Stumped on a Logic Game Forum

[cubsfan]

Hi all,

I'm stumped on the following logic game. It doesn't seem too tough, but the answer I'm coming up with is different than the supposedly correct answer. I would appreciate it if anyone could try it out and see what they come up with; a brief explanation would also be great. (I won't say my answer or the "correct" answer, so you won't be biased.) Any help would be really appreciated!

[The game was removed per forum policy.]

[kaiser]

I think the answer is D. I will explain it out, but first wanted to caution you that you aren't supposed to post full Q's here on the forums. You can refer us to the game and Q you are talking about, but can't post the actual thing here.

That being said, let me know if I am correct and I will explain it to you.

[grovevilleroad]

the answer is D

P F & O are the only boats that cannot finish before L

[it'sjustme]

Don't feel bad; I am stumped on almost every logic game.

[kaiser]

With ordering games like these (the relative type that do not place any items for you), the key is to have a clear and accurate diagram. Don't just write out the individual rules and move on. Combine everything you get into one diagram that incorporates everything. I will start with the individual rules, to make sure you didn't make any simple errors in writing them out. I will then discuss how I combined them to reach the answer.

1. M - O
2. K - J - P
3. L - O
4. L - P - F

Lets connect the loose ends that we have. Start with the K - J - P line from rule 2. If we look at rule 4, we see that F comes after P, so we can just add that to the large chain from rule 2:

K - J - P - F

That chain is the heart of the diagram, and everything else sort of branches off from that. We know that rule 4 also tells us about the L. L comes before P. Remember that P comes before F, so that inherently means that L comes before F as well. Also note that we do NOT know the relationship between L and the "K - J" portion of the main chain. All we know about L and the "K - J" portion of the chain is that all of these factors come before P.

Now lets add in the last few pieces. We are told that O comes after L. Remember that we already know that P - F come after L as well. So now we have a 3rd letter that must come after L. Note that we do not know the relationship between the "P - F" section of the chain and the factor O. All we know is that all 3 come after L.

Finally, M comes before O. I can see why some people will get confused at this point. But keep everything straight in your mind. What do we know about O? We know that it comes after L and that is it, and that isn't much. And now we add in the final fact that M comes before O. Note that we do NOT know the relationship between L and M. All we know is that both come before O. At this point, M could be the first item in the chain so long as it comes before O. And O could be the last letter in the chain, so long as it comes after L.

Now, to the Q itself. We assume that L is 3rd in the chain, so 2 spots are open in front of L. The Q asks for the entire list of possible factors that could possibly go into either of these spots. So just think back to our diagram and see what can go before L. Lets use process of elimination. We know O comes after L every time, so C and E are immediately gone. We know P and F also must come after L every time, so that knocks out B. We are left with A and D. Both these answers have K and M, and the only difference is J. So lets consider J. Remember that we said that K, J, and L must all come before P, but we said that we do NOT know the relationship between the "K - J" portion of the main chain, and the factor L. For all we know, L could come before K - J, or L could be in between K and J, or perhaps K - J could come entirely before L. Thus, it is possible for J to come before L, and D is the correct answer.