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August 28, 2009

Free LSAT Logic Game | Pure Sequencing

LSAT Blog Logic Game Pure SequencingThe Logic Game I've written for this week is what some would categorize as Pure Sequencing, Loose Sequencing, or Relative Ordering.

Whatever you call it, this type of game requires you to put variables in order, just like Basic Linear games do.

So what's the difference between Pure Sequencing and Basic Linear?

In Pure Sequencing, most of the rules involve the relationship between one variable and another. They'll say things like "A is before B" or "C is after D."

In Basic Linear games, you'll have a few rules that refer to specific and defined "slots" or places within the ordering.

Because the rules for Pure Sequencing games differ from those in Basic Linear games, the most efficient diagrams for these types of games differ a bit from those you'd use for Basic Linear games.

Instead of using slots, I recommend using short lines or "branches" to represent the relationships between variables.

While the Logic Games Bible is generally excellent (in fact, I recommend it in my Best LSAT Prep Books list), its method for Pure Sequencing games doesn't make a lot of sense.

Instead of using that book's suggested "greater-than" and short dotted lines, I recommend that you just draw lines between variables to indicate their relationships.

Represent something like "A is before B" as "A-B."

Please post your thoughts and questions in the comments!

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Here's this week's Logic Game:

At the annual meeting of the Magicians' Alliance, 8 magicians-L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, and S- perform their latest illusions, one magician at a time. The order in which the magicians perform their illusions is consistent with the following conditions:
L and Q each perform at some time after P.
S performs at some time before O and L.
M performs at some time before S.
P performs at some time after N.
S and N each perform at some time after R.

1. Which one of the following could be the order in which the magicians perform their illusions?

(A) M, N, R, S, P, Q, L, O
(B) S, M, R, N, P, L, Q, O
(C) R, N, M, P, O, S, Q, L
(D) R, M, S, L, N, P, Q, O
(E) M, R, S, N, O, P, Q, L


2. Which one of the following magicians CANNOT perform third?

(A) M
(B) N
(C) O
(D) P
(E) S


3. If O is the fourth magician to perform, then which one of the following must be true?

(A) M is the second magician to perform.
(B) L is the fifth magician to perform.
(C) P is the sixth magician to perform.
(D) Q is the seventh magician to perform.
(E) L is the eighth magician to perform.


4. If P performs before S, then each of the following must be false EXCEPT:

(A) R is the third magician to perform.
(B) S is the fourth magician to perform.
(C) P is the fifth magician to perform.
(D) Q is the sixth magician to perform.
(E) S is the seventh magician to perform.


5. If R performs after M and O performs before P, then which one of the following could be true?

(A) M is the second magician to perform.
(B) O is the third magician to perform.
(C) N is the fourth magician to perform.
(D) S is the fifth magician to perform.
(E) L is the sixth magician to perform.


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The text below contains the answers to the above Logic Game.

1. E
2. C
3. C
4. D
5. C

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See my explanation and diagrams of this game in Logic Games Pure Sequencing Diagram | Explanation.

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Also see my explanation of this game's set-up in Logic Games Pure Sequencing Step-by-Step Diagram.

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For some LSAC-written Logic Games like this one, check out PrepTest 33, Game 1 and PrepTest 38, Game 1 in The Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests.

Photo by dannysullivan / CC BY 2.0

(The above photo is from the episode "Spring Break" in the TV show Arrested Development. GOB makes the Bluth family's yacht "disappear." I can't believe someone actually made Lego scenes based on a TV show either. I love Arrested Development, but Lego scenes are a bit much.)



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31 comments:

  1. Yet another great game. I found question #2 to be the most difficult. Thanks Steve!

    DB

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  2. thanks for the game i really need it i recently found myself addicted to lsat logical games

    however, i found the answer for #5 debatable, C is definitely right but i find B possible too, anyhow this is my diagram for #5

    _____[--S--O--]_______[--L]
    M-- ----------------------P--
    _____[ --R--N--]_______[--Q]

    (i know this looks weird but i guess if i leave any blank on it won't show

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  3. xrei: answer B,which states that O could be 3rd, cannot be correct because O must come after S which must come after R which, in the question, must come after M so the EARLIEST O can perform in this question is 4th.

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  4. I summon the LSAT Gods and DEMAND a Pure Sequencing game be scheduled for a scored section of the September 2009 LSAT!!!! (pleeeeeeaaasse!!)

    Great game!

    Also, to the above question on the possibility of B being correct in #5, O can't be third, because BOTH M and R come before S, and O is after S. With that rule, the earliest O could appear would be fourth.

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  5. I don't understand. You consistently say that the PS Bibles are so much better because they use real LSAT questions as prep material, yet now you're writing practice questions. How is your material any better?

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  6. Matthew from Tampa,FlAug 28, 2009 02:51 PM

    Fun game, but come on, there were definitely eight Arrested Development names you could have used.

    Concerning question #5, for what it's worth, my sketch was M-R-S-O/N-P-L/Q.

    What's everyone's sequencing diagram strategy. The bible's method always got too cluttered for me, but a downward branching diagram seems to be doing fine.

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  7. @Matthew from Tampa, Fl

    Haha, I could've used 8 Arrested Development names, but GOB is the only magician (illusionist) in the Bluth family.

    By the way, I prefer a horizontal left -> right branching diagram over a downward branching one.

    Left -> right just seems more natural, especially since Basic Linear games are best done (for most people, anyway) left -> right.

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  8. @Anonymous 4:31PM Eastern:

    I've given some reasons why I'm writing practice questions here.

    Real LSAC-written questions are the best study material, but LSAC would never let me publish those on the blog. LSAC is very protective of its intellectual property.

    The questions I've written for the blog are meant to serve as a supplement to actual LSAT PrepTests, not as a substitute.

    ---

    As for the Logic Games Bible, I like it for several reasons aside from the fact that it uses real LSAT games.

    I reviewed it here.

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  9. Doug in BaltimoreAug 28, 2009 07:43 PM

    First time using the branch. Worked great! The branch looked like this:

    M--\.../--O
    ......\./
    .......S
    ....../.\-------\
    R--<.............L
    ......\.........../
    .......N----P--<
    ..................\
    ...................G

    Not the best representation, but I can't post a bitmap picture and the text box isn't formatting this correctly when I post.

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  10. I know. It totally bugs me that someone who is an expert on the LSAT spends his time writing practice questions that are very close replicas of what we might see on the test (I'd say, just about as close as you can get, without actually being hired by LSAC and testing the questions on thousands of students--and the questions demonstrate important points about arguments, no less), and gives them to me for free...it's like, practically a crime against humanity.

    Seems to me that the fakeness of the questions isn't the issue, per se--it's the fact that the questions are written by people who don't know the LSAT well enough and their questions and answers are sloppy and/or obvious, which is clearly not what's going on here.

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  11. Is there someplace that I can learn how to use "the branch"??

    These questions are VERY hard for me and would love to learn a better method of tackling them...

    Thank you in advance!!

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  12. Yeah, I'd also love to see a visual explanation of how to diagram these problems. I also have trouble with them!

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  13. I'll do a blog post this week demonstrating the main diagram as well as the diagrams for questions 4 and 5.

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  14. perfect, question 4 was giving me trouble. Thanks!

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  15. It took me 8 minutes and I got them all right. Games like these are the easiest for me, but I didn't make a branching diagram, I just made multiple linear diagrams such as R-S&N, M-S-O&L, N-P-L&Q. I can understand how they could be merged to create a branched diagram, but this just seems like for me (everyone is different) this would just be more time consuming and unnecessary when I can just draw the same conclusions pretty quickly just by thinking about it. I would also advise trying to do this "simple" games in your head. In my opinion it's like jogging with weights on your legs and will help when you run into those games that make you go "Huh???"

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  16. WHERE ARE THE ANSWERS?

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  17. They're in white text at the end of the game. Highlight that area to see the answers.

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  18. It's actually quite appropriate that you didn't use Gob as a variable name, since he's not allowed in the alliance anyway. ;)

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  19. Where are answers to Q 1-3?

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  20. I definitely like the LSAT Blog diagramming method over the LG Bible one since it is much easier to draw. I found it much simple to see when I work with the questions.

    I was looking for a better way to draw a diagram for Pure Sequencing after I first tried the LG Bible and solved the Pure Sequencing games yesterday. The four games took me about a hour to finish. After reading this post and tried to diagram in LSAT Blog diagramming method, I could finish 4 games in 42 minutes today. Those were the same games so I don't think it is a good indication but I felt better when I was solving the games.

    I just started to read LG Bible about 2 weeks ago, and I know I have a long way to go but this blog really ROCKS!!

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  21. yup, i concur. this blog is aaaaaaa-mazing, thanks!! there is so much info provided that i am sure you've told readers the answer to my question but, steve, where could i find a whole problem set of only pure sequencing exercises to practice, because i master techniques by way of repetition? is such a problem set in the LG Bible (which i didn't buy yet)? pls let me know, and thanks again.

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  22. Glad people are enjoying the blog!

    Check out this LG categorization for more Pure Sequencing games.

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  23. I like Steve's method, too...but with a twist. For myself, I like to keep "direction" of movement crystal clear. So, I use direction arrows rather then branches to connect terms. To each his own!

    Thanks for your great contribution, Steve! If I were in NYC, I would certainly be working with you to improve my score.

    Howdy from the Holy City

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  24. So I check my answers and I get only the first one wrong and feel pretty darn stupid because the example order I made for question five was identical to the correct choice "E". I think I need to rush less and check again at the end. As I go through the questions for the game I find It helps me answer the earlier ones faster. Silly mistakes are the ones that can be avoided by taking each question seriously and not assuming it is a waste to read through.

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  25. Hey there Steve, I realize that you might never see this given how old it is, but I figured I might ask.

    Using your method of sequencing diagramming, how do you handle issues of equivalence? For example "A is not greater than B" Means that A could be equal to or less than B.

    Is there a way to diagram this? It strikes me that this diagramming method might have a built-in defense against confusing equivalence, but I can't quite articulate it right now. Any tips?

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  26. @ above post

    I have the exact same question. I am unclear about how to diagram pure sequencing rules in which one variable could be before/after another, but they could also be equivalent. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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  27. Wow! This technique is way better than the one found in the LGB. Thanks Steve!

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  28. ^Seconded. Once I mastered your technique, I had no problem completing this logic game within 8 minutes. Thanks!

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  29. I've read the LGB before your blog, and I have to say, I definitely like your diagramming method more. However, I am still a bit confused about questions 3... Maybe I'll figure it out once I rest my head, haha. Thanks for the amazing blog! :)

    -Evelina

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  30. Thanks so much Steve. This notation you suggest made the game type that was hardest to me much easier. On behalf of many, I thank you for your efforts.

    Steve from Ohio

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  31. I am having trouble understanding loose sequence diagrams/sketches.

    I just tackled question 1, the acceptability question. I am able to do those just fine when I look at the rules I have in short hand, but when I look at the branching diagram I made I don't know how to read it. I know I have drawn it correctly because it matches the one here.

    (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VTTgoIk84vc/Sq6xr_J7DdI/AAAAAAAAAN8/RtpqAnIiSn4/s400/Pure+Sequencing+Logic+Game+Main+Diagram.png )

    To me, this sketch tells me O is after both S and P because they are to the left of O on the main diagram. I know this can't be true though based on the rules. Can someone advise how to interpret these diagrams?

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