#15 - Global

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[lsatshalin77]

This one seems ridiculously time-consuming and is the only question I didn't get in this section. Should I just stick to skipping something like this? I didn't see any sort of trend that could help me eliminate answer choices more quickly than going through every possible scenario.

[James Finch]

Hi Shalin,

This is the type of question that often scares LSAT students: a Global Could Be True question on a game with a strange setup. However, best practices can definitely make these easier, and help eliminate answer choices to get you down to a couple Contenders. It still is a tough question that can take a little longer than others, and may be worth skipping and going back to after finishing the rest of the game's questions, but is definitely doable.

In this case, we're presented with 5 similar answer choices, all saying that exactly X number of people get their Y choice. The first step here is to eliminate ones that cannot be true, which is a little trickier than usual. Instead of simply eliminating answer choices that we know cannot be true based on the rules or inferences, we have to use the inherent logic of the answer choices themselves: if exactly 3 people can get their 3rd choice, then exactly 2 should be able to as well. This immediately makes (D) and (E) suspect, and not worth testing. (C) can be definitively eliminated by looking over the given setup and realizing that the three variables in the second spots are all shared by the first spots, so one has to go first, and that person won't be able to get their second choice, nor will the person forced into last place, who will have to choose W. And because W always has to go last, (B) can't work. This leaves only (A), which works by putting Larabee last and Jackson third.

Hope this clears things up!

[Albertlyu]

hi, after redoing it for a couple of times I think there can be an easier way to eliminate the wrong choices, please correct me if I am wrong:

Skimming the Answer choices:
If E, then there has got be 2 Ws, which is impossible;
If D, then Z, W, X must be the pick, which means the first and second person can not touch these 3, which is also impossible;
Same logic, if C, then X, Y, Z, must be the pick, which means the first person can not touch X, Y, Z, only W, which is again impossible. (the first pick has to be X or Y);

B is a little tricky, but with the same approach if B, then (Something)W and LY have got to be the pick, for L to pick Y, the first 3 ppl must have picked, W, X, Z. which is impossible because, besides L, W is the 4th pick of everyone else, and L has to pick Y.

[Jeremy Press]

Hi Albert,

That approach works, too, and I quite like it. I don't really have anything to add to it, other than nice job and keep up the great work!

[quan-tang@hotmail.com]

'if exactly 3 people can get their 3rd choice, then exactly 2 should be able to as well'

Sorry for being dumb, but this really isnt self-evident to me. Since all students have different orders I do not know how I can derive the rule

Hi Shalin,

This is the type of question that often scares LSAT students: a Global Could Be True question on a game with a strange setup. However, best practices can definitely make these easier, and help eliminate answer choices to get you down to a couple Contenders. It still is a tough question that can take a little longer than others, and may be worth skipping and going back to after finishing the rest of the game's questions, but is definitely doable.

In this case, we're presented with 5 similar answer choices, all saying that exactly X number of people get their Y choice. The first step here is to eliminate ones that cannot be true, which is a little trickier than usual. Instead of simply eliminating answer choices that we know cannot be true based on the rules or inferences, we have to use the inherent logic of the answer choices themselves: if exactly 3 people can get their 3rd choice, then exactly 2 should be able to as well. This immediately makes (D) and (E) suspect, and not worth testing. (C) can be definitively eliminated by looking over the given setup and realizing that the three variables in the second spots are all shared by the first spots, so one has to go first, and that person won't be able to get their second choice, nor will the person forced into last place, who will have to choose W. And because W always has to go last, (B) can't work. This leaves only (A), which works by putting Larabee last and Jackson third.

Hope this clears things up!

[quan-tang@hotmail.com]

Thats how I do it:

A: t has xyz, while l has xzw, so after t chose z, l can still choose w, so it exists.

B: no such pairs are found. after any one chose the last of their option, all options are already chosen.

C: it is theoretically possible if there exists trios that select each select 3 different options as their first option, but such trio do not exist.

D: theoreticlaly impossible, since there are only 4 people in total. this needs at least 2 people to chosse before someone can choose their third option, then 3 of them chose their 3rd option, which needs at least 5 people.

E: impossible, for the same reason as D, not enough people.

[Adam Tyson]

Try thinking of it more logically (mathematically, perhaps?), rather than working through specific scenarios, quan-tang@hotmail.com.

Whoever goes first gets their first choice.

Whoever goes second gets their first choice or their second choice.

(this already makes answers D and E impossible, because at least two of our four people will not get their 3rd or 4th choice.)

Whoever goes third gets their first, second, or third choice.

Whoever goes last is the only one who could possibly get their fourth choice (although in this case L might still get their third choice.) (this makes answer B impossible)

At this point, only answers A and D look logically possible. Answer D can be eliminated, though, based on the rankings, because whoever goes last is forced to take W (including L, because nobody else would have picked it sooner). Thus, there's no way three people can get their second choice, because the first person gets their first choice and the last person gets W (either L's third choice or someone else's fourth choice).