a logical question..

[some_one]

a monkey , giraffe , elephant and a tiger are living in 4 cages as its described in the
drawing in this link:
http://img397.imageshack.us/my.php?image=16670586ic0.gif

which one of this arguments doesn't settle with with the other three arguments?

1.the giraffe is living between the floor of the elephant and the floor of the monkey
2.the tiger is not living above the elephant.
3.in a floor which is located between the floor where lives the elephant and the floor
where lives the giraffe ,lives only one animal.
4. in a floor which is located between the floor where lives the monkey and the floor
where lives the tiger ,lives only one animal.

i don't know from where to start
so i started from top to bottom
from 1 i can understand that the monkey and the elephant are separated .
one of them lives in the first floor and the other lives in the third floor
the giraffe lives in the second floor

from 2 i can understand that in order for the tiger not to be above the elephant
and without crossing the 1st argument ,we need to put the elephant in the 3rd floor
and the tiger into one of the cages in the first floor.
and the remaining places in the first floor goes to the monkey

but in this way
it crashes with both arguments 3 and 4

what is the algorithm for solving such a question?

[DaveC426913]

Argument 1,2 and 4 are true, argument 3 is false, in this arrangement:

monkey
giraffe
tiger elephant

[some_one]

where did i go wrong in the way that i presented

what is the algorithm for solving such a question?

[Redbelly98]

In this, and many other similar problems being posted, I am seeing a lot of strictly verbal answers / solutions.

However, I pretty much always use charts and/or diagrams to solve these problems. To me, reasoning this out verbally is an incredibly inefficient way to go after the solution. Yes, you'll get there eventually, but with the stated goal of solving the problems in 2 minutes or less I can't imagine that using words alone will get you through the upcoming test.

[Redbelly98]

The 1st and 3rd statements can be represented by the attached diagrams. Already we see that they are incompatible because of the giraffe's location. Make similar diagrams for statements 2 and 4, and try to make them consistent with either #1 or #3.

[DaveC426913]

However, I pretty much always use charts and/or diagrams to solve these problems. To me, reasoning this out verbally is an incredibly inefficient way to go after the solution. True if you can see the attached diagrams. If you can't you're SOOL...

[some_one]

ok i understand that i need to use charts
i did solved it using a chart
i just expressed it verbally

in cage 1 there is a there tiger
in cage 2 there is a monkey
in cage 3 there is a giraffe
in cage 4 there is a elephant

i do know what steps to do in order to solve this kind of question
from which argument do i start?
if this argument gives me a multiple possibilities for one member
how do i write it down?
or do i need to keep it in my head?

how do i decide what argument to take next??

i showed in the i tried to solve it
that i got to a dead end because
the way arranged the objects crossed with arguments 3 and 4

i just don't know on what algorithm should i follow
in order to solve it

[Redbelly98]

Are you able to view my attached charts in post #5? I show how to write multiple possibilities ... you just draw a figure for each possibility, understanding that any one of them could be true.

As for where to start, it shouldn't matter. Draw the diagrams that go with each statement, 1 through 4. I just showed #1 and #3 to provide an example, but you must do it for each statement.

Also, are you aware that no arrangement of animals is consistent with all 4 statements? You are supposed to get a contradiction, and figure out which statement must be removed to get 3 consistent statements.

[Redbelly98]

True if you can see the attached diagrams. If you can't you're SOOL...

Yeah, there is that little glitch here. I forget because I'm able to view attachments.

[some_one]

i your drawing
when described the possibilities of argument 1
there are more possibilities when the monkey is on the other cage in the same floor
i completed the all the possibilities for all the arguments
in this link:
http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=physicsforumslogicproblhp7.gif

although as i said
there could be more in argument 1 and argument 4
what do i do know with all those possibilities?

what is the next step?

[Redbelly98]

I did leave out some possibilities concerning the lower floor; an animal on the lower floor could be in either the left or right hand cage. There are 2 ways to handle this:

1. Include all the lower-floor possibilities every time we are showing an animal on the lower floor.
or
2. Notice that none of the statements distinguishes the 2 lower-floor cages. For example we don't have anything statement like "Animal A is to the left of Animal B, on the same floor". Since the 2 lower cages are equivalent, just keep in mind that an animal depicted in one lower-floor cage could just as easily occupy the other lower-floor cage.

Option #1 is more straightforward. Option #2 saves some space because there are fewer figures to draw. It's really up to you which method you choose.


what is the next step?


First, you need to redo statement 2: the tiger is not above the elephant. So the tiger is either on the same level or below the elephant.

After than, you just have to look over the figures. One statement is incompatible with the other 3. So look for some incompatibility among the figures somewhere.

[some_one]

i reduced the amount of possibilities in argument 2
and i found two possible way to arrange the animals

but to each arrangement takes only two arguments instead of the desired 3

http://img373.imageshack.us/my.php?image=physicsforumslogicprobljt9.gif

what should i do?

[Redbelly98]

but to each arrangement takes only two arguments instead of the desired 3


I don't understand that statement. Sorry.

Since the blue arrows you drew in your figure indicate a consistent arrangement of animals using statements 1, 2, and 4, it appears that you have solved it.

If you want to be rigorous, you would need to see why the arrangements in #3 are all inconsistent with the ones indicated by blue arrows. However, on a standardized test like this it's not necessary to be rigorous.

edit added:
p.s. there is still a slight problem with some of your figures in #2, but luckily this does not affect the solution. You are drawing the tiger above the elephant in 2 figures, but the statement says the tiger is not above the elephant.

[some_one]

i corrected my error in argument 2

i managed to arrange all the objects
ones using argument 1 and argument 4

and the other way is with 1 and 2
as i show in the link:
http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=physicsforumslogicproblhk2.gif

i got the same arrangement from
when i combined 1 and 2
and when i combined 1 and 4

i couldn't make an arrangement with three arguments

????

[Redbelly98]

You came up with the following arrangement:

M
G
E,T

It is consistent with the following of your figures:
#1, right-hand figure
#2, upper-left figure
#4, left-hand figure

p.s. this doesn't affect the solution, but missing from figure set #2 is:

E
T
_ , _

[some_one]

ok thanks
ill try to implement this in the next questions