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4
Use Matrix Logic
If you use a matrix, or two-dimensional chart, to organize the
information in a problem, you can more easily use the process of
elimination in a systematic way. In their study of the chemical
processes of living organisms, such as the regulation of metabolism,
biochemists use matrix logic to organize various chemical
compounds and reactions.

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O ne way to improve your logical reasoning ability is to solve

logic problems. These problems are fun and challenging.
Most grocery stores and drugstores carry booklets or magazines that
are full of logic problems. Three such magazines are Games and World
of Puzzles, published by Games Publications, and Dell Math Puzzles and
Logic Problems, published by Dell Publications. The basic idea behind
logic problems is to solve them by matching items in various categories.
For example, you might match the first and last names of a list of
people, their favorite foods, their favorite colors, and the pets they
own, or you might match each person’s name with a kind of car
and an occupation. Generally speaking, these problems get harder
as more people or more categories are added.
Most logic problems can be solved by using a chart or a table that
we will call a matrix. A matrix helps organize the information in a
problem in a useful way and facilitates eliminating possibilities, which
is an important strategy for solving logic problems. Many people use
matrices to solve problems in their work. Using a logic matrix sets up
a one-to-one correspondence between the elements in a problem.
This is a standard feature of most logic problems. In the next problem,
for example, each person has one favorite sport.

FAVORITE SPORTS

Ted, Ken, Allyson, and Janie (two married couples) each have a favorite sport:
running, swimming, biking, and golf. Given the following clues, determine who
likes which sport.
1. Ted hates golf. He agrees with Mark Twain that golf is nothing but a
good walk spoiled.
2. Ken wouldn’t run around the block if he didn’t have to, and neither
would his wife.
3. Each woman’s favorite sport is featured in a triathlon.
4. Allyson bought her husband a new bike for his birthday to use in his
favorite sport.
Use the following matrix to work this problem before continuing. Use
an X to represent no and an O to represent yes.

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SPORTS
Running Swimming Biking Golf
Ted
Ken
NAMES
Allyson
Janie

Notice that the top and left side of the matrix are labeled with the
main categories given in the problem: names and sports. This matrix
labels sports on top and names on the left side, but it could have been
set up the other way around. If the problem featured more categories,
you’d need more matrices. (You will see examples of this later in the
chapter.)
Here’s how Damon solved the Favorite Sports problem.
“First I set up my chart [matrix], with the names on the side and the
sports up on top. Then I read through the clues. Clue 1 said that Ted
didn’t like golf. So that eliminated Ted from being the golfer. I put an X
in the Ted-golf space. I also put a 1 next to this X to show that I had
eliminated this possibility by using clue 1.
“Clue 2 said that Ken wouldn’t run around the block. So I figured
that Ken wasn’t the runner, and I put an X2 in the Ken-running space.
The clue also said Ken’s wife wasn’t the runner, but I didn’t know
who his wife was, so I left this part of the clue for later.
“The third clue said that the women like sports featured in the
triathlon. The only sport in the list that isn’t featured in the triathlon
is golf, so I put X3’s in the Allyson-golf and Janie-golf spaces.”

SPORTS
running swimming biking golf
Ted X1
NAMES

Ken X2
Allyson X3
Janie X3

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“Now Ken is the only person who can like golf, because all other
people have been eliminated for golf. So I put an O in the Ken-golf
space. This meant that Ken couldn’t like any of the other sports,
so I put X’s in the Ken-swimming and Ken-biking spaces.”

SPORTS
running swimming biking golf
Ted X1
NAMES Ken X2 X X 0
Allyson X3
Janie X3

“Next I read clue 4. It said Allyson’s husband likes biking. This

meant that Ted had to like biking, since he was the only man left once
I knew Ken liked golf. So Ted likes biking and is Allyson’s husband. So
I put an O4 in the Ted-biking space. This meant that Ted could not be
the runner or the swimmer, so I put X’s in the Ted-running and Ted-
swimming spaces. The Ted-golf space already had an X in it. I also
put X’s in the Allyson-biking and Janie-biking spaces, since if Ted was
the bicyclist, then nobody else could be.”

SPORTS
running swimming biking golf
Ted X X 04 X1
NAMES

Ken X2 X X 0
Allyson X X3
Janie X X3

“Now I had to figure out who was the runner and who was the
swimmer. But I didn’t have any more clues. I read through all the clues
Reread the clues. again. Clue 2 said that Ken’s wife wouldn’t run around the block. I
had skipped that part of the clue when I first read it, but now I thought
I could use it. I knew that Allyson bought her husband a bike and that
her husband turned out to be Ted. This meant that Ken is married

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to Janie, so Janie was the one who won’t run around the block. I
substituted the name Janie for Ken’s wife in clue 2 and put an X in
the Janie-running space. This left Allyson as the runner and Janie as the
swimmer.”

SPORTS
running swimming biking golf
Ted X X 04 X1

NAMES
Ken X2 X X 0
Allyson 02, 4 X X X3
Janie X 0 X X3

“The answers are as follows: Allyson is the runner, Janie is the

swimmer, Ted is the bicyclist, and Ken is the golfer. The chart really
helped to solve this problem.”

Here are a few things to remember about matrix logic problems:

First, although most people schooled in psychology will tell you
to think positively, that’s the wrong attitude for this kind of problem.
Negatives help eliminate possibilities. Matrix logic is a strategy based
Think negatively on things that cannot be.
to eliminate
Second, as soon as you know a connection, correct or incorrect, list
possibilities.
it immediately and make the needed mark in your matrix. For example,
in the Favorite Sports problem, as soon as you knew that Ted and
Allyson were married to each other, you could have started a list with
“Ted-Allyson (married),” or you could have put a little heart symbol
in the matrix by their names so that you could easily remember their
connection. Listing connections for a problem this simple isn’t a big deal,
but for a more difficult problem keeping a careful list can be an asset.
A list like this is called an adjunct list. You’ll use adjunct lists for some
problems later in this chapter.
Finally, Damon had to reread a clue while solving the Favorite Sports
problem. He initially skipped the part of clue 2 about Ken’s wife and
came back to it later when he knew who Ken’s wife was. Rereading
clues is helpful in solving matrix logic problems.

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The Favorite Sports problem was concerned with only two categories:
the first name of each person and his or her favorite sport. We needed
only one matrix to solve the problem.
The next problem, Outdoor Barbecue, is about four men and uses
three categories: the men’s first names, their occupations, and what
type of meat each one brought to a barbecue. To solve this problem,
you need to match up each first name with the correct occupation and
the correct meat.
As with the Favorite Sports problem, you’ll have to use matrices to
compare each category with each other category. A good way to see
how many matrices you’ll need is to make a diagram. Here is a
diagram for the Outdoor Barbecue problem:
First names

Occupations Meat

Each trait is matched with another trait in each of the categories.

The diagram shows that you’ll need three matrices, one for matching
first names with occupations, one for matching first names with meats,
and one for matching occupations with meat.
Making another diagram helps you organize your matrices into a
chart for solving the problem. The three squares in the following
diagram represent the three matrices you’ll need. Each is labeled with
the proper categories.

Occupations
Names
Meat
Occupations
Meat

Names

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Next match up like categories, as in the diagram below. You may

have to rearrange some of the labels for the trait boxes so categories
match up. In this diagram, the labels on the Names-Occupations
box were switched so that the two occupations categories and the
two names categories could match up.

Occupations Meat

Names Names

Occupations

Meat

Now put your boxes together, making them into one figure, as
shown. Delete the category names that are “squeezed” by putting the
boxes together.

Occupations Meat

Names

Meat

Now you have an idea of how your Names/Occupations/Meat

matrix will be organized. This structure is a good way to organize your
chart. As you’ll see, it helps you keep track of the information in the
problem. Look at the final Names/Occupations/Meat chart in the
Outdoor Barbecue problem. Notice that it contains all the categories
given in the problem and that its labels correspond to the labels in your
final diagram.

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OUTDOOR BARBECUE

Tom, John, Fred, and Bill are friends whose occupations are (in no particular
order) nurse, secretary, teacher, and pilot. They attended a picnic recently,
and each one brought his favorite meat (hamburger, chicken, steak, and hot
dogs) to barbecue. From the clues below, determine each man’s occupation
and favorite meat.
1. Tom is neither the nurse nor the teacher.
2. Fred and the pilot play in a jazz band together.
3. The burger lover and the teacher are not musically inclined.
4. Tom brought hot dogs.
5. Bill sat next to the burger fan and across from the steak lover.
6. The secretary does not play an instrument or sing.
Use the following chart to work this problem before continuing.

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OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom

NAMES
John
Fred
Bill
Burg
MEAT Chkn
Steak
Hdog

Millissent and Tami worked on this problem.

MILL: Let’s read the clues and start eliminating. The first clue says that
Tom is neither the nurse nor the teacher. So put X’s in the Tom-
nurse and Tom-teacher boxes.
TAMI: Put little 1’s next to the X’s so we know we eliminated a box
because of clue 1.
MILL: Okay. The next clue says that Fred and the pilot play in a jazz
band together. That means that Fred is not the pilot, so put X2
in the Fred-pilot space.
TAMI: Then from clue 3 we know that the burger lover and the
teacher are not musically inclined. So put X3 in the burger-
teacher box.
MILL: Maybe we should start one of those adjunct lists.
TAMI: What are those?
MILL: When you have other things referred to in the clues, it helps to
Adjunct lists can list them separately. Here we have two people who play in the
organize
jazz band and two people who don’t. Listing information like
information.
this will help us keep everything straight. (She wrote down the
adjunct list shown on the next page.)

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In jazz band Not in jazz band

Fred burgers
pilot teacher

TAMI: How come you wrote Fred and the pilot down on different
lines?
MILL: Because we know Fred is not the pilot, so “Fred” and “pilot”
describe two different people. And I might get some more
information about jazz musicians that I could add next to “Fred”
or “pilot.”
TAMI: Oh, I see. And the burger lover and the teacher are written
on different lines because they’re different people as well. I’ll
bet we can use that list later, too. Wait a second. Fred can’t
like burgers or be the teacher.
MILL: Why not?
TAMI: Fred plays in the jazz band, and the burger lover and the teacher
don’t. So Fred can’t be either one of them. In the Fred-burger
and Fred-teacher spaces, put X2,3 because we used clues 2 and 3.
MILL: That’s right. And by the same reasoning we can cross off pilot-
burger also.

OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom X1 X1
N A M E S

John
Fred X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3
Bill
Burg X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn
Steak
Hdog

TAMI: Okay, let’s go on. Clue 4 says “Tom brought hot dogs.” That’s
easy. Put an O in the Tom–hot dog space.

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MILL: And put X’s in the rest of that row and column because Tom
couldn’t have brought anything else and nobody else brought
hot dogs. But watch out, don’t put X’s past the bold lines by
accident.

OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom X1 X1 X4 X4 X4 0
N A M E S

John X4
Fred X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3 X4
Bill X4
Burg X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn
Steak
Hdog

MILL: Hey, look at this! We know that Tom brought hot dogs. We
Cross-correlate with also know that Tom is not the nurse or the teacher. So the
negative information.
nurse and the teacher didn’t bring hot dogs. So put an X in the
nurse–hot dog and teacher–hot dog spaces. We just used cross-
correlating with negative information.

OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom X1 X1 X4 X4 X4 0
N A M E S

John X4
Fred X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3 X4
Bill X4
Burg X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn
Steak
Hdog X X

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TAMI: That was good, Millissent. The next clue says Bill is not the
burger fan or the steak lover, because he was sitting in different
spots from them. So put X5 in Bill-burger and Bill-steak.
MILL: Look, now we can fill in that Bill must be chicken. All the other
possibilities are eliminated. Bill brought chicken, so nobody else
could have brought chicken. Cross off the rest of the Chicken
column.
TAMI: That means that John brought burgers and Fred brought steak.
MILL: Great, one of our matrices is done.

OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom X1 X1 X4 X4 X4 0
N A M E S

John 0 X X X4
Fred X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3 X 0 X4
Bill X5 0 X5 X4
Burg X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn
Steak
Hdog X X

MILL: Now we can do more cross-correlating with negative

information. Look across Fred’s row. Fred is the steak lover,
and he isn’t the teacher or the pilot. So the steak lover is
not the teacher or the pilot. Put X’s in the steak-teacher and
steak-pilot spaces.
TAMI: And now we see that the teacher likes chicken.
MILL: It also shows that the pilot likes hot dogs, after we cross off the
rest of the Chicken row and the Teacher column.

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OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
N A M E S Tom X1 X1 X4 X4 X4 0
John 0 X X X4
Fred X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3 X 0 X4
Bill X5 0 X5 X4
Burg X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn X X 0 X
Steak X X
Hdog X X X 0

TAMI: Now let’s do some cross-correlating with positive information.

Cross-correlate with We know that Tom likes hot dogs. We also know that the pilot
positive information.
likes hot dogs. So Tom must be the pilot. Put an O in the pilot-
Tom space.
MILL: Great, Tami. We can do the same thing with Bill. We know that
Bill likes chicken and the teacher likes chicken, so Bill must be
the teacher.

OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom X1 X X1 0 X4 X4 X4 0
N A M E S

John X X 0 X X X4
Fred X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3 X 0 X4
Bill X X 0 X X5 0 X5 X4
Burg X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn X X 0 X
Steak X X
Hdog X X X 0

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MILL: We’re almost there. The last clue says the secretary does not
play an instrument or sing. How are we supposed to use that?
TAMI: We can use that. Remember that adjunct list we made before?
Let’s look at that again with the new information we’ve gained
so far.

In jazz band Not in jazz band

Fred steak John burgers
Tom hot dogs pilot Bill chicken teacher

MILL: Okay, so the secretary is not in the jazz band. That means the
secretary can’t be Fred. So the secretary has to be John.
TAMI: Right, so Fred is the nurse. Great job.

OCCUPATIONS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom X1 X X1 0 X4 X4 X4 0
N A M E S

John X 0 X X 0 X X X4
Fred 0 X6 X 2, 3 X2 X 2, 3 X 0 X4
Bill X X 0 X X5 0 X5 X4
Burg X 0 X3 X 2, 3
M E A T

Chkn X X 0 X
Steak 0 X X X
Hdog X X X 0

TAMI: Let’s be sure to answer the question.

MILL: Okay.

Tom pilot hot dogs

John secretary burgers
Fred nurse steak
Bill teacher chicken

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Subscripts
The X’s and O’s in the completed matrix include many subscripts. These
Use of subscripts: subscripts indicate the numbers of the clues that allowed Millissent
and Tami to mark them off in the matrix. The subscripts are useful for
two reasons.
1. Reminds you First, if you make a mistake while solving a problem, you will
of the order in have to do part of the problem over again. The subscripts will help
which you got
you remember the information you already had before you made the
information.
mistake. Without them, you’d have to start the whole problem over
again. With them, you can probably erase just a few marks and start
from where you made the mistake.
2. Helps you Second, the subscripts are extremely useful when you re-create your
re-create your reasoning after you’ve solved the problem. If you saw only X’s and O’s
reasoning.
in the matrix, you’d have to do the problem again to explain your
reasoning. The subscripts remind you why you marked each X and O
in the matrix and thus make your explanation easier to write.

Matrix Logic Substrategies

Millissent and Tami used a number of substrategies to solve the Outdoor
Barbecue problem. Here is a brief explanation of these techniques.

Adjunct Lists
One approach to using extra information is to create an adjunct list
based on all the clues. Millissent and Tami made a list of those who play
in the jazz band and those who don’t play in the jazz band.

In jazz band Not in jazz band

Fred burgers
pilot teacher
secretary

From this list it is clear that Fred, who is not the pilot, cannot be
the teacher or the secretary because they are not in the band. Therefore
Fred must be the nurse.

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Marking Traits
The substrategy of marking traits could also be used in this problem.
It allows us to mark off a number of squares as Millissent and Tami did
when they made an adjunct list using the clues that mention music:

2. Fred and the pilot play in a jazz band together.

3. The burger lover and the teacher are not musically inclined.
6. The secretary does not play an instrument or sing.

On the chart below, each person listed in the clues about music has
been marked with either a musical note symbol or a negated musical
note symbol as appropriate.

OC C U P A T I O N S MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom
NAMES

John
Fred
Bill
Burg
MEAT

Chkn
Steak
Hdog

The burger lover’s lack of musical talent needs to be indicated twice,

once on each of the two charts where “Burg” appears. We also know
that two people play in a jazz band (and two people apparently don’t).
Because we have already identified the occupations of the two who
are not in a band, we can determine that the nurse must be a member
of the jazz band, even though the clues about music don’t refer to
the nurse directly.

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Applying these music symbols, we can eliminate a number of boxes,

as shown in the next chart.

OC C U PATIO NS MEAT
Nurse Scty Tchr Pilot Burg Chkn Steak Hdog
Tom
N AM E S
John
Fred X X X
Bill
Burg X X
MEAT

Chkn
Steak
Hdog

The Outdoor Barbecue problem contained extra information about

a jazz band. In other problems, information about a person’s gender
will often appear. A couple of clues might read “The dog owner sold
his old truck yesterday,” and “The skydiver gave birth to triplets last
week.” These clues make it evident that the dog owner and the skydiver
are two different people, because they are different genders.

Substitution
After going through the first five clues of the Outdoor Barbecue
problem, many people determine that John is the burger lover.
This information can be substituted into a couple of the clues to
eliminate more possibilities.
Specifically, clues 3 and 5 can be rewritten with the new knowledge:

3. The burger lover (John) and the teacher are not musically inclined.

5. Bill sat next to the burger fan (John) and across from the steak lover.

A substitution may lead to the one elimination you need in order

to get the rest of the problem to fall into place.

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Combining Clues
Clues that talk about the same people can be combined to eliminate
more possibilities. Consider clues 1 and 4 from the Outdoor Barbecue
problem:

1. Tom is neither the nurse nor the teacher.

4. Tom brought hot dogs.

These clues can be combined into “Tom, the person who brought
hot dogs, is neither the nurse nor the teacher.” The combined clue
allows us to eliminate both the teacher and the nurse as the person
who brought the hot dogs.
A word of caution about combining clues: Make sure your conclusion
Be sure to account accounts for all the people in the problem. For example, clue 2 in the
for all the people in Outdoor Barbecue problem informs you that two people play in the
the problem.
same jazz band. Clue 3 describes the two people who are not musical,
yet clue 6 also describes someone who is not musical. The problem
itself has only four people in it, so among these three descriptions at
least one person is described twice. Out of four people, we can see that
two people are musical (from clue 2) and two people are not musical
(from clue 3). Clue 6 characterizes the secretary as not being musical, so
the overlap must occur with clues 3 and 6.

3. The burger lover and the teacher are not musically inclined.

6. The secretary does not play an instrument or sing.

The secretary cannot be the teacher, so the secretary must be the

burger lover.
Combining clues can be done incorrectly. Consider these two clues:

3. The burger lover and the teacher are not musically inclined.

5. Bill sat next to the burger fan and across from the steak lover.

Does this mean that Bill is the teacher or that the teacher is the
steak lover? We can’t tell. The clues show an overlap in that the burger
lover receives two references. However, we don’t know if there is
any additional overlap between the two people in clue 3 and the three
people in clue 5. These two clues could refer to all four people in
the problem, or they could refer to only three. We can’t draw any
conclusions from combining these two clues.

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Cross-Correlations (or Bouncing)

As you work through the clues and gain knowledge about the people
and their traits, you will notice more positive identifications of the
people and traits. Suppose in a problem about people, favorite color,
and home state, you had already found out that Jane is “red” and
Jane is “Texas.” It then makes sense that “Texas is red.” This is called
cross-correlating (or bouncing) with positive information. Cross-
correlating can also be done with negative information. Examine the
following charts. The chart on the left comes from a problem involving
names, colors, and states. The chart on the right comes from a problem
involving names, pets, and jobs.
Cross-correlating with Cross-correlating with
positive information negative information
Jane is “red.” Mark is “C.E.O.”

Jane is “Texas.”
Mark is not “cat owner.”
therefore therefore
“Texas is red.” “C.E.O. is not cat owner.”

Another way to look at these correlations is with what we call “chart

tools,” as shown next. Understanding how they work will allow you
to transfer information from one chart to another chart for recording
different associations of characteristics.

Cross-Correlating with Positive Information

red TX red TX
X X X X
Jane X X O X X X X O Jane X X O X X X X O
X X X X
X X X X
X
X
X
TX TX X X O X

Jane is “red.” “Texas is red.”

Jane is “Texas.”

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Using the positive connection between Jane and red and between
Jane and Texas, we can make the connection between Texas and red.

Cross-Correlating with Negative Information

C.E.O. cat C.E.O. cat

Mark X O X X X Mark X O X X X
X X
X X
X X

cat cat X

Mark is “C.E.O.” “C.E.O. is not cat owner.”

Mark is not “cat owner.”

Cross-correlations involve using the information marked on two

matrices to transfer it in some form to a third matrix. From positive
information, you are able to derive more positive information. When
some of the information is negative (negated), you can create only
more negated information.

These substrategies (adjunct lists, marking traits, substitution,

combining clues, and cross-correlations) allow you to use your logical
thinking skills to finish the puzzle. Clues must be analyzed and
commonalities must be sought and refocused in order for you to
eliminate more boxes and affirm the connection between categories.
Often you need to go through the list of clues several times in order
to notice where you can apply the substrategies.

Using the Introduction

Important information is often given in the introduction to problems.
Some introductions tell you exactly who all the people in the problem
are and what you are supposed to find. For example, “Len, Howard,
and Raymond are a grocer, a chemist, and a model, and they each have
dogs, named Clio, Fido, and Spot. Match each man’s name, job, and

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dog.” In other problems, introductions are a little vague. For example,

“Three men (one is named Len) have different jobs (one is a model).
Each also has a dog (one dog is named Fido). From the clues below,
determine each man’s name, job, and dog.” In this case, you have to
read the clues to find the names of the other men, the names of the
other dogs, and the other occupations. You would then mark that
information in your matrix. Of course, you would hope to be able to
tell the difference between a man’s name and a dog’s name, but what
would you do with the name Rex?
Sometimes introductions hide pieces of information you need to solve
Introductions the problem. For example, “Ivan and three friends (one is a mechanic)
can have hidden
like different sports.” This sentence tells you that the problem is about
information.
four people, one of whom is named Ivan. As with other matrix logic
problems, you can probably assume that the people have different jobs
unless the problem states otherwise. What you may not notice right
away is that the mechanic is not Ivan, because the mechanic is referred
to as one of Ivan’s friends. If you read the sentence carefully, you’ll
notice this kind of clue, and you can mark off the Ivan-mechanic space
in your matrix.
When you are solving matrix logic problems, you need to be able
to make certain assumptions. For example, if someone is described
as being “unmusical,” it is reasonable to assume that he or she doesn’t
play in a jazz band. As a general rule, we use the most common
understanding of statements in order to interpret the information
given. This in turn allows us to eliminate possibilities.
One area in particular that can cause problems is making assumptions
about someone’s gender. If you are given clues that state “his favorite
meat . . . ,” it is quite clear that the person is a male. Be careful about
assigning gender based on names. Bob and Ray clearly are men, and
Mary and Beth clearly are women. However, some problems deliberately
include names used by either gender. For example, in a problem about
four people named Taylor, Blair, Sam, and Casey, whether they were
female or male wouldn’t necessarily be clear. Determining genders
might turn out to be an important part of solving the problem. If a
problem includes names from a culture unfamiliar to you, you might
have trouble determining gender from the names. The bottom line is to
avoid assuming too much.

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Making an Assumption
With that warning about assumptions, let’s consider one more
substrategy: making an assumption. Making an assumption is tricky
because, in keeping with the idea of thinking negatively, the most
important part of making an assumption is proving your assumption
incorrect. In fact, this substrategy works only if you can prove you made
an incorrect assumption. The solution to the next problem uses this
substrategy.

COAST TO COAST

Four women live in different cities. One of the cities is San Francisco. Determine
which city each woman lives in.
1. The woman from Charleston (South Carolina), the woman from
Gainesville (Florida), and Riana are not related.
2. Wendy and the woman from Provo are cousins.
3. Neither Phyllis nor Wendy is from the West Coast.
4. Ann is from a coastal city.
Solve this problem before reading on.

NAMES
Ann Phyllis Wendy Riana
SF X3 X3
Gain X4 X1
CITIES
Chrl X1
Provo X4 X2

Right away, the problem’s clues allow us to mark the X’s in the
Make an matrix above. Now let’s use the substrategy of making an assumption.
assumption.
We’ll assume that Riana is from Provo. The new chart that follows
has a light orange O marked in the Riana-Provo space. If Riana is
from Provo, then she’s not from San Francisco, so mark an X in the
Riana–San Francisco space. Thus, Ann must be from San Francisco,

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because Ann’s space is the only space left for San Francisco. We already
know that Wendy is from either Charleston or Gainesville (clue 3:
Wendy is not from the West Coast). The matrix below shows all
of our original marks in blue and all of our new marks, based on our
assumptions, in light orange.
NAMES
Ann Phyllis Wendy Riana
SF O X3 X3 X
Gain X4 X1
CITIES
Chrl X X1
Provo X4 X X2 O

Now reread the clues to look for a contradiction. Clue 2 says that
Seek a contradiction. Wendy and the woman from Provo are cousins. We assumed that
Riana is from Provo, which means that Wendy and Riana are cousins
(clue 2). But clue 1 says that Riana and the women from Charleston
and Gainesville are not related. Because Wendy is from either Charleston
or Gainesville (clue 3), clue 1 tells us that she should not be related
to Riana, but according to clue 2 Wendy and the woman from Provo
(who we assumed was Riana) are cousins. This contradiction arose
from our assumption, so our assumption that Riana is from Provo must
be false. Proving an assumption wrong is cause for celebration: Hooray!
A contradiction
eliminates a Therefore, Riana is not from Provo. Knowing this allows us to mark off
possibility. the Riana-Provo space.
NAMES
Ann Phyllis Wendy Riana
SF X3 X3
Gain X4 X1
CITIES
Chrl X1
Provo X4 X2 X

Now the matrix clearly shows that Riana is from San Francisco.
From this point on, we can simply mark spaces in the matrix to solve
the entire problem, as in the next matrix.

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NAMES
Ann Phyllis Wendy Riana
SF X X3 X3 O
Gain X4 X O X1
CITIES
Chrl O X X X1
Provo X4 O X2 X

At this point, be sure to recheck who is related to whom. The

women from Gainesville and Charleston are Wendy and Ann, and they
are unrelated to Riana. Wendy’s cousin is Phyllis (the woman from
Provo), so that connection works.
The substrategy of making an assumption can be very dangerous.
If your assumption does not result in a contradiction, then it proves
nothing. Use this substrategy only as a last resort when you are
completely stuck on a problem and need to try something drastic.
First try the other substrategies in this chapter. You’ll be able to solve
most logic problems without making any assumptions.
Here’s a tip for when you do want to use this substrategy: Before
making an assumption, mark in pen every known connection in the
matrix. Then, from the point at which you make the assumption,
mark in light pencil all further connections. If you determine that the
assumption is wrong, that’s great. You can erase all your pencil marks,
and your earlier connections will still be marked in pen. We illustrated
this idea in the second matrix of the Coast to Coast problem by using
light and dark colors.

Many logic problems feature more people or categories than you’ve

seen so far in this chapter. For example, a problem may ask you to
match up first names, last names, cities, and jobs. As with problems
that include fewer categories, your first step in solving such a problem
would be to determine how many matrices to combine into your final
matrix. A diagram like the one you used for the Outdoor Barbecue
problem can help.

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First names

Last names Jobs

Cities

You must have a matrix that matches each category with each other
category. From the diagram, you can see that you need the following
six matrices:

First names/Last names

First names/Cities

First names/Jobs

Last names/Cities
Last names/Jobs

Cities/Jobs

Setting up the form of the chart is the next important step in solving
the problem. Make a 1-by-3 chart comparing first names with each of
the other categories: last names, cities, jobs.

Last names Cities Jobs

First names

The chart above contains three of the six matrices we need. We need
to finish the chart to include the other three matrices. Reversing the
order of cities and jobs allows us to build the chart without repetitions.

Last names Cities Jobs

First names
Jobs
Cities

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Generally it’s helpful to order your category labels like this: Label
the left-most column with one category (First names in the preceding
chart). Label the top row with another category (Last names in the
chart). Note that when two of your categories are first and last names,
they should always be placed in the first column and first row. Then
label the other columns with the remaining categories, and repeat these
labels in reverse order to label the other rows so that each category
matches up with each other category. The repeated categories should
always be in reverse order in the rows and columns.
Be sure to experiment a little bit with your preliminary matrices so
they will be really functional before you draw your final matrix. Use
graph paper so it’s easier to draw the matrix lines. Of course, you can
apply all the substrategies you’ve learned in this chapter to problems
that require more than three matrices.

Use Matrix Logic

By using a two-dimensional chart, matrix logic combines the strategies
of using systematic lists and eliminating possibilities. When you are
confronted with a problem, be sure to experiment with your preliminary
matrices before settling on a matrix to use. Graph paper makes it easier
Matrix logic to draw the matrix. Keep the substrategies in mind:
problems provide
great practice for • Adjunct lists
producing logical
arguments. • Marking traits

• Substitution

• Combining clues

• Cross-correlations (bouncing)

• Using the introduction

• Making an assumption

Solving logic problems can improve your reasoning abilities. When

you solve these problems step-by-step, you are using a process similar
to that used to develop a written argument or proof. Logic problems
can be fun and challenging, as people who buy recreational problem-
solving magazines have discovered. Enjoy the challenge!

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Problem Set A
1. THE FISHING TRIP

Several friends take a fishing trip every year. Each year they have a
contest to see who catches the heaviest fish. The loser has to pay for all
of the junk food they eat on the trip. (Second and third places are also
expected to chip in token amounts.) Determine each friend’s standings
in this year’s contest by using the following clues. By the way, in the
tradition of fishing trips, every statement quoted here is a falsehood.

MARTA: Mickey was first. WOODY: I beat Sally.

SALLY: Marta beat Woody. MICKEY: Woody was second.

2. D I V I S I O N I AT H L E T E S

Russ, Don, Pamela, and Stephanie are the first names of four friends
who all received sports scholarships. Krieger actually has a full ride,
because he is a star in two different sports. Use the clues to determine
each person’s full name.

1. Hicks and Russ play on the same men’s volleyball team.

2. Drake and Braun have both set women’s records in swimming.

3. Stephanie and Drake both went to the same high school.

3. A DAY O N T H E L A K E

It was a beautiful summer day, and a group of senior citizens—John,

Ellen, Armand, and Judy—decided to take the boat out for a day on
the Lake. One person looked forward to driving the boat, and another
wanted to water-ski. One person always enjoyed diving off of the
rocks on Emerald Island, and another was just looking forward to a
swim in the cool, clear water. Use the clues to match each person with
his or her activity for the day.

1. Judy had been pulling weeds all week and complained of sore
“gripping muscles.”

2. Armand had forgotten to bring his bathing suit.

3. Ellen had just had her hair done and avoided splashing so it
wouldn’t get wet.

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4. B R OT H E R S A N D S I S T E R S

Jennifer is on a rampage. Her four younger siblings are in big trouble.

When she returned home from the concert, she found that her computer
had crashed, her favorite nail polish was half gone, and someone had
used her last drop of shampoo. To add insult to injury, her stuffed
panda was hanging by one paw from the light fixture.
There was no doubt in her mind that she was the victim of a
conspiracy and that all her siblings had been involved. She confronted
each one individually, knowing full well that each and every one of
them would lie. Although no one gave her enough information to give
anyone else away, she was able to put it all together to match each
misdeed with its perpetrator. Who was guilty of each crime?

Scott said, “Neither of the girls touched your computer.”

Lynn said, “I saw Greg using the nail polish. I think he was gluing
his model together.”

Cheryl added, “One of the boys used your shampoo.”

Greg said, “Lynn used the shampoo. She wanted to brighten up her
pink hair.”

5. S TAT E Q U A RT E R S

Two waitresses, Robin and Jen, and their sons, Nicholas, Dustin, and
Miles, just started collecting state quarters. To start their collection,
they each acquired one quarter representing a different state: Rhode
Island, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Use the
clues to match the names and the states.

1. Nobody got a state quarter from a state whose name started with
the same letter as his or her name.

2. Robin and Jen work together. Their coworker Thelma gave one
of them the Delaware state quarter.

3. Robin told her son that the Pennsylvania quarter was worth $2.
Neither of them has it.

4. One of Jen’s two sons has the Massachusetts quarter.

5. Miles got home from school and told his mom that he got the
New York quarter. His brother Dustin wasn’t home.

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6. CABINET MEMBERS

The president was discussing some politics with the vice president
and three of her cabinet members: the secretaries of state, education,
and the treasury. Using the clues in the conversation below, determine
which woman (one is named Norma) holds which position.

Paula said, “Ms. President, I don’t think the secretary of state knows
what she is talking about. I think our foreign policy has really
deteriorated lately.”

The secretary of state shook her head. So did the vice president.

The secretary of the treasury said, “I agree with Paula. We haven’t

even talked to Japan lately.”

The vice president jumped in. “Will you two leave Inez alone? She is
doing a fine job.”

Georgianne, who had been silent so far, finally said, “Okay, let’s get
on to something else.”

The secretary of education said, “I’m sorry, Inez. Nothing personal.”

Colleen said, “I’m sorry too, Inez. I guess we just got carried away.”

Inez replied, “That’s okay. I know we’ve all been under a lot of
stress lately.”

7. E C O L O G Y E X P E RT S

Abbie, Bridget, Cynthia, and Dena are women whose professions

are water quality engineer, soil contamination scientist, air pollution
consultant, and biological diversity advocate. Match each woman
to her expertise using the following four clues.

1. Bridget’s expertise is not biological diversity.

2. Abbie loves to garden, but her expertise has nothing to do with

soil or air pollution.

3. The air pollution expert, the water quality engineer, and Dena all
met one another at a global warming conference.

4. Bridget has never met the person who works on air pollution.

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8. VO L L E Y B A L L T E A M

Three friends—Elaine, Kelly, and Shannon—all start for their college

volleyball team. Each plays a different position: setter, middle blocker,
and outside hitter. Of the three, one is a freshman, one a sophomore,
and the other a junior. From the clues below, determine each woman’s
position and year in school.

1. Elaine is not the setter.

2. Kelly has been in school longer than the middle blocker.

3. The middle blocker has been in school longer than the outside
hitter.

4. Either Kelly is the setter or Elaine is the middle blocker.

9. MUSIC PREFERENCES

Two men (Jack and Mike) and two women (Adele and Edna) each like
a different type of music (one likes jazz). Their last names are Mullin,
Hardaway, Richmond, and Higgins. From the following clues, find each
person’s full name and favorite type of music.

1. Hardaway hates country-western music.

2. The classical-music lover said she’d teach Higgins to play the

piano.

3. Adele and Richmond knew the country-western fan in high school.

4. Jack and the man who likes rock music work in the same office
building.

5. Richmond and Higgins are on the same bowling team. There

are no men on their team.

10. G R A D U AT E S C H O O L A P P L I C AT I O N S

Four college friends (one is named Cathy) were all accepted to graduate
school. Their last names are Williams, Burbank, Collins, and Gunderson.
Each will attend a different graduate school (one is a law school). From
the following clues, determine each person’s full name and the
graduate school he or she plans to attend.

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1. No student’s first name begins with the same first letter as her or
his last name. No student’s first name ends with the same letter
as the last letter of her or his last name.

2. Neither Hank nor Williams is going to the seminary.

3. Alan, Collins, and the student who is going to the veterinary

school all live in the same apartment building. The other student
shares a house two blocks away.

4. Gladys and Hank live next door to each other in the same
apartment building.

5. The medical school accepted Hank’s application, but he decided

to study in a different field.
11. SUSPECTS

The police department arrested four suspects—two men and two

women—on suspicion of petty theft. The sergeant on duty who
processed the suspects was having a bit of a bad day. He produced
this list of suspects and descriptions:

Dana Wilde: scar on left cheek

Cary Steele: purple hair

Morgan Fleece: tall and blonde

Connie Theeves: birthmark on left wrist

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When the list landed on the arresting detective’s desk, he was furious.
He went to the sergeant and said, “Jean-Paul, you might be having a
bad day, but this list is full of mistakes. The first and last names are all
mismatched. And none of the descriptions matches either the first or
the last name it is listed with. Do you think you can fix this?”
The sergeant replied, “Sorry, Dick. I am having a bad day. But I think
I need a little bit more information.”
The detective answered, “Okay, Jean-Paul. Here’s some more info.
Connie has purple hair to match her purple high-tops. The men are
Steele and Fleece. A woman has the scar. Do you think you can straighten
out this mess now?”
The sergeant now determined the first and last names of each
suspect, as well as their descriptions. You work it out too.

12. ANNIVERSARIES

Three couples are good friends. At a dinner party one night, they
discovered that their anniversaries were in different months: May,
June, and July. They also discovered that they had each been married
a different number of years: 11, 12, and 13. From the clues below,
match up each husband (one is Pierre) with each wife (one is Lorna),
the month of their anniversary, and the number of years each couple
has been married.

1. Jorge and his wife have three children. Their anniversary is not
in July. They have not been married as long as Tara and her
husband have.

2. Nylia and her husband have four children. Their anniversary is in

June. They have been married longer than Ahmed and his wife.

13. PAY I N G T H E B I L L S

Oh, those bills! Kathleen, Ginny, Rosita, and Michelle are all friends in
college. Each of them is stuck with bills, some because that’s just the
way life is and others because they have some financial help from

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their parents and can spend a little more on extras in life. Even though
they’re friends, each has a different favorite activity: scuba diving,
swimming, rock climbing, or snorkeling. With the help of the following
eight clues, determine which woman has which item (apartment, car,
clothes, or dorm) as her biggest monthly bill and which activity is
her favorite.

1. Neither the person who likes snorkeling, the person whose

biggest bill is her apartment rent, nor Kathleen knew one another
before college.

2. Rosita and the rock climber keep their clothing expenses to a

minimum by making most of their own clothes.

3. Michelle walks most places because she doesn’t have a license.

Ginny’s grandfather bought her car for her.

4. Rosita left the dorms for good last year after she almost went
crazy living there.

5. Ginny and the person who makes dorm payments have been
friends since high school.

6. The person whose biggest bill was the apartment rent practiced
her activity in the Caribbean Sea last summer.

7. The person whose biggest bill is for clothing, the swimmer, and
Kathleen went to the football play-offs together.

8. The swimmer, the snorkler, and Rosita all went to the opera
together last week.

After filling in as much of your chart as you can using the clues and
cross-correlations, you will have to make an assumption and seek
contradictions. Try assuming that Kathleen’s largest bill is for the dorm,
and see where that assumption leads.

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14. CLASS SCHEDULES

You are a counselor at River High School. The master schedule for River
High School is shown next. The dots indicate the period(s) in which
a class is offered. All students must take the classes marked with
asterisks. The other classes are electives.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
* English

* Math

* Science

* PE

History
Drama
Typing
Band
* Lunch

The following students come to you with schedule requests.

a. Make up a schedule for Jillian. She wants to take Band and

History as her electives. She needs Lunch during fifth period
because the science club meets then.

b. Make up a schedule for Todd. He wants to take Drama and

Typing. He would like to have Lunch during fourth period,
but he doesn’t care that much.

c. Make up a schedule for Leanne. She wants to take Band and

Drama.

d. Make up a schedule for Mea. She wants to take History and

Typing.

e. Part 1: José wants to take Drama and History. Make up his

schedule.

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Part 2: José had his schedule all figured out, but when he went
to sign up for first-period PE, he found out that the class
was closed. However, the other two periods of PE were
still open. What should he do?

Part 3: After making a new schedule that he wasn’t too happy

with, José found out that the school was opening a new
sixth-period Science class. Now what should he do?

15. W R I T E YO U R OW N

Create your own matrix logic problem. First come up with the people
in the problem and what their characteristics are. In other words,
start with the answer. We suggest that you use only one chart for your
first made-up problem. Then write the clues and solve the problem as
you are writing clues. In this way, you will know when you have
enough clues.

C L A S S I C P RO B L E M
16. THE ENGINEER’S NAME

Three businessmen—Smith, Robinson, and Jones—all live in the Leeds-

Sheffield district. Three railwaymen (guard, stoker, and engineer) of
similar names live in the same district. The businessman Robinson and
the guard live in Sheffield, the businessman Jones and the stoker live in
Leeds, whereas the businessman Smith and the engineer live halfway
between Leeds and Sheffield. The guard’s namesake earns $10,000 per
year, and the engineer earns exactly one-third of what the businessman
living nearest to him earns. Finally, the railwayman Smith beats the
stoker at billiards. What is the engineer’s name?

Adapted from 536 Puzzles and Curious Problems by Henry Dudeney, edited by
Martin Gardner. This problem is one of Henry Dudeney’s most popular puzzles
and is said to be the prototype of all matrix logic problems.

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Problem Set B
Introducing the Family Family

1. THE PHONE NUMBER

Ed, the eldest child of the Family family, met a new girl named Candy
at the beginning of his senior year in high school. He really liked her,
so he wanted her phone number. He knew the first three digits of the
number were 492 because the town was so small that everyone had
the same telephone prefix. She wouldn’t give him the rest of the
number at first, but he persisted. Finally, at the beginning of the lunch
period, she handed him a piece of paper with several numbers on it.
“The last four digits of my phone number are on this page,” she
explained.

3257 4682 8824 0626 4608

8624 4632 6428 8604 8428
8064 3195 8420 4218 8240
7915 6420 4602 2628 4178
3281 2804 4002 4826 0846
4718 4680 6402 0428 2406

Ed protested, “But there must be thirty numbers here!”

Candy laughed. “That’s right. But I’ll give you some clues. If you
really want my number, you’ll figure it out.”
“Okay,” he said. “Shoot. I’m ready.”
Candy listed her clues:

1. All the digits are even.

2. All the digits are different.

3. The digit in the tens place is less than the other digits.

4. The sum of the two larger digits is 10 more than the sum of the
two smaller digits.

During lunch, Ed frantically worked away and tried to figure out

which number was Candy’s. He looked up with only a few minutes
left in the lunch period. “I don’t have enough information,” he protested.
The bell rang, so they walked out of the lunchroom together. She

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said, “Okay, I’ll tell you the sum of all the digits.” She whispered the
information in his ear.
“Thanks!” Ed said, because this gave him enough information to
figure out the number. “I’ll call you tonight.”
What was Candy’s phone number?

2. T H E B I L L B OA R D

Ed went to work for an advertising company after school and on

Saturdays. For his first assignment, he hired himself to create a billboard.
The billboard will be 20 feet high and will proclaim his love for Candy
(the girl, not the sweets). He decided that each letter should be 2 feet
high and that there will be a 1⁄ 2-foot space between the bottom of one
line of words and the top of the next line of words. In addition, he
wants borders measuring 11⁄ 2 feet at both the top and the bottom of
the billboard. How many lines of words can Ed fit onto the billboard?

3. A WO RT H Y S U I TO R

Lisa, the eldest daughter in the Family family, is a junior at the same
high school that her brother attends. Ed told her about the incident
with the phone number, and she decided that she might do something
similar sometime. Her opportunity came the next day when Ernie
asked her for a date. She liked Ernie, but she couldn’t resist a good
puzzle. She decided to test Ernie’s skill as a puzzler.
“Okay, Ernie, I’d like to go out with you, but I need to see if we’re
compatible puzzlers. Can you find five ways to add up four even,
positive numbers (not including zero) and get a sum of 16?”
Ernie replied, “Oh sure, I can do that.” He whipped out a piece of
paper and a pencil and wrote down

2 + 2 + 2 + 10 = 16
2 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 16
2 + 2 + 6 + 6 = 16
2 + 4 + 4 + 6 = 16
4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 16

“Good job,” said Lisa. “Now, if you can do this next problem, I’ll go
out with you. How many ways are there to add up six even, positive
numbers (again not including zero) to get a sum of 26?”
Ernie did it. Now you do it too.

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4. THOSE AMAZING NAMES

Papa Family was sitting at the kitchen table one day, looking at a piece
of paper that had his children’s names written on it. The paper read

LISA
JUDY
EDWARD

He said to Mama Family, “You know, the names of our kids almost
make one of those cryptarithm word-arithmetic problems.”
Mama said, “Let me see.” She looked at the paper. “Papa, you forgot:
Ed’s name is Eduard with a u, not a w. And Lisa’s name is really Elisa,
but we don’t call her that much anymore since she started high school
and decided that Lisa is prettier. And don’t you remember about Judy’s
name? It’s really Ajudy.”
“Oh, yeah,” Papa said. “I forgot about that. The nurse came into the
delivery room and said, ‘Well, what do we have here: a Kathy?’ And
you said, ‘No, a Judy.’ What a surprise when the birth certificate actually
had ‘Ajudy’ written on it.”
Mama said, “Look, Papa, if you use their real names, it does work as
a word-arithmetic problem.” She wrote down

E L I S A
† A J U D Y
E D U A R D

Together, she and Papa solved the problem in a few minutes. You
solve it, too. Each letter stands for one of the digits 0 to 9, and no two
letters stand for the same digit.

5. T H E S P O RT I N G E V E N T S

Papa Family just got a new job at the recreation department. His first
task is to schedule the playing field for the afternoons of the upcoming
week. His first priority in scheduling is to make his three children—
Ed, Lisa, and Judy—happy. They all play various sports, and their
teams are supposed to play after school during this week. Papa also
wants to make his wife, Mama Family, happy. She is taking a golf class
and also needs to use the field this week. Use the following information
to help Papa figure out a schedule that will satisfy all the desires of
all the members of his family.

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1. The field is available only on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and

Friday.

2. Lisa wants to watch the baseball game, but she’s in the school
play and has rehearsal after school on Tuesday and Thursday.

3. Lisa and Judy have no interest in seeing each other play.

4. One daughter wants her ultimate-Frisbee event to precede the

soccer game and the golf class because soccer players and golfers
tear up the field.

5. Ed is going to visit colleges on the weekend and wants to get an

early start immediately after school on Friday.

U S E M AT R I X L O G I C 105
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