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LSAT—IndiaTM MiniPrep 5: Explanations
What the setup tells you
This group of questions concerns the order in which five different bands perform during a seven
hour concert. The setup says that each band will perform for one hour each and that there will be
two one hour breaks. Each of the conditions concerns when the breaks can occur, when a band
can play relative to one of the breaks, when a band can play relative to another band, or during
which hour one of the bands can play.
Some things you can deduce right away
While it is not necessary to make any inferences before attempting to solve the individual
questions, it is worth noting that the second condition—that the Yaks must perform sometime
before the first break—tells us something about how early the first break can occur. If there must
be at least one performance before the first break, then the earliest the first break can occur is in
the second hour.
There is one more thing that we can deduce right away, and that is that the Snap must perform at
some time before the Neighbors perform. The fourth condition tells us that the Neighbors and the
Rockers must perform back-to-back. The third condition says that the Snap must perform at
some time before the Rockers. So there will be no acceptable assignment in which the Snap
performs after the Neighbors perform. In order for the Snap to perform after the Neighbors but
before the Rockers, the Snap would have to play in between the Neighbors and the Rockers. But
that would be a violation of the fourth condition.
Question 1
This question asks you to identify an acceptable ordering in which the five bands could play. For
this kind of question, where you're asked to identify a possible complete outcome, it is generally
a good strategy to try to find the correct answer by using a process of elimination in which you
proceed by considering each of the setup conditions in turn and checking to see whether that
condition is satisfied in each answer choice. If a condition is violated in an answer choice, you
can eliminate that answer choice from further consideration.
So, applying that strategy here, consider the first condition, which states that the second break
cannot take place immediately after the first break. A glance over the five answer shows us that
none of the answer choices violate this condition, so we will move on to the second condition.
©2020 Law School Admission Council, Inc.
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The second condition says that the Yaks must perform sometime before the first break. This
condition allows you to rule out (A), in which the Yaks perform after the first break.
The third condition states that the Snap must perform sometime before the Rockers perform.
This condition allows you to rule out answer choice (B), since in that answer choice the Snap
perform after the Rockers.
The fourth condition states that the Neighbors must perform during the hour immediately before
or the hour immediately after the Rockers. This allows you to rule out answer choice (E), since
in that answer choice there is a band performance and a break in between the performances of
the Neighbors and the Rockers.
The final condition states that the Loners must perform during the seventh hour. This allows you
to rule out answer choice (D), since in that answer choice the Loners perform in the fourth hour.
We have ruled out every answer choice except (C), so (C) must be the correct answer.
The Correct Answer (Q1):
(C) As explained above, you can determine by a process of elimination that the correct answer is
(C). A quick check through all of the conditions will verify that the ordering in (C) could be the
schedule of performances.
The Incorrect Answer Choices (Q1):
(A), (B), (D), (E) As shown above, each of these answer choices violates one of the conditions in
the setup: (A) violates the second condition, (B) violates the third condition, (D) violates the fifth
condition, and (E) violates the fourth condition.
Question 2
Your task in this question is to determine what could be true based solely on the information
given in the setup. Specifically it asks about what could occur during the fifth hour. This might
initially seem rather daunting. A good approach to such questions can be to check each answer
choice in turn and see if it could be true given the setup conditions. That is, for each answer
choice, you can check whether it is possible to make a complete ordering by putting the event
mentioned in the answer choice in the fifth hour. Any answer choice that cannot be true given the
©2020 Law School Admission Council, Inc.
LSAT—IndiaTM MiniPrep 5: Explanations
What the setup tells you
This group of questions concerns the order in which five different bands perform during a seven
hour concert. The setup says that each band will perform for one hour each and that there will be
two one hour breaks. Each of the conditions concerns when the breaks can occur, when a band
can play relative to one of the breaks, when a band can play relative to another band, or during
which hour one of the bands can play.
Some things you can deduce right away
While it is not necessary to make any inferences before attempting to solve the individual
questions, it is worth noting that the second condition—that the Yaks must perform sometime
before the first break—tells us something about how early the first break can occur. If there must
be at least one performance before the first break, then the earliest the first break can occur is in
the second hour.
There is one more thing that we can deduce right away, and that is that the Snap must perform at
some time before the Neighbors perform. The fourth condition tells us that the Neighbors and the
Rockers must perform back-to-back. The third condition says that the Snap must perform at
some time before the Rockers. So there will be no acceptable assignment in which the Snap
performs after the Neighbors perform. In order for the Snap to perform after the Neighbors but
before the Rockers, the Snap would have to play in between the Neighbors and the Rockers. But
that would be a violation of the fourth condition.
Question 1
This question asks you to identify an acceptable ordering in which the five bands could play. For
this kind of question, where you're asked to identify a possible complete outcome, it is generally
a good strategy to try to find the correct answer by using a process of elimination in which you
proceed by considering each of the setup conditions in turn and checking to see whether that
condition is satisfied in each answer choice. If a condition is violated in an answer choice, you
can eliminate that answer choice from further consideration.
So, applying that strategy here, consider the first condition, which states that the second break
cannot take place immediately after the first break. A glance over the five answer shows us that
none of the answer choices violate this condition, so we will move on to the second condition.
©2020 Law School Admission Council, Inc.
, [2]
The second condition says that the Yaks must perform sometime before the first break. This
condition allows you to rule out (A), in which the Yaks perform after the first break.
The third condition states that the Snap must perform sometime before the Rockers perform.
This condition allows you to rule out answer choice (B), since in that answer choice the Snap
perform after the Rockers.
The fourth condition states that the Neighbors must perform during the hour immediately before
or the hour immediately after the Rockers. This allows you to rule out answer choice (E), since
in that answer choice there is a band performance and a break in between the performances of
the Neighbors and the Rockers.
The final condition states that the Loners must perform during the seventh hour. This allows you
to rule out answer choice (D), since in that answer choice the Loners perform in the fourth hour.
We have ruled out every answer choice except (C), so (C) must be the correct answer.
The Correct Answer (Q1):
(C) As explained above, you can determine by a process of elimination that the correct answer is
(C). A quick check through all of the conditions will verify that the ordering in (C) could be the
schedule of performances.
The Incorrect Answer Choices (Q1):
(A), (B), (D), (E) As shown above, each of these answer choices violates one of the conditions in
the setup: (A) violates the second condition, (B) violates the third condition, (D) violates the fifth
condition, and (E) violates the fourth condition.
Question 2
Your task in this question is to determine what could be true based solely on the information
given in the setup. Specifically it asks about what could occur during the fifth hour. This might
initially seem rather daunting. A good approach to such questions can be to check each answer
choice in turn and see if it could be true given the setup conditions. That is, for each answer
choice, you can check whether it is possible to make a complete ordering by putting the event
mentioned in the answer choice in the fifth hour. Any answer choice that cannot be true given the
©2020 Law School Admission Council, Inc.
