Spatial Ability: Pattern Recognition Flashcards

A sequence shows shapes increasing in sides: triangle, square, pentagon, ____. What comes next?

Answer: Hexagon

Each shape gains one side: 3→4→5→6, so a hexagon follows.

A 3×3 grid has one white, one gray, and one black shape per row. The bottom row has a black triangle and a white triangle already placed. What shade must the third triangle be?

Answer: Gray

Each row must contain one of each shade; black and white are taken, so the missing shade is gray.

A pattern shows: ▲ ▲▲ ▲▲▲ ▲▲▲▲. How many triangles appear in the 6th term?

Answer: 6

The pattern adds one triangle per term, so the 6th term has 6 triangles.

Looking at an object from the front you see a circle, from the side a rectangle, and from the top a circle. What is the object most likely to be?

Answer: Cylinder

A cylinder viewed from the front and top shows circles, and from the side shows a rectangle.

An arrow rotates 90° clockwise each step: North, East, South, West, North…. What direction does the 11th arrow point?

Answer: South

The 4-step cycle repeats; 11 mod 4 = 3, which is the 3rd position in the cycle: South.

A flat cross-shaped net is folded into a cube. The center square is white and the square on the bottom arm is black. When folded, which face is opposite the white (center) face?

Answer: Black (bottom arm)

In a standard cross net, the center square and the square on the opposite arm become opposite faces when folded.

A 3×3 matrix has small, medium, and large stars — one of each per row and per column. Row 1: small, large, ?. Row 2: large, ?, small. Row 3: ?, small, medium. What belongs in row 1, column 3?

Answer: Medium

Row 1 already has small and large, so the missing size must be medium.