Section 2 of 5 · 9 puzzles
Abstract Reasoning practice
Abstract Reasoning is the largest section of the test. Each puzzle is a 3x3 grid with the last cell missing, and the rules run both across the rows and down the columns. Work through the example before you open the solution.
Ready for the real thing? The full test has 25 fresh puzzles across all five sections.
What this section measures
Matrix puzzles are the classic nonverbal reasoning item, descended from Raven's Progressive Matrices. They ask you to find several rules at once and hold them together. The guide to matrix reasoning explains the full list of rule types and a method for each.
Try it
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
Show the solution
The answer is E: three outlined squares.
- Read the top row. One circle, two squares, three triangles. Two things change: the count goes up by one, and the shape changes.
- Check the columns for count. The first column always has one shape, the second two, the third three. So the missing cell, in the third column, has three shapes.
- Find the shape rule. The shapes do not follow a fixed order across rows. Instead, every row contains one circle, one square and one triangle. That is a distribution of three. The bottom row already has a triangle and a circle, so the missing shape is a square.
- Do not forget the constant. Every shape in the grid is outlined. Fill does not change, so the answer must be outlined too.
- Check the options. C has the right shape and count but is solid. D and B have the right count but the wrong shape. A, F and H have the right shape but the wrong count. G is wrong on both. Only E fits every rule.
The trap here is option C. If you found the count and shape rules and stopped, C looks right. Checking what stays the same is as important as checking what changes.
What changes on the real test
The first matrix puzzles use a single rule across the rows. Later ones combine two rules in different directions, like this example, and the hardest add a third rule or an overlay, where one cell is made by combining two others line by line. You get eight options for every matrix puzzle, and most wrong options break exactly one rule.
Next, try a mental rotation puzzle.