Diagram

[jas770]

Can someone go over the correct diagram for the rug game (page 87 of the SuperPrep book? It seems like a grouping game--but I didn't get much further than that. Thanks!

[ManhattanPrepLSAT2]

This is a very unusual game, and challenging in that the writers split up the elements to be selected (or not selected) into overlapping sub-groups -- wool vs. silk, and rectangular vs oval.

Additionally, this is a game for which there are few beneficial upfront inferences -- the way this game is designed, you are not meant to figure out a ton upfront -- rather, you are meant to juggle the various constraints when you get to the individual questions (notice that 5 of the 7 q's are conditional).

So, you want a diagram that is intuitive and easy for you to play around with.

Because this is such an unusual game, I've attached three different options. Let me explain them here:

Option 1: basic

This a basic assignment line, with six slots to be filled (we can use a "slash" to note a slot that is to be filled with nothing).

Option 2: grid

This diagram helps account for the fact that we're splitting the group into overlapping subsets. For those of you who are mathematically inclined, this diagram may be easier to play around with.

Option 3: frames

We can take the constraint that at least 2 ovals are selected and come up with an exhaustive list of possibilities for this. Because there are only 3 ovals total, the only combinations that are possible for having 2 or more ovals are...

2 Wool Ovals
1 Wool, 1 Silk Oval
2 Wool, 1 Silk Oval

We can carry all three of these frames through the q's, and see which ones relate to particular situations.

BTW -- I used the notation "Wo" to mean "Wool Oval" but you certainly could have notated it a variety of other ways.

Hope that's helpful. Again, there is no one magic diagram that will unlock this game -- the constraints simply present too many possibilities - here the key is to come up with a diagram you understand intuitively and feel comfortable playing around with.

Please feel free to ask any follow up questions if you have them.