Spatial and Visual Reasoning
The Spatial and Visual Reasoning domain tests mental manipulation of shapes: rotation versus reflection, mirror images, paper folding and punching, cube nets, embedded figures, 3-D views and pattern completion. You must track orientation, not just recognise a similar outline.
Core rules
- Rotation preserves handedness; reflection reverses it. A rotated “L” still has the same clockwise order of its arms; a mirrored “L” does not.
- Mirror images: flip across the stated line; left and right swap, up and down stay.
- Paper folding: unfold in reverse order; each fold doubles the punch pattern.
- Cube nets: in a row of four squares, squares one apart become opposite faces.
- Counting: count visible faces and hidden supporting cubes separately; do not assume every column is one cube high.
Worked example
A net has four squares in a row: A–B–C–D, with E above B and F below C. Folding the row around the cube makes A opposite C and B opposite D. E becomes the top and F the bottom, so E is opposite F. The three opposite pairs are A–C, B–D and E–F.
Traps
- Mistaking a mirror image for a rotation.
- Assuming a net folds only if it “looks” symmetrical.
- Forgetting that a fold creates multiple holes.
- Counting only the cubes you can see.
- Matching a pattern by colour or shading while ignoring its orientation.