#17 - Local, Could Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=7716)

The correct answer choice is (B)

If no more than two consecutive loads are the same material, then only Possibilities #4 and #6 apply. In Possibility #6 the fourth load is S, and thus answer choice (B) could be true and is correct.

[ofc95]

Do you have any advice on strategies to approach this question? I was stuck doing trial and error for two minutes to no avail.

[Paul Marsh]

Hey ofc95! Let's walk through how to approach this problem.

The key to this Game as a whole is recognizing that the 3 cleanings limits the number of possible orders in the game. (For example, if the bed is only cleaned once, the first 4 spots must be Stone and the last 3 spots must be Mulch). Before moving onto the questions, it's worth taking the time to think through all of the possible options. There are 7 in total. They're all outlined here in the Setup thread:

https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewtopic.php?t=7716

Once you've recognize those 7 possibilities, the key for all of the local questions on this Game (#15, 16, 17) is to recognize how the new rule limits which of the 7 possible orders are still in play.

Here, our new rule tells us that no more than two loads of the same material are hauled consecutively. That leaves only 2 of our 7 possibilities intact:
M M S S M S S
and
M S S M M S S

Since this is a Could be True question, we just see which of our answer choices show up in either of those two possibilities. (B) is the only one that does - the 4th spot is Stone in the first of those two remaining possibilities.

Hope that helps!