Diagram

[aileenann]

Hello there! I am attaching my response below. Let me know if you have more questions.

[ohthatpatrick]

I've attached a diagram we could use for this game.

There are certainly a number of ways to organize our thoughts, but the one I went with seems organized similarly to how the Orientation question is set up.

I made the columns the categories of 1, 2, 3, and 4 stars.

Into those 4 columns, we need to distribute the 6 CDs. Because the first rule establishes that each column will have one or two of the 6 CDs, I put two potential spots into each column. I put a box around the first of those two spots to remind myself that I MUST put at least one into each column.

The 2nd rule can look the same way a "chunk" rule would look in ordering: NH
(or NH in a box, if you prefer to see your chunks looking that way)
This comes with the standard deduction that H couldn't be first, and N couldn't be last.

The 3rd rule is saying that either H and I will be together in a column or R and I will be together in a column, so we can represent those as vertical chunks.
H/R
I

The 4th rule is the most confusing, so take some time to sort out what it allows and prohibits. At most one CD gets a higher ranking than Q.

We can symbolize that as a combination of an ordering rule and English, by saying
Q -- max 1
(a maximum of 1 thing can be to the right of Q)

Could Q get four stars? Sure, and it doesn't matter whether someone else also gets four stars.

Could Q get three stars? Yes, as long as there's only ONE thing that gets four stars. We better keep that in mind.

Could Q get two stars? No, because there has to be at least one 3-star CD and at least one 4-star CD. That would mean there's more than one CD getting more stars than Q.

Similarly, Q could not get one star.

Indicate on the diagram that Q can not go in column 1 or 2.

Time to circle back around the rules and see if there are any links, floaters, or deductions to be found.

S is a floater, since there were no restrictions on S.

H is mentioned twice, but it's difficult to link rule 2 and 3, since H doesn't necessarily have to be paired up with I.

If we try to picture where the
H/R will go, there is one column it can't go in: column 4.
I

If we filled up column 4 with HI or RI, then Q would be bumped down to column 3, but we would be breaking the Q rule ... two things would be getting more stars than Q.

So, since the HI/RI pairing can never be in column 4, we can write on the diagram that I will never be in column 4.

As we look for any other source of deductions, our eyes should be drawn toward our NH chunk (chunks are normally the best catalyst for deductions).

What are NH's possibilities?

It seems like it could go 1/2, it could go 2/3, or it could go 3/4.

We could potentially draw out 3 frames to analyze those three possibilities.

NOTE: this is where the judgment call comes into play. Would sketching out the three positions for NH help your brain to picture where the remaining pieces will go? Would putting NH into any of those three positions trigger any reactions with the other rules?

In this game, it's certainly not obvious (to me, at least) that putting NH into any of its options would tell me anything else, so I would probably just move on to the questions.

If you do go down the deduction trail, immediately draw out 3 frames. In frame 1, put N in 1 and H in 2. In frame 2, put N in 2 and H in 3. In frame 3, put N in 3 and H in 4.

I would be most curious about the last frame, since I might expect putting NH as late as it can go will have some effect on Q.

If N is in 3 and H is in 4, do I know where Q goes? Hmmm. Q could still go in 3, as long as H is the only cd in 4. Or Q could go in 4, as long as RI were paired together. So either way, frame 3 will force us to pair up RI, rather than HI.

We know RI won't be able to fit into column 3 or 4, since those columns already have N and H in them, respectively. So it'll have to go into column 1 or 2.

We need someone in every column, so since N, H, and Q are all going to be in the last two columns, and RI is going to fill up one of the first two columns, we know that S is left over to be the loner in one of the first two columns.

We wouldn't care whether RI went in 1 and S went in 2, or vice versa. So we could write them over those two columns and put them in a cloud. Similarly, we don't care whether Q ends up in column 3 or 4, so we could put Q in a cloud over columns 3 and 4.

The other two frames don't seem to be as interesting. In both cases, we would ask ourselves whether we would pair up RI or HI, but it doesn't seem like we have to make that choice. And, like always, we know that Q only has column 3 and 4 as an option, and it doesn't seem like we have to make that choice.

In frame 2, we could ask ourselves who could possibly go first. We know that N, H, and Q are all out of the question. That leaves S, R, and I. Of course, I doesn't travel alone. It would bring R with it. So we know that column 1 will have to have S or R for sure.

Beyond that, we should just accept the uncertainty (and our freedom to create many different legal scenarios) and move forward with the questions.

This game is a good example of one in which you probably assumed you were missing a lot of key deductions, but in reality it's a pretty flexible game. Don't stress if a game has a lot of legal possibilities. In that case, get a good understanding of the rules, get a diagram that will work to manage whatever info you're responsible for, and get going on the questions, knowing that you're probably going to have to write out a bunch of possible scenarios (there will probably be a bunch of "If" questions).

PT54, G2 - Music CD Rating - Manhattan LSAT.pdf

(48.71 KiB) Downloaded 1426 times

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions about the setup or any of the specific problems.

[clare.ess]

I diagrammed this game using the CDs as categories, instead of the ratings, and it still worked for me (albeit slowly). I tried both setups initially, but I didn't see a good way to tackle ratings-as-categories, so I just dove in with the other setup.

How do you decide whether to use the CDs or the ratings as categories?

[timmydoeslsat]

When I saw the rule about one being exactly one star better than the other, I could envision blocks being used. The other way of setting it up would be possible but not easy. You will initially be wary of which way to go, but with experience after doing so many games - you will know how the game can be worked visually.