SEQ Overview, Rules, and Deductions Flashcards
What do we need to look for in the Overview (Opening passage)?
TEAR Factors:
Task–What is the LSAT asking us to do?
Entities & Slots/Groups
Action–Game Type
Restrictions–
How many of each entity can be used (How many times can an individual entity appear on the board?)
How many entities are allowed per slot (Can entities stack on top of each other? Can the slots be empty?)
What is a Sequencing Game?
Games where the order matters (i.e. ranking, scheduling, placing things consecutively, etc.)
What is a Grouping Game?
Games where you are placing entities into different groups (i.e. teams, classrooms, etc.)
What is a Selection Game?
Games where each entity has only two options (i.e. 8 out of 5 selected)
What two factors do we need to consider for rules drawn next to the board? (NOT the rules that we can place directly above or below the board)
The order and the distance
How do you indicate that we know the EXACT distance between two entities in a rule diagram?
Use a box
How do you indicate that we know the MINIMUM distance between two entities in a rule diagram? (i.e. “there are at least two slots between…”)
Diagram the minimum number of slots and use a plus sign
How do you indicate that we don’t know the distance at all between two entities?
Use a dash
What are Duplications (aka Linkages)?
Deductions that occur when there is an entity or slot that shows up in more than one rule. When this happens, always try to combine the two rules if possible
What are Apparent Inferences? How do you find them?
Apparent Inferences are statements that are directly inferred from a specific statement.
Identify these by asking yourself two questions for EACH entity before moving onto the next:
1. How many MUST go before? (Cross off the entity for that number of slots from the LEFT side of the board)
2. How many MUST go after? (Cross off the entity for that number of slots from the RIGHT side of the board)
What are block deductions?
Deductions that occur as a result of a block being restricted (having a small number of options)
What does the term “restricted” mean?
Has a small number of possibilities
How do we know when to split the gameboard?
Only split if BOTH statements are true:
1. There are 2-3 possibilities
2. Depending on the possibility, there are major deductions or a significant amount of ADDITIONAL information we can gather
What is a sign that we may have Number Restriction Deductions in Sequencing games?
If an entity or group of entities is restricted to a specific area on the board, especially from the edges of the gameboard (from the very beginning or end of the board)
What is the Number Restrictions Process?
IF an entity/group of entities is restricted to a specific area on the gameboard…
1. How many additional slots are available in that area?
2. Are there blocks that cannot fit AS A WHOLE? If no, there are no Number Restrictions.
3. If yes, check each entity within the block to see if it can fit in the area one by one.
