Abstract Reasoning: Patterns, Sequences and Matrices
What appears
Abstract reasoning presents a series or matrix of figures and asks which one continues the pattern. The rules are usually simple but combined: rotation by a fixed angle, reflection, movement of one element around a grid, changes in the number of elements, shading or fill, and superposition where overlapping parts cancel (exclusive-or). Many series alternate two independent rules.
Method
- Count something - elements, sides, intersections - across the frames. 2) Isolate one feature at a time (dot, arrow, shaded cell) and track it. 3) Test the simplest transformation that fits frames 1 and 2 on frames 3 and 4. 4) If that fails, check alternation: frames 1, 3, 5 may follow one rule and 2, 4 another. 5) Confirm the rule on every given frame before choosing.
Traps
- Confusing reflection with rotation: a mirrored figure cannot be rotated back into the original.
- Assuming one rule when two interleave.
- Over-fitting a rule that works for the first three frames but breaks on the fourth.
- Ignoring small changes such as fill colour or a dot moving one step.
Rule of thumb
Work from the cheapest hypothesis upwards: count, then position, then transformation. Worked example: an arrow turns 90° clockwise at each step and alternates black and white. If frame 3 points up and is black, frame 4 points right and is white.