Category/Line Solving Method
The category/line method is one approach to solving a logic
problem. Here is a problem with a solution using
that method. Click here
to make a duplicate of this window for viewing the problem as you
walk through the solution.
The First Cookout of the Summer
Last weekend, with the onset of warm weather, five friends who live
at Timberland Apartments got together for their first cookout of the
summer of 2000. Each brought a different grilling and a different side
dish favorite to share with the others and their guests. From the clues
that follow, you should be able to decide who brought what to the "barbie."
- Ben, the person who brought the foot-long hot dogs, and the one who
made the baked beans all three live at 3165 New Country Road.
- Alexis brought sausage from her family's farm in Pennsylvania.
- Neither Carol nor David is the friend who put together a vegetable
platter for the cookout.
- The person who brought the hot dogs didn't also bring the cole slaw
or the pickled eggs.
- The friend who brought the shrimp for the "barbie" didn't bring the
baked beans or pickled eggs.
- Neither Ben nor Erica furnished the cole slaw.
- Carol enjoyed the ribeye steak that one of the others brought.
- Erica didn't bring the hot dogs or hamburgers.
- Carol got the recipe for the macaroni salad from the person who
brought it: "Go to the Hickory Ridge Shopping Center, go into Mo's
Deli, go up to the counter ..."
- The person who furnished the ribeye steaks didn't bring the pickled
eggs to the cookout.
- Erica isn't the one who made the baked beans.
Solution:
There are 3 categories with 5 lines (possibilities) for each:
| NAME | MEAT | SIDE |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
By clue 1, three of the cookout friends are Ben, the person who brought the
hot dogs, and the one who made the baked beans. So three of the lines are filled
in:
| Ben | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | hot dogs | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
The person who brought the cole slaw isn't the one who brought the hot dogs (4)
or Ben (6). So the cole slaw can't go on a line with those two and can't be
on the baked beans line and is thus on the fourth:
| Ben | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | hot dogs | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| _________ | _________ | _________ |
Erica didn't bring the cole slaw (6), hot dogs (8), or baked beans (11); she
can't go with any of those on a line nor with Ben and is the fifth cookout
friend:
| Ben | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | hot dogs | _________ |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| Erica | _________ | _________ |
Since Alexis brought the farm sausage (2), either Carol or David supplied the
hot dogs. Then the hot dogs didn't come with the vegetable platter (3).
The person who brought the hot dogs also didn't make the pickled eggs (4).
The hot dog person brought the macaroni salad:
| Ben | _________ | _________ |
| _________ | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| Erica | _________ | _________ |
Carol didn't bring the macaroni salad (9) with the hot dogs, so David did.
| Ben | _________ | _________ |
| David | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| Erica | _________ | _________ |
Since Alexis brought sausage (2) with either baked beans or cole slaw, the
sausage didn't come with pickled eggs; nor did the shrimp (5) or ribeye
steaks (10). The pickled eggs were brought with the hamburgers--by Ben
rather than Erica (8).
| Ben | hamburger | pickled eggs |
| David | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| Erica | _________ | _________ |
Erica brought the vegetable platter by elimination.
| Ben | hamburger | pickled eggs |
| David | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| Erica | _________ | vegetable platter |
Since Alexis brought the sausage (2), Carol or Erica brought the steaks.
Carol didn't bring the steaks (7), Erica did.
| Ben | hamburger | pickled eggs |
| David | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| _________ | _________ | cole slaw |
| Erica | steaks | vegetable platter |
Carol brought shrimp, with cole slaw (5).
| Ben | hamburger | pickled eggs |
| David | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| _________ | _________ | baked beans |
| Carol | shrimp | cole slaw |
| Erica | steaks | vegetable platter |
Alexis accompanied her sausage with baked beans.
| Ben | hamburger | pickled eggs |
| David | hot dogs | macaroni salad |
| Alexis | sausage | baked beans |
| Carol | shrimp | cole slaw |
| Erica | steaks | vegetable platter |
The five friends supplied the first cookout of the summer with
Alexis, sausage & baked beans
Ben, hamburgers & pickled eggs
Carol, shrimp & cole slaw
David, hot dogs & macaroni salad
Erica, ribeye steaks & vegetable platter
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