Question
What is a normal IQ range?
Short answer
A normal IQ range is usually given as 85 to 115, which holds about 68% of people: everyone within one standard deviation of the average of 100. The WAIS-IV uses a narrower label, calling 90 to 109 Average. Both are correct; they answer slightly different questions.
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The statistical range: 85 to 115
Modern IQ tests are scaled so the mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15 (Wikipedia: Intelligence quotient). Because scores follow a normal curve by construction, about 68% of people fall within one standard deviation of the mean, 85 to 115, and about 95% within two, 70 to 130 (the 68-95-99.7 rule). When people say “normal range”, they usually mean the first of these.
Try one · Logical Reasoning
Which tile completes the second pair?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing panel shows a small solid triangle pointing up, with small solid shapes: a diamond at the top-right corner and a diamond at the top-left corner (option 2).
How to solve it
- Compare the first two panels and name exactly what changed.
- The main shape and the small shapes swap forms: the main shape takes the form of the small ones, and the small ones take the form of the main shape.
- Nothing else changes.
- Apply the same change to the third panel: a small solid diamond, with small solid shapes: a triangle at the top-right corner and a triangle at the top-left corner.
- So the missing panel shows a small solid triangle pointing up, with small solid shapes: a diamond at the top-right corner and a diamond at the top-left corner.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
The label range: 90 to 109
The WAIS-IV classification calls 90 to 109 Average (Wikipedia: IQ classification). From the normal curve, about 49.5% of people score in that band. Just above it is High Average (110 to 119), and just below is Low Average (80 to 89). So a score of 112 is inside the statistical normal range but carries the High Average label.
Which one should you use?
If you want to know how typical a score is, use the standard deviation: 85 to 115 is where most people land. If you want the wording a psychologist's report might use, use the WAIS-IV labels. The guide to IQ classification lists all seven bands, and the IQ score chart gives the percentile for every score.
One caution: these ranges assume a standard deviation of 15. On a test that uses 16 or 24, the same share of people covers wider numbers. Read why IQ scores differ between tests before comparing numbers from different tests.
Sources
- 68-95-99.7 rule. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/68%E2%80%9395%E2%80%9399.7_rule
- IQ classification. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_classification
- Intelligence quotient. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient