9 Abstract Reasoning Practice Questions with Answers
By Atlas Labs · Original teaching examples
Abstract reasoning questions ask you to find a relationship among shapes or symbols. You might follow an object as it turns, count how many elements appear, or combine information across a grid. The task is to explain the whole pattern with a consistent rule.
Work through nine original visual pattern puzzles, from single-rule warm-ups to two-rule matrices. Choose an answer for instant feedback, or open any worked solution directly. They are learning exercises, not a standardized test, and they do not produce an IQ score. Your answers here do not enter your Atlas assessment or report.
9 abstract reasoning questions with answers
Choose an answer to get feedback immediately. Your choices stay on this page until you leave or reload and never affect your Atlas assessment. All worked answers are free to open, even without answering first.
0 of 9 answeredUntimed · Free practice
There’s no timer. Focus on understanding the method.
QUESTION 01 · Warm-up
Follow a quarter-turn
An arrow makes the same 90° clockwise turn at every step: up → right → down. Which direction comes next?
Choose an answer, or open the worked solution below.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B — Left.
A clockwise quarter-turn takes up to right, then right to down. Applying that same turn once more takes down to left.
Up would require a 180° turn from down. Right would reverse the direction of rotation. Neither matches the stated rule.
Takeaway: Check the size and direction of a rotation separately.
The shapes alternate circles and squares. Each shape gains one item the next time it appears: one circle, one square, two circles, two squares, three circles. What comes next?
Choose an answer, or open the worked solution below.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C — Three squares.
The circle turns show one, two and three circles. The square turns show one and two squares, so the next square turn has three.
The sequence increases a count within each shape’s own track. It does not add an item at every single step.
Takeaway: When a sequence switches back and forth, compare every other position.
In every row, the dot count in the third box equals the sum of the first two. Row 1: 1, 2, 3. Row 2: 2, 2, 4. Row 3: 1, 3, ?. How many dots belong in the last box?
Choose an answer, or open the worked solution below.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B — Four.
The first row gives 1 + 2 = 3, and the second gives 2 + 2 = 4. The same row rule gives 1 + 3 = 4 for the missing box.
Read the rule in the stated direction. Trying to invent a separate vertical progression is unnecessary for this question.
Takeaway: Verify a grid rule against each complete row before applying it to the missing cell.
The arrow turns 90° clockwise each step, while its fill alternates outline, solid, outline. Which arrow completes both rules?
Choose an answer, or open the worked solution below.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A — Solid arrow pointing left.
The directions go up → right → down → left. Independently, the fill goes outline → solid → outline → solid. The next arrow must be both left-pointing and solid.
The outline left arrow gets the direction right but misses the fill change. The solid up arrow gets the fill right but skips a direction.
Takeaway: Check each feature independently, then combine your predictions.
Combine the first two boxes in each row, removing symbols that appear in both. Each symbol appears at most once per box. Which symbols remain in the final box?
Choose an answer, or open the worked solution below.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C — Diamond and triangle.
In row 1 the triangle appears in both input boxes, so it disappears; the circle and square remain. Row 2 similarly removes the diamond.
In the last row the circle is shared. Remove it and keep the diamond from the left box and the triangle from the middle box. Keeping every symbol would be a different combination rule.
Takeaway: Distinguish combining all features from keeping only unshared features.
Each move one box right rotates the arrow 90° clockwise. Each move one box down does the same. Which direction satisfies both rules in the missing bottom-right box?
Choose an answer, or open the worked solution below.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A — Right.
Across the last row, left → up → right follows clockwise quarter-turns. Down the last column, left → up → right gives the same result.
Down skips a turn from up, while left reverses the direction. Checking both the row and column prevents a rule that works in only one direction.
Takeaway: A matrix answer should satisfy every specified relationship touching its cell.
Check count, position, direction, shape and shading separately. Saying ‘one more circle’ or ‘a quarter-turn clockwise’ gives you a rule you can test; ‘it looks similar’ does not.
Test every transition
A proposed rule should explain all the shown steps. If it fits only the first pair, keep looking. For an alternating sequence, compare positions 1, 3 and 5, then positions 2 and 4.
Predict before choosing
Describe the missing figure before looking at the options. Then eliminate answers that break even one part of your rule. The examples below specify the kind of rule to use so that the intended answer is clear.
About these practice questions
Atlas Labs publishes these original learning exercises separately from the scored assessment bank. Each explanation checks the intended rule and describes why other choices fail. They help you practice a method; they do not estimate IQ, population rank or performance on an employer’s test.
Changing the rule halfway through a sequence to make a preferred answer fit.
Tracking the number of objects but overlooking their orientation or shape.
Treating one successful practice answer as evidence of a general intelligence level.
Questions about abstract reasoning practice
What is abstract reasoning?
In these exercises, it means finding consistent relationships among visual elements. Examples include changing counts, rotating symbols and rules that combine cells in a grid.
Are these practice questions free?
Yes. All nine questions, answers and explanations on this page are free and require no account. The full Atlas assessment also includes a free overall result and personalized summary; a deeper report is optional.
How should I review a wrong answer?
Name the feature you missed, write the intended rule in one sentence, and check it against every step. Repeating the same question from memory tells you less than explaining why the other options fail.
Explore all four sides of your reasoning
Try the 28-question Atlas assessment at your own pace. Your overall result and personalized summary are free; the full report with exact domain scores and deeper interpretation is an optional paid purchase.