Q4

 
christine.defenbaugh
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Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch
 
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Q4

by christine.defenbaugh Tue Sep 24, 2013 1:09 am

This absolute question demands a rule violator pair for stops 1 and 2.

It would be pleasant if it were immediately obvious from our initial diagram which answer violated a rule. But it may not always be. To avoid playing out each conditional, first we should make use of our past work to eliminate some legitimate pairs.

The answer from Question 1 indicates that M-O is acceptable, so we can eliminate (D).

The answer to Question 2 indicates that L-O is acceptable, so we can eliminate (B).

At this point, it would be strategic to note that N and O are the only possible players for stop 5, and thus, may be the most dangerous to mess with. That fact makes (E) a strategic case to test first.

If O is at stop 1, it must also be at stop 6. If N is at stop 2 it must also be at stop 4. Check out the diagram:
Image

But no two consecutive stops may be the same, and yet stop 5 must be either N or O! There's no way to proceed without violating one of the rules. (E) is the correct answer!


Another Perspective: Frames
If we had framed the divide between N and O at stop 5, we could have potentially saved ourselves some work. There are not a ton of positive inferences to make in these frames, but there are a number limitations imposed.
Image
Image

In both frames, O is banned from stop 1! (E) would jump out as a clear rule violator with these frames.

There are multiple lines of attack on questions like this: original inferences, framing, using previous work, strategically noting dangerous rule combos, and when all else fails, plugging in the answer choices to find the rule violator.