Free LSAT Logic Games | Grouping: Matching | Templates

LSAT Blog Free Logic Games Matching TemplatesTwo weeks ago, I published a Grouping: Matching Logic Game I'd written. That one was a difficult type of Matching game because the number of "prayer-answerings" per deity was not fully determined.

In other Grouping: Matching games (such as the one I've written for this week - see below), the number of slots is fully determined for you. In these types of games, drawing multiple templates, possibilities, or limited options is often incredibly useful.

What are templates, possibilities, and limited options? They're all different terms describing the same technique - drawing a few main diagrams instead of only one. Each main diagram you draw will represent a different potential placement of the variables.

The key to drawing templates is to identify a variable or rule that has only a few different possibilities. Once you've found that variable or rule, draw multiple diagrams based upon every different major possibility for it, and fill in the other variables around it.

Please post your thoughts and questions in the comments!

***

Here's this week's Logic Game:


Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net presents seven projects to the military over the course of three months- two in April, three in May, and two in June. Two of the projects are classified. Two others are electronics-active camouflage and a ballistics computer. The remaining three are weapons-a drone, a laser cannon, and a ray gun. The projects are presented in accordance with the following conditions:
The drone is not presented in June.
The classified projects are not both presented in the same month.
At least one of the weapons is presented in the same month as one of the electronics projects.
At least two of the weapons are presented in the same month as each other.

1. If the laser cannon is the only weapon presented in June, which one of the following must be true?

(A) A classified project, an electronics project, and a weapons project are presented in May.
(B) The ballistics computer is presented in May.
(C) A classified project is presented in May.
(D) An electronics project is presented in May.
(E) The ray gun is presented in May.


2. If two weapons are presented in April, which one of the following CANNOT be true?

(A) The drone is presented in April.
(B) The active camouflage is presented in May.
(C) A classified project is presented in May.
(D) The ballistics computer is presented in June.
(E) The laser cannon is presented in June.


3. If the electronics projects are not presented in consecutive months, which one of the following must be true?

(A) A weapon is presented in April.
(B) The laser cannon is presented in May.
(C) A classified project is presented in June.
(D) A weapon is presented in June.
(E) The classified projects are presented in consecutive months.


4. Which one of the following CANNOT be true?

(A) Both electronics projects are presented in the same month.
(B) Two weapons are presented in the same month as a classified project.
(C) Two weapons are presented in the same month as an electronics project.
(D) The active camouflage and the drone are presented in April.
(E) Two weapons are presented in June.


5. If neither of the electronics projects is presented in June, which one of the following must be true?

(A) A classified project is presented in May.
(B) The drone is presented in May.
(C) The ray gun is presented in May.
(D) A classified project is presented in June.
(E) Exactly one weapon is presented in June.


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

1. E
2. E
3. E
4. A
5. B

***
Can't figure out how to do the game? Not to worry - leave a comment!

You can also see my explanation and diagrams / templates of this game in Logic Games Grouping: Matching Templates Diagram | Explanation.

***
For some Logic Games similar to this one, check out:

PrepTest 37, Section 3, Game 3 (page 306 in Next 10)
PrepTest 38, Section 2, Game 3 (page 332 in Next 10)

Also see my Logic Games Categorization.

Photo by epicfireworks / CC BY-NC 2.0



23 comments:

  1. Great game! It was tricky at first but it tells you about the importance of just making templaces or a hypothetical for the sake of eliminating answer choices. Thanks :)

    -Annie

    ReplyDelete
  2. how do you know when do use templates?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great game... this is a good one. It was a bit tough in the beginning but teaches some good distinctions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The answer to question 1 can be answer C or E.

    Also, I'm fairly certain the answer to 5 is A.

    Both of these fixes revolve around the final rule of the game; that there must be two weapons together at all times.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @deena

    Knowing when to use templates is really a judgment thing that comes from doing a lot of games.

    The short answer - when the rules limit the game's possibilities enough to make it worthwhile. I'll talk more about this in next week's blog post when I explain the game.

    ------

    @BenjaminKReingold - the game is solid. There are just some possibilities that you failed to consider.

    ---

    For #1, C does not have to be true.

    Proof:

    April: Classified, Electronic
    May: Electronic, Weapon, Weapon
    June: Classified, Weapon (Laser)

    There is no Classified in May.

    ---

    For #5, we could have:

    April: Classified, Electronic
    May: Classified, Electronic, Weapon
    June: Weapon, Weapon

    However, we could also have:

    April: Classified, Electronic
    May: Electronic, Weapon, Weapon
    June: Classified, Weapon

    As a result, we don't need to have a Classified project in May.

    Both of your mistakes stem from the same issue. It looks like you didn't consider the possibility that we could have one Classified in April and the other Classified in June.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When the answer says "exactly one weapon is presented" doesn't that mean there are NOT two weapons presented? How is that correct if it possible to have i.e. L and R for June?

      Delete
  6. Thanks for the quick reply to clear that up.

    I find that your games are always so much harder than the ones on the actual LSAT. Maybe it's the wording of the questions? Who knows?

    Either way, thanks again for this resource.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm flattered you think my Logic Games are harder than *anything* that appears on the LSAT.

    While my Advanced Linear and Grouping: Matching games are harder than *average* games of these types, I don't believe they're harder than all games that have appeared in recent history.

    Have you tried the games in this list?

    10 Hardest LSAT Logic Games

    ReplyDelete
  8. I enjoyed this game. It really tested my ability to make a good diagram, otherwise it would have all fallen apart. The key is reading what everything is. I thought everything was a weapon, and so then I was about to be completely lost. Luckily I checked again.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This game really has got me thinking about when to make templates. The way I've been doing it in the past is if it looks like I need >3 diagrams, its not worth it. But then I get to games like this one, where I find myself enumerating all the possible templates in order to answer the questions anyways. This makes me feel less confident because i have to use a process of elimination on almost every question (and to me, process of elimination is normally the least preferred option b/c it takes time). If I had a template, I would be more confident. And confidence is so important in the LSAT. Now I'm forced back to the drawing board about when to decide to make a template. Any ideas (besides intuition)?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great game, Steve!
    An excellent follow-up to prep test 37 game 3...

    Admittedly, I had a MUCH easier time wrapping my head around laser canons and ray guns.
    Grammar books of Hausa and linguistic monographs on phonology...WTF??!!
    try saying THAT ten times fast...

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm having trouble with Question #2. Is it E because of the rule stating that one of the Weapons has to be with one of the Electronics projects? It's not clear to me from the rule that this limits the number of Electronics projects in a section. Why couldn't a Weapon be with two Electronics?

    April: ray gun, drone
    May: classified, active camo, ballistics computer
    June: laser cannon, classified

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Steve,

    I agree with @Benjamin, I always find your games harder than the actual LSAT games. Obviously, you are quite skilled, but I also think there are two other factors:

    1. The font and formatting is different, and
    2. I typically complete your free games reading them from a computer screen or iPad screen, completing them on a separate piece of paper; whereas, I would normally have actual PT's printed.

    Like @Benjamin, I also got Q5 wrong but was convinced that answer A was correct. But, I read your reply to him, and now I understand why answer B is actually the correct answer. Thank you!

    Kelly

    PS: I am following your two-month study schedule

    ReplyDelete
  13. **I am following your two-month premium day-by-day study schedule, religiously!! Thank you!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Steve,

    I am a bit confused on question #1.
    I put D but I realize that is wrong because an Electronic can be presented in April and June or April and May.
    However E was confusing because technically can't the Ray gun be in either May or June?

    Is it one of those cases that because the option for the Laser wasn't given then Ray gun must be the correct answer?

    Thank you.
    Lucas

    ReplyDelete
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