General Aptitude (Core Module / Kerntest)
What the Core Module tests
The General Aptitude domain is the Core Module (Kerntest) of TestAS. It is compulsory for every candidate and measures study-relevant reasoning rather than school knowledge. It has four separately timed subtests: Solving Quantitative Problems, Inferring Relationships, Completing Patterns, and Continuing Numerical Series. Items are short, time is tight, and the score is reported separately from the subject module.
Core rules and item types
- Solving Quantitative Problems: short word problems using ratios, percentages, averages, rates, and simple algebra. The mathematics is below Abitur level; the difficulty is translating the text into the right operation.
- Inferring Relationships: verbal analogies. Identify the precise relation in the given pair and find the answer pair with the same relation, not merely a related topic.
- Completing Patterns: figural matrices and sequences. Rules can involve rotation, position, shading, number of elements, or combining rows and columns.
- Continuing Numerical Series: number sequences with one or more rules, including alternating or interleaved sequences.
Worked example
Series: 2, 5, 11, 23, 47, ? Check differences: 3, 6, 12, 24 - each doubles, so the next difference is 48 and the next term is 47 + 48 = 95. The same result comes from the rule “multiply by 2 and add 1”: 2→5→11→23→47→95. Always test a second rule before committing.
Traps that cost marks
- Assuming every number series is arithmetic; check multiplication, alternating operations, and two interleaved sequences.
- In figural items, matching only one feature such as rotation while ignoring count or shading; the correct figure satisfies all rules.
- In verbal analogies, choosing a pair linked by topic rather than by the same logical relation.
- In quantitative items, confusing percentage with percentage points, or missing a unit conversion.
- Spending too long on one item in a separately timed subtest and losing easier marks later.