Glossary
Mental rotation
Definition
Mental rotation is the ability to turn a shape in your mind and judge whether it matches another shape or is its mirror image. It is a core spatial reasoning skill, tested with flat figures turned on the page or with clusters of cubes turned in space.
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Why it matters for IQ scores
Spatial items add something matrix and number puzzles do not: holding a shape in mind while you transform it. That also loads on working memory. A test with a spatial section gives a more rounded picture than one built from a single puzzle type.
An example
You see an L-shaped figure with one shaded cell. Four options show similar shapes at different angles. One is the original turned a quarter turn clockwise. The other three are its mirror image at other angles, so no amount of turning makes them match. If you follow the shaded cell as you turn, the mirror images give themselves away: the shaded cell ends up on the wrong side of the long arm. Those mirror-image options are the distractors.
Common confusions
A flip and a turn can look alike at a glance, especially for symmetric shapes, which is why puzzle makers avoid shapes that look the same in a mirror. Mental rotation is also different from odd one out, which asks for a shared rule rather than a match. Practice with the mental rotation puzzles or read spatial reasoning, explained.
Try one · Spatial Reasoning
Which option is the same shape, only rotated?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
Option 2 is the original figure turned a quarter turn clockwise.
How to solve it
- Pick a landmark: the marked cell or the end of the longest arm.
- Turn the figure in your head and watch where that landmark goes, and which side the other cells end up on.
- Turning the figure a quarter turn clockwise gives option 2.
- Each of the other options is a mirror image: flipping it over would match, but no turn does.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.