Abstract Reasoning section
Matrix Reasoning puzzles with answers
Raven-style 3x3 grids. Find the rules in the rows and columns, describe the missing tile, then find it among eight options.
Short answer
A matrix reasoning puzzle is a 3x3 grid of tiles with the last one missing. Rules run across the rows and down the columns: shapes progress, counts grow, each row holds one of three values, or lines overlay and cancel. You find every rule, then pick the one option of eight that obeys them all.
These are practice puzzles. The full test has Abstract Reasoning items like these, generated fresh for every attempt.
Try one
Plate 01 · Easy
Which tile completes the grid?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing tile has three solid stars (option 6).
How to solve it
- Start with the first row and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Each row has its own shape: diamond in the first row, triangle in the second row, star in the third row.
- Across each row the number of shapes goes one, two and three.
- The fill (solid) stays the same in every tile.
- Check the rules on the second row, then apply them to the third.
- So the missing tile has three solid stars.
This is Matrix Reasoning puzzle #1 (easy). Every puzzle below works the same way: tap an option to check it, or open the answer for a step-by-step solution.
How these puzzles work
Matrix puzzles descend from Raven's Progressive Matrices, first published in 1938 and still among the most widely used nonverbal reasoning measures (Wikipedia: Raven's Progressive Matrices). On IQ Octopus they make up the Abstract Reasoning section, the largest part of the test.
The engine builds each grid from a handful of rule types. A progression changes an attribute steadily across a row. A row constant gives each row its own value. A distribution of three places three values once in every row and column. An arithmetic rule moves a count or a dot by a fixed step. A line overlay keeps the lines that appear in exactly one of the first two tiles. Grids can also be transposed, so the rules run down the columns instead of across the rows. The matrix reasoning guide explains each one.
A method that works on every one
- Read the first row (or column) and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Check the same rules on the second row before you trust them.
- List what stays constant across the whole grid.
- Describe the missing tile in words: shape, count, fill, size and position.
- Only then look at the eight options. Wrong options differ from the answer in one attribute, so check every attribute.
Easy puzzles
Easy grids pair a progression (a count or size that grows across each row) with a shape that stays the same within each row. Most common rules in this set: row constant (17), row progression (17).
Medium puzzles
Medium grids use a distribution of three on two attributes at once: each row and column holds three shapes, and three counts or fills, once each. Most common rules in this set: distribution of three (17).
Hard puzzles
Hard grids use line overlays: the third tile in each row keeps only the lines that appear in exactly one of the first two tiles. Most common rules in this set: line overlay (16).
Want them timed? The matrix reasoning practice test gives you 10 puzzles with 30 seconds each and an instant practice score.
Sources
- Raven's Progressive Matrices. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven%27s_Progressive_Matrices