LSAT Logic Games : Linear Games

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for LSAT Logic Games

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Example Questions

Example Question #41 : Determining Sequence In Linear Games

A 100-meter dash is held among 7 sprinters, each from a different country - Australia (A); Belgium (B); Canada (C); Denmark (D); Estonia (E); France (F); and Germany (G). Before the race each sprinter is assigned to 1 of 7  lanes at the track's starting line, sequentially numbered from the innermost lane (lane 1) to the outermost lane (lane 7), according to the following conditions:

  • E must be assigned to lane 3.
  • A cannot be assigned to lane 7.
  • B and C must be assigned to sequentially numbered lanes.
  • C must be assigned to a lane that is closer to the inside of the track than the lane assigned to D.
  • A must be assigned to a lane that is closer to the outside of the track than the lane assigned to D.

If all initial conditions remain in effect and the condition is added that A and D cannot be assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes, which of the following must be true?

Possible Answers:

D and F are assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes.

There are at least 2 lanes between C and F.

F is assigned to lane 7.

There are at least 2 lanes between B and D.

A is assigned to lane 5.

Correct answer:

There are at least 2 lanes between C and F.

Explanation:

After applying the initial conditions, all possible sequences can be summarized as follows:Sprinter_solution1

Adding the condition that A and D cannot be assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes means that the top scenario in the picture above is the only possible sequence. Since (i) lane 5 is the lowest numbered lane to which F can be assigned and (ii) lane 2 is the highest numbered lane to which C can be assigned, C and F must be separated by two lanes at a minimum (i.e., lanes 3 and 4).  

Example Question #42 : Determining Sequence In Linear Games

A 100-meter dash is held among 7 sprinters, each from a different country - Australia (A); Belgium (B); Canada (C); Denmark (D); Estonia (E); France (F); and Germany (G). Before the race each sprinter is assigned to 1 of 7  lanes at the track's starting line, sequentially numbered from the innermost lane (lane 1) to the outermost lane (lane 7), according to the following conditions:

  • E must be assigned to lane 3.
  • A cannot be assigned to lane 7.
  • B and C must be assigned to sequentially numbered lanes.
  • C must be assigned to a lane that is closer to the inside of the track than the lane assigned to D.
  • A must be assigned to a lane that is closer to the outside of the track than the lane assigned to D.

If F and G are not assigned to lanes such that there is exactly one lane between them, any of the following could be true EXCEPT:

Possible Answers:

G is assigned to lane 7.

A and D are not assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes.

B and D are assigned to lanes such that there are exactly 2 lanes between them.

F and G are assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes.

E and D are not assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes.

Correct answer:

A and D are not assigned to consecutively-numbered lanes.

Explanation:

After applying the initial conditions, all possible sequences can be summarized as follows:

Sprinter_solution1

Adding the condition that F and G are not assigned to lanes such that there is exactly one lane between them means that the top sequence in the summary above is no longer possible. Thus, A and D must be in consecutively-numbered lanes (whether lanes 4 and 5 or lanes 5 and 6).

Example Question #41 : Lsat Logic Games

Sara must walk eight dogs (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H) over an eight hour period of time. Sara can only walk one dog at a time and each walk lasts one hour. The following rules apply:

At least three dogs must be walked between E and G

A must be walked after B

B is the first dog walked if F is walked seventh

Dog G must be walked directly after C and directly before F

If B is walked sixth, which of the following must be true?

Possible Answers:

H must be walked first, second, or third

E must be walked eighth

C must be walked first, second, or third

D must be walked either seventh or eighth

A must be walked seventh

Correct answer:

C must be walked first, second, or third

Explanation:

When B is sixth, A and E each must be walked seventh or eighth.  Since C must be walked before G and F, the latest C can be walked is third. 

Example Question #41 : Determining Sequence In Linear Games

Sara must walk eight dogs (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H) over an eight hour period of time. Sara can only walk one dog at a time and each walk lasts one hour. The following rules apply:

At least three dogs must be walked between E and G

A must be walked after B

B is the first dog walked if F is walked seventh

Dog G must be walked directly after C and directly before F

If H is walked directly after D, each of the following could be true EXCEPT

Possible Answers:

B is walked third and A is walked eighth

D is walked third

B is walked fourth and A is walked eighth

F is walked seventh

A is walked second

Correct answer:

B is walked third and A is walked eighth

Explanation:

When B is walked third and A is walked eighth, D and H must be walked first and second.  This only leaves room for two dogs to be walked between E and G.  Remember, too, though three dogs must be walked between E and G, G can be walked before E. As a result, when B is walked fourth and A is walked eighth, all conditions can be met by walking C, G, and F before B. 

Example Question #41 : Linear Games

A restaurant is hosting birthday parties for six children – Cole, Denton, Eric, Fred, Gordon, and Howard – during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday). Only one birthday party can be held each day. The order of the parties is subject to the following conditions:

Denton’s party is held before Eric’s.
Gordon’s party is held before Howard’s.
Fred’s party is held after both Eric’s and Howard’s parties.
Cole’s party is held after Wednesday.
Eric’s party is held before Thursday.

Which one of the following could be the order in which the parties are held?

Possible Answers:

Gordon, Denton, Eric, Fred, Howard, Cole

Gordon, Eric, Howard, Denton, Fred, Cole

Denton, Cole, Eric, Gordon, Howard, Fred

Denton, Gordon, Eric, Howard, Cole, Fred

Denton, Eric, Howard, Gordon, Cole, Fred

Correct answer:

Denton, Gordon, Eric, Howard, Cole, Fred

Explanation:

The incorrect answers all violate one of the conditions set in the prompt:

(Gordon, Eric, Howard, Denton, Fred, Cole) - Denton's party should be before Eric's, not after.

(Denton, Cole, Eric, Gordon, Howard, Fred) - Cole's party cannot be before Thursday. Even if Denton's party is on Tuesday, the latest Cole could be in this ordering is Wednesday.

(Gordon, Denton, Eric, Fred, Howard, Cole) - Fred's party must be after both Howard's and Eric's, not just one of them.

(Denton, Eric, Howard, Gordon, Cole, Fred) - Gordon's party must be held before Howard's.

The correct answer does not violate any of the conditions presented.

Example Question #46 : Determining Sequence In Linear Games

A restaurant is hosting birthday parties for six children – Cole, Denton, Eric, Fred, Gordon, and Howard – during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday). Only one birthday party can be held each day. The order of the parties is subject to the following conditions:

Denton’s party is held before Eric’s.
Gordon’s party is held before Howard’s.
Fred’s party is held after both Eric’s and Howard’s parties.
Cole’s party is held after Wednesday.
Eric’s party is held before Thursday.

If the first party is held on Tuesday, which of the following must be false?

Possible Answers:

Cole’s party is held on Sunday.

Fred’s party is held on Thursday.

Gordon’s party is held on Thursday.

Eric’s party is held on Wednesday.

Denton’s party is held on Tuesday.

Correct answer:

Fred’s party is held on Thursday.

Explanation:

The incorrect answers could all be true under certain circumstances:

(Gordon’s party is held on Thursday) - Gordon could have his party on Thursday because there is enough days remaining for Howard, Fred, and Cole to be scheduled.

(Eric’s party is held on Wednesday) - So long as Denton's party is on Monday or Tuesday, there is no restriction against Eric going on Wednesday, the latest possible day he could be scheduled on.

(Cole’s party is held on Sunday) - As Cole is scheduled after Wednesday, there is no problem here.

(Denton’s party is held on Tuesday) - Denton going on Tuesday still provides one day on which Eric, who must go after Denton, can have his party without violating his particular condition.

The correct answer cannot be true in any circumstance. Since Eric's and Howard's parties are both before Fred's, so are Denton's and Gordon's. If Fred goes on Thursday, there are not enough days to schedule all four of them.

Example Question #41 : Linear Games

A restaurant is hosting birthday parties for six children – Cole, Denton, Eric, Fred, Gordon, and Howard – during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday). Only one birthday party can be held each day. The order of the parties is subject to the following conditions:

Denton’s party is held before Eric’s.
Gordon’s party is held before Howard’s.
Fred’s party is held after both Eric’s and Howard’s parties.
Cole’s party is held after Wednesday.
Eric’s party is held before Thursday.

If the last party is held on Saturday, which is the latest day that Gordon’s party could be held on?

Possible Answers:

Friday

Thursday

Saturday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Correct answer:

Wednesday

Explanation:

Gordon's party must be scheduled before Howard's and Fred's parties, so that initially pushes him back to Thursday. However, this would violate the condition that Cole must be after Wednesday, so the latest possible day that Gordon could have his party is Wednesday. There is no issue with Denton and Eric having their parties on Monday and Tuesday respectively.

Example Question #41 : Lsat Logic Games

A restaurant is hosting birthday parties for six children – Cole, Denton, Eric, Fred, Gordon, and Howard – during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday). Only one birthday party can be held each day. The order of the parties is subject to the following conditions:

Denton’s party is held before Eric’s.
Gordon’s party is held before Howard’s.
Fred’s party is held after both Eric’s and Howard’s parties.
Cole’s party is held after Wednesday.
Eric’s party is held before Thursday.

Which one of the following is an accurate and complete list of the parties that can be held on Thursday?

Possible Answers:

Howard, Cole, Gordon

Howard, Cole, Gordon, Fred

Howard, Cole

Cole, Denton

Howard

Correct answer:

Howard, Cole, Gordon

Explanation:

Eric is explicitly noted to be unable to have his party on Thursday as part of one of the conditions. Fred cannot have his party on Thursday because Denton's, Eric's, Gordon's, and Howard's parties must precede his. Denton's party must be on either Monday or Tuesday since it is before Eric's party, which can only be on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Howard, Cole, and Gordon have no restrictions against going on Thursday.

Example Question #42 : Lsat Logic Games

A restaurant is hosting birthday parties for six children – Cole, Denton, Eric, Fred, Gordon, and Howard – during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday). Only one birthday party can be held each day. The order of the parties is subject to the following conditions:

Denton’s party is held before Eric’s.
Gordon’s party is held before Howard’s.
Fred’s party is held after both Eric’s and Howard’s parties.
Cole’s party is held after Wednesday.
Eric’s party is held before Thursday.

If Gordon’s party is held on Monday, how many of the party dates can be completely determined?

Possible Answers:

One

Four

Three

Two

Five

Correct answer:

Three

Explanation:

If Gordon's party is on Monday, that leaves only two spots for Eric's party to be scheduled. Because Denton's party must be before Eric's party, that means that Denton's party is scheduled on Tuesday and Eric's party on Wednesday.

There is still no restriction on when Cole's party can be in this scenario so long as it is Thursday or afterwards. Same applies for Howard's and Fred's parties, so long as Howard's party is before Fred's.

Example Question #41 : Linear Games

A restaurant is hosting birthday parties for six children – Cole, Denton, Eric, Fred, Gordon, and Howard – during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday). Only one birthday party can be held each day. The order of the parties is subject to the following conditions:

Denton’s party is held before Eric’s.
Gordon’s party is held before Howard’s.
Fred’s party is held after both Eric’s and Howard’s parties.
Cole’s party is held after Wednesday.
Eric’s party is held before Thursday.

If Cole’s party is held on Thursday, which of the following could be true?

Possible Answers:

Fred’s party is held on Friday.

Gordon’s party is held on Saturday.

Gordon’s party is held on Friday.

Howard’s party is held on Wednesday.

Eric’s party is held on Monday.

Correct answer:

Gordon’s party is held on Friday.

Explanation:

All of the incorrect answers must be false in this scenario:

(Gordon’s party is held on Saturday) - Both Howard's and Fred's parties must be after Gordon's, so this scenario would make it impossible for both to be scheduled.

(Howard’s party is held on Wednesday) - Because Gordon's party is before Howard's and Denton's and Eric's parties must be scheduled in that order Wednesday or earlier, this makes it impossible for all three to be scheduled.

(Fred’s party is held on Friday) - This would leave only three days for Denton, Eric, Gordon, and Howard to have their parties scheduled, making the scenario impossible.

(Eric’s party is held on Monday) - Eric cannot have his party on Monday because Denton must have his party before his.

The correct answer is possible in the above scenario. If Gordon's party is held on Friday, Howard's and Fred's parties can be scheduled on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Denton's and Eric's parties can be scheduled in any particular order between Monday and Wednesday so long as Denton's party is before Eric's.

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