NGAT cheat sheet

Analogies work on a stated relationship (part-to-whole, cause-effect, degree, function); identify the relationship in the stem pair before reading options, then test each option against that same relationship.

Antonym items: eliminate options that are synonyms of the stem or unrelated; the correct answer must be opposite in meaning and same part of speech.

Word-in-context items: substitute each option into the original sentence and keep the one that preserves the sentence's logic, not merely a dictionary sense.

For odd-one-out word sets, look for a shared category that exactly four (or all but one) members fit; the outlier must fail the category, not just feel different.

Reading passages: main-idea answers cover the whole passage; answers that are true but cover only one paragraph are distractors.

Ordering sentences into a paragraph: find the topic sentence (no backward-referring pronouns), then chain via pronouns, connectors (however, therefore), and repeated key nouns.

Conclusion questions require a claim supported by the stated premises; restatements of premises and new outside information are never the conclusion.

Assumption questions: negate each candidate; if the argument collapses when negated, that candidate is a necessary assumption.

Percent change = (new − old) / old × 100; successive changes multiply, so +20% then −20% gives 0.8 × 1.2 = 0.96, a net 4% decrease.

Ratios: total parts = sum of ratio terms; one share = (its term / total parts) × total quantity.

Work rates add: combined time = 1 / (1/a + 1/b); two workers at a and b hours finish together in ab/(a+b) hours.

Speed = distance / time; average speed over equal distances is the harmonic mean 2xy/(x+y), not (x+y)/2.

Simple interest = P × r × t; compound amount = P(1 + r)^t, so compound interest is the difference.

Probability of independent events multiplies; P(at least one) = 1 − P(none).

Number series: check differences, then ratios, then alternating or second-difference patterns before assuming a rule.

Data sufficiency: a statement is sufficient only if it yields exactly one value; two different possible values means insufficient.

Track each element separately across a series: shape, size, shading, position, rotation, and count can each follow an independent rule.

Rotation is clockwise or anticlockwise by a fixed angle per step (commonly 45°, 90°, 135°); mirror images cannot be produced by rotation alone.

Counting rule: count sides, enclosed regions, intersections, or dots; the series often increases or decreases by a constant step.

Odd-one-out matrices: find the attribute shared by all but one figure (symmetry, curve vs straight lines, closed vs open).

Analogy pairs (A is to B as C is to ?) apply the same transformation to C that maps A to B, including position of added or removed parts.

Alternating series: odd-numbered and even-numbered figures may each follow their own rule, so compare figure 1 with 3 with 5 before concluding.

Superposition rules: overlapping lines may add, cancel (XOR), or keep only common lines; test the rule on two pairs before applying it.

Net folding: opposite faces on a cube net never share an edge; faces separated by exactly one face in a straight line are opposite.

When folding a net, the number of faces meeting at any cube vertex is exactly three, and no two opposite faces are ever adjacent.

Rotation preserves handedness; reflection reverses it, so a rotated shape can never be turned into its mirror image.

Paper folding and punching: unfold step by step, reflecting each hole across the fold line; the number of holes doubles per fold through the hole.

Cube rotation tracking: fix one face as reference, then follow where the adjacent faces move; opposite-face pairs stay opposite under any rotation.

Plan views: top view shows footprint, front view shows height versus width; hidden lines indicate edges not visible from that side.

Block counting: count visible cubes plus hidden support cubes; a column of height h contains h cubes.

Conditional 'if P then Q' allows only the contrapositive 'if not Q then not P'; 'if Q then P' (converse) and 'if not P then not Q' (inverse) are invalid.

'Only if' introduces the necessary condition: 'P only if Q' means P → Q, not Q → P.

'Some A are B' does not imply 'some A are not B'; existence claims need an explicit premise.

Syllogisms: link shared terms and check whether the conclusion follows for every arrangement consistent with the premises.

Seating puzzles: draw positions and mark fixed constraints first; process 'A sits immediately left of B' as a single block.

Ordering puzzles: use 'greater than' chains and place the extremes first, then insert middle elements to satisfy all constraints.

Truth-teller/liar puzzles: assume one speaker truthful and check for contradiction; exactly one consistent assignment is the answer.

Elimination strategy: an option that violates any single stated rule is eliminated regardless of how well it fits the rest.

Analogies: state the stem relationship in a short sentence, then apply the identical sentence to each option pair.

Antonyms: the answer shares part of speech with the stem and is opposite in meaning; synonyms of the stem are traps.

Odd-one-out: name the category that all but one word fit; the outlier fails that category.

Main idea: choose the option covering the entire passage, not one supporting detail.

Paragraph order: topic sentence first, then pronoun and connector chains.

Conclusion: must be a claim the premises support, not a premise restated.

Percent change = (new − old)/old × 100; successive changes multiply.

Combined work time = ab/(a+b) for rates a and b.

Average speed for equal distances = 2xy/(x+y).

Compound amount = P(1 + r)^t; simple interest = Prt.

P(at least one) = 1 − P(none); independent events multiply.

Data sufficiency: exactly one value means sufficient.

Track shape, size, shading, position, and count as separate rules.

Rotation by a fixed angle each step; mirror images are not rotations.

Count sides, regions, intersections, or dots for the series rule.

Odd-one-out: find the attribute shared by all but one figure.

Analogy: apply the same transformation from A to B onto C.

Alternating series: odd and even figures may follow different rules.

Cube nets: faces separated by one face in a line are opposite.

Exactly three faces meet at each cube vertex.

Rotation preserves handedness; reflection reverses it.

Paper folding: reflect each hole across fold lines when unfolding.

Opposite faces remain opposite under any rotation.

Block counting: a column of height h holds h cubes.

'If P then Q' permits only 'if not Q then not P'.

'P only if Q' means P → Q.

'Some A are B' does not imply 'some A are not B'.

Syllogisms: check all arrangements consistent with premises.

Ordering puzzles: place extremes first, then insert middles.

Eliminate any option that violates a single stated rule.