#4 - Local

[Administrator]

(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=11228)

Please post below with any questions!

[Tw07]

Can you explain how to approach this question most efficiently? I ended up getting it correct, but I was semi testing each choice which I know is time consuming/not the best way to go about it.

[Adam Tyson]

Start by drawing a local diagram, Tw07, based on the question stem, which requires that T be not part of the group of 3 that are selected. So T is out. Per the contrapositive of the second rule, that means S is also out (because if S was in, T would have to also be in).

Now consider who is left available: QRVWX. Of those, you can never have both Q and R, because per the first rule they can each only be the project leader. Maybe one of them is the leader and the other is out, or maybe they are both out, but they cannot possibly both be in. That means at least one position in the "out" group is taken up by either Q or R. Our group to choose from can now be narrowed down to VWX and Q/R.

At this point I would look to my only remaining rule, the one about W. If W is in, then R and V are out, and that means our group would have to be Q (leader), W, and X. So the right answer has to be one of those three, and answers B and C can now be eliminated.

But now we have to consider what happens if W is out. If that happens, we are left to select a group of 3 from VX, which are both in, and either Q or R. As you can see, at this point Q and R are interchangeable - one is in, and is the leader, and the other is out. We can eliminate answer D, because this scenario without W works. We can also eliminate answer A, because while Q might be in, it doesn't have to be, because in this case R could be the leader. We are thus left with answer E - X is the one that must definitely be if T is out.

Start local questions by looking at any prior work you have done to see if the answer is already there for you, but after that draw out the local scenario and see what you can eliminate from the answers as you go. It may take more than one scenario, but that's still better than testing 5 answer choices!

[Kelly R]

Hi,

When presented with an over-loaded grouping game, is it usually best practice to reserve a space within the out-group for every double-not arrow involving unique variables? In this game, for example, my game set-up had 2 spots reserved in the out-group for Q/R and W/V.

[Adam Tyson]

I do think that's a good idea, Kelly. Focusing on what is out, and how much room there is available in the out group, can tell you a lot about what is going on in the In group. Good idea to include that in your diagram!