As you would expect from the name, logical reasoning questions test your ability to reason logically. There probably won’t be more than two logic problems on any SAT test you take. There are two types of logic problems you might encounter: chart problems and word problems.

Chart logic problems present you with a partially filled in chart or table and ask you to fill it in completely given either the information in the chart, or some information given by the question. For example,

To answer these problems, you need only rely on your common sense. For this problem, you should see that the bottom row is equal to 15. Since the question states that each row is of equal value, you should see that:

The question also states that each box must be filled with a number from 1 and 9 and that each number can only be used once. The numbers 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 have already been used, leaving you with 1, 5, 6, and 7 to fill in the remaining boxes. You should see immediately that the 7 can’t go in the same row or diagonal with the 8, because that would add up to 15 for just two boxes in a row, and the entire row must add up to fifteen. The seven therefore must go here:

Now you can see that:

Since the problem asks you for the value of x + y, add 3 + 6 = 9.

Word logic problems are less common than chart logic problems. A word logic problem on the SAT will involve some initial statements of fact and will ask you to determine which statement logically follows from the initial facts. For example:

To answer questions of this kind, you have to understand the conditions set up by the initial statement and the question asked about the initial statement. In regard to this specific question, the conditions are as follows: 1) the city can be reached only through the air or by sea (implicitly this means City X cannot be reached by land); and 2) the answer you choose must be true. In other words, there must not be any situation within the given conditions in which the statement could be untrue. Now let’s go through the answer choices and see how they fit within these conditions:

The city is accessible by boat, so Carlos could have traveled there by boat. Therefore this could be the correct answer, right? Well, actually this choice is a bit of a trick. Carlos could have traveled to the city by boat, but he didn’t have to travel there by boat. He could have flown. This statement therefore doesn’t fulfill the condition set up by the question when it said the answer must be true.

This statement does not fit the given conditions for the same reasons we just covered above. Carlos might have traveled to City X by plane, but he might also have traveled by boat.

Given the conditions stated by the question, is there any way Carlos could have traveled to City X by bus? Well, the city is accessible only by sea or air. Can buses float or fly? No. So Carlos must not have traveled to the city by bus. This statement must be true.

The question clearly stated that Carlos did go to City X. This statement is definitely false.

We know that Carlos might have taken a plane to City X, and if he took a plane, there’s certainly the possibility that he flew first class. This statement will not always be true, so it can’t be the answer.

The answer is (C). Carlos did not travel by bus. See, just a little logic bit of logic lets you figure out this question pretty easily.