UCAT Abstract Reasoning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A sequence of shapes has the following number of sides: 3, 5, 7, 9, ___. What number of sides does the next shape have?
- 10
- 11 (Correct answer)
- 12
- 13
Correct answer: 11
Each term increases by 2, following the odd number sequence: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11.
Question 2: In Set A, all shapes are filled black. In Set B, all shapes are white (unshaded). A grey triangle is shown as a test shape. Which set does it belong to?
- Set A
- Set B
- Both sets
- Neither set (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Neither set
The grey triangle is neither fully black (Set A) nor fully white (Set B), so it belongs to neither set.
Question 3: A sequence shows shapes with an increasing number of black dots: 1 dot, 3 dots, 6 dots, 10 dots. How many dots appear in the next shape?
- 13
- 14
- 15 (Correct answer)
- 16
Correct answer: 15
The differences between terms are +2, +3, +4, +5, so the next term is 10 + 5 = 15 (triangular numbers).
Question 4: In a 3×3 grid, each row and each column must contain exactly one circle, one square, and one triangle. Row 1: circle, square, triangle. Row 2: triangle, circle, square. What must Row 3 be?
- Square, triangle, circle (Correct answer)
- Circle, triangle, square
- Triangle, square, circle
- Square, circle, triangle
Correct answer: Square, triangle, circle
Column 1 already has circle and triangle so needs square; column 2 has square and circle so needs triangle; column 3 has triangle and square so needs circle.
Question 5: A pattern alternates between open circles (○) and filled circles (●): ○, ●, ○, ●, ○... What is the 12th shape in the sequence?
- Open circle (○)
- Filled circle (●) (Correct answer)
- Square
- Triangle
Correct answer: Filled circle (●)
Odd positions are open circles and even positions are filled circles; position 12 is even, so it is a filled circle.
Question 6: Set A contains shapes that all have exactly 4 sides. Set B contains shapes that all have exactly 3 sides. A standard square is shown as a test shape. Which set does it belong to?
- Set A (Correct answer)
- Set B
- Both sets
- Neither set
Correct answer: Set A
A square has 4 sides, which matches the defining rule of Set A.
Question 7: In a figure pattern, each shape is rotated 45° clockwise compared to the previous shape. Figure 1 shows an arrow pointing North. In which direction does Figure 5 point?
- North
- North-East
- East
- South (Correct answer)
Correct answer: South
From Figure 1 to Figure 5 is 4 rotations of 45°; 4 × 45° = 180° clockwise from North points South.
UCAT Abstract Reasoning 1
A sequence of shapes has the following number of sides: 3, 5, 7, 9, ___.
What number of sides does the next shape have?