LG Game 3 Question 16 Explanation, by LSATHacks
This question tests your understanding of how the rules interact.
The possibilities in the answers are: H, M, R, and S
You could try drawing all of them. But it’s best to decide which are hard to place in the middle.
If you’re unsure about these explanations, try drawing the diagrams yourself, and including the rules that apply. For example, place S in them middle, and put H above S.
Ok, let’s talk about those four letters. R and S are easy to include in the middle. R can go anywhere as long as it is with F or M.
S has to be above P and at the same level or below H, so the middle is a natural place for S.
Likewise, M only has to be below F, so the middle is a normal place for M.
H is difficult to place in the middle. If H does go in the middle, they must go with S.
Why? Rule 4 says S must go below H or be in the same group. S can’t go third because rule 3 says S is before P.
So is H is middle, then S has no option but to go with H.
A is CORRECT. For the reasons above, H and M can’t be the only ones together in the middle. H has to go with S if H is in the middle.
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Choice C is also showing as CANNOT BE TRUE in my diagram. If M and S are in aisle 2, F and H have to go in aisle 1 (because F has to be in a lower number than P and M, and H can only be in a lower number or the same numbered aisle as S). This leaves P and R in aisle 3, which violates the rule that R must be in the same aisle as F or M.
The wording of the question is: “Which one of the following CANNOT be the list of the sections located in aisle 2?”
I got this question wrong because I assumed that the absence of some indicator that the list is a complete list of all the sections in aisle 2 meant that the correct answer would include two sections that cannot go together in aisle 2 (which two cannot be together in aisle 2 rather than which list cannot be in aisle 2).
So, in any given LG question with a similar game setup, should I take a phrase like “the list” to mean “the complete list” of sections/people/etc.?
Yes, if a question is asking you for “the list” of variables in some group or category, you can assume that it means the complete list. Usually, a question that’s looking for you to focus on a subset of variables within a group or category will say up-front that the answer choices are partial or incomplete lists.
You will have to use your best judgment sometimes, though, because every once in a while a question won’t specify whether the list is partial or complete, and you’ll need to use context clues.
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Better late than never :) Glad to help!