Question
What is an IQ test?
Short answer
An IQ test is a standardized set of reasoning and problem-solving tasks whose result is compared with a large sample of people your age. The result is reported as an IQ score with an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Clinical tests are given one to one by a trained examiner.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
What makes a test an IQ test
Three things. First, the tasks sample reasoning and problem solving rather than school knowledge alone. Second, the test is standardized: everyone gets the same instructions, time limits and scoring rules. Third, it is normed: the test was given to a large reference sample, and your result is placed against people your own age on a scale with mean 100 and standard deviation 15 (Wikipedia: Intelligence quotient).
The main kinds of IQ test
- Clinical batteries such as the Wechsler scales and the Stanford-Binet combine many subtests (verbal, visual, memory and speed) into one full-scale score (Wikipedia: WAIS). See the guide to named IQ tests.
- Nonverbal reasoning tests such as Raven's Progressive Matrices use only patterns, which reduces the role of language (Wikipedia: Raven's Progressive Matrices). See what is a nonverbal IQ test.
- Supervised admission tests, such as the ones Mensa uses, which accept people at or above the 98th percentile (Mensa International).
- Online tests, which range from careful estimates to quizzes. See are online IQ tests accurate.
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 3 is the original figure turned a half turn.
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 half turn gives option 3.
- 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.
What you get at the end
A score, ideally with a confidence range and a percentile. The percentile tells you the share of your age group you scored above; the score is the same information on the IQ scale. A careful report also says how precise the number is, because every test carries measurement error. The guide to reading an IQ score walks through each part.
Trying one
The IQ Octopus test uses 25 visual and number puzzles in five sections and takes about 12 minutes. It gives an estimated IQ, not a clinical result. If you want to warm up first, the free practice tests and the puzzle library use the same item types.
Sources
- Intelligence quotient. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Adult_Intelligence_Scale
- Raven's Progressive Matrices. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven%27s_Progressive_Matrices
- About us. Mensa International. www.mensa.org/mensa/about-us