Question
What kinds of questions are on an IQ test?
Short answer
Nonverbal IQ tests mostly use six kinds of puzzles: 3x3 matrices, pattern sequences, number series, figure analogies, mental rotation and odd one out. Full clinical tests sample a wider range of abilities. Every type asks you to find a hidden rule and apply it, and you can try free examples of each with worked answers.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
The six common nonverbal types
- Matrix reasoning. A 3x3 grid with the last cell missing. Rules run across rows and down columns.
- Pattern sequences. A row of tiles that change step by step. Pick the tile that comes next.
- Number series. A list of numbers with a hidden rule, such as gaps that grow. Find the next number.
- Figure analogies. A is to B as C is to what? Spot the change from A to B and apply it to C.
- Mental rotation. Which option is the same figure turned, not flipped? Mirror images are the traps.
- Odd one out. Several figures share a rule; one breaks it. Find the rule, then the exception.
Matrix puzzles descend from Raven's Progressive Matrices, first published in 1938 and widely used as a measure of fluid, culture-reduced reasoning (Wikipedia: Raven's Progressive Matrices). The other types test the same core skill in different clothing: reasoning with new material, which psychologists call fluid intelligence (Wikipedia: Fluid and crystallized intelligence).
What the IQ Octopus test uses
The test has five sections, in this order:
- Pattern Recognition: 5 items. Spot what comes next.
- Abstract Reasoning: 9 items. Complete the grid.
- Spatial Reasoning: 5 items. Rotate shapes in your head.
- Quantitative Reasoning: 3 items. Find the rule in the numbers.
- Logical Reasoning: 3 items. A is to B as C is to ?
Every puzzle is generated fresh from rule templates, so there is no fixed answer key. Items get harder within each section.
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 large outlined square, with small solid shapes: a circle at the left side and a circle at the bottom-right corner (option 5).
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 large outlined circle, with small solid shapes: a square at the left side and a square at the bottom-right corner.
- So the missing panel shows a large outlined square, with small solid shapes: a circle at the left side and a circle at the bottom-right corner.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
What clinical tests add
A full test given by a psychologist samples more than nonverbal reasoning, which is one reason clinical and online scores can differ. See the major IQ tests compared.
What every type has in common
Each format hides one or more rules and asks you to find them. Wrong options are usually built by getting one rule wrong, so a strong habit on every type is to describe the answer in words before you look at the choices, then check each rule against the option you pick. Harder items stack more rules or hide them in less obvious features, such as the position of a small dot rather than the shape of the main figure.
How to get familiar fast
Try a handful from each type in the puzzle library, where every puzzle has a step-by-step solution, or take the 10-question quick practice test, which mixes all six. Read what is a nonverbal IQ test for why shapes are used instead of words.
Sources
- Raven's Progressive Matrices. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven%27s_Progressive_Matrices
- Fluid and crystallized intelligence. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence