is on the third pizza.  Therefore, both bacon and peppers must be on the third pizza.

Example Question #2 : Three Variable

A baker is making three pizzas, one at a time, each with two toppings. The baker has six available toppings--anchovies, bacon, mushrooms, peppers, sausage, tomatoes. No topping can be put on more than one pizza. The pairings of toppings must conform to the following rules:

Anchovies cannot be paired with peppers

Mushrooms and tomatoes must be on the same pizza

Sausage must be on the second pizza if mushrooms are on the first

Peppers must be on a pizza made after the pizza with sausage

Instead of three pizzas, the baker makes four.  Anchovies and bacon are each used on two separate pizzas.  All other conditions are the same.  If anchovies are on the second and fourth pizzas, each of the following could be true EXCEPT

Possible Answers:

Bacon and sausage are on different pizzas

Mushrooms and tomatoes are on the first pizza

Peppers are on the third pizza

Anchovies and bacon are on the same pizza

Anchovies and sausage are on different pizzas

Correct answer:

Anchovies and sausage are on different pizzas

Explanation:

In this scenario, we actually know the toppings on all four pizzas.

Since anchovies are on the second and fourth pizzas, we know that peppers cannot be on the second and fourth pizzas based on our first condition.  Also, peppers have to come after sausage, based on the fourth condition, which means they cannot be first.  Thus, peppers MUST be on the third pizza.

The second condition states that mushrooms and tomatoes MUST be on the same pizza.  At this point, since anchovies are on two pizzas, and peppers on another, the only possible pizza for both mushrooms and tomatoes is the first pizza.  The first pizza is now fully topped.

The third condition states that sausage must be on the second pizza if mushrooms are on the first pizza.  Therefore, sausage must be the second topping on the second pizza.  The second pizza is fully topped.

There are only two spots available, so bacon becomes the second topping on both the third and the fourth pizzas.  So our order must be:

 

MT, AS, PB, AB

Example Question #3 : Three Variable

A college advisor is scheduling students for six time slots, consecutively. The students she must schedule are Larissa, Melinda, Nick, Oscar, Patricia, and Quinn. Two of them are seniors and the rest are juniors. The scheduling must conform to the following conditions:

A senior must be immediately preceeded by a junior

Larissa's meeting must be before Melinda's meeting

Nick's meeting must be before Quinn's meeting

Patricia is a junior, and she must be schedued either first or last

The third meeting scheduled is with a junior

Oscar cannot be scheduled first unless Nick is scheduled third

 

 

Which of the following must be true?

Possible Answers:

The sixth student is a senior

The fourth student is a senior

The first student is a junior

The second student is a senior

The fifth student is a junior

Correct answer:

The first student is a junior

Explanation:

This is an inference we could have made just from the initial set up of this game. Since seniors must always be preceeded by juniors, the first spot must always be a junior. All of the other scenarios are possible and most have been seen in other set ups for other questions.

Example Question #5 : Solving Three Variable Logic Games

A creative writing professor is creating a set list for a poetry reading. She is choosing five poems from those written by eight students - Alan, Belle, Charlie, Dorian, Ernest, Xue, Yardley, and Zack. The poem's chosen and the order in which they are presented must conform to the following restrictions:

If Alan is chosen, Belle is also chosen

If Charlie is chosen, Dorian is not chosen

Ernest is chosen if and only if Xue is chosen

If Belle and Yardley are both chosen, Belle must read before Yardley

If Zack is chosen he must read first

If Charlie and Alan are both chosen, Charlie must read before Alan

 

 

If Zack is reading first and Dorian is reading last, which of the following could be a list of the students reading second, third and fourth, respectively?

Possible Answers:

Ernest, Charlie, Xue

Ernest, Xue, Belle

Xue, Ernest, Alan

Yardley, Belle, Alan

Belle, Xue, Yardley

Correct answer:

Ernest, Xue, Belle

Explanation:

If Dorian is reading we know Charlie cannot read, so any answer that includes him can be eliminated. Any answer that includes either Ernest or Xue without the other can also be eliminated. Any answer that includes Alan and not Belle is also eliminated. Any answer that includes Belle and Yardley and does not have Belle reading first is also eliminated, leaving only the correct answer.

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