NNAT3 Level A cheat sheet

Pattern completion items show a large design with a missing square; the answer must continue both the shape type and the fill (solid, striped, outlined) of the surrounding region.

A missing piece at the edge of a figure must reproduce the boundary line exactly: a straight edge stays straight, a curved edge keeps the same radius.

Count the number of sides of the piece that touches the hole; an answer with a different side count cannot fit the opening.

Symmetry rule: if the whole design is symmetric about a vertical or horizontal axis, the missing piece must be the mirror image of the piece across that axis.

Fill direction matters: diagonal stripes in the surrounding region set the stripe angle and spacing the missing piece must match.

When two answer choices share a shape, decide by fill; when they share a fill, decide by shape - never by size, since size is held constant.

A piece that overlaps an existing line inside the design is wrong even if its outer edge matches the hole.

If the design repeats a motif on a grid, the missing cell equals the motif translated, not rotated, unless the grid itself shows rotation.

Analogy items read A is to B as C is to ?; the rule must transform A into B and be applied unchanged to C.

Common Level A rules: add or remove an inner shape, change fill (solid to outlined), change size, or flip left-right.

Check the rule direction: if A grows into B, the answer grows from C by the same amount, never shrinks.

Color and fill changes in A to B must be copied exactly; a rule that turns black into striped must turn the C shape black into striped too.

Position rules (shape moves from inside to outside, or from corner to center) transfer literally to the third figure.

Eliminate answers that apply the rule to the wrong attribute, such as changing shape when the pair only changed fill.

If A and B differ by two features, the correct answer must differ from C by both of those features and no others.

Rotation is rare at Level A; when present it is a quarter turn, so verify the orientation of any pointed or asymmetric shape.

Serial items present a sequence with one blank; the pattern advances by a constant step across the visible frames.

Growth and shrink series change the count of a repeated element by a fixed amount (for example 1, 2, 3, 4), so the missing frame continues that count.

Alternating series switch between two rules on odd and even positions; determine the blank's parity before choosing.

Rotation series turn a shape by the same angle each step (commonly 90 degrees), so track one landmark corner across frames.

Position series move a shape one cell per frame along a row, column, or diagonal; the blank continues the same displacement.

Fill series cycle through a fixed order (solid, striped, outlined) and repeat; the blank takes the next item in the cycle.

When two rules run at once (shape grows while fill cycles), verify the answer against both rules before selecting.

A sequence that appears to reverse usually indicates a reflection rule; check whether the shape is mirrored rather than moved.

Spatial items ask what a figure looks like after folding, flipping, rotating, or combining; the answer preserves shape and size and changes only orientation.

A left-right flip mirrors the figure across a vertical axis: left and right swap, top and bottom stay fixed.

A quarter turn clockwise moves a top feature to the right side; a quarter turn counterclockwise moves it to the left.

Folding a paper in half and punching a hole produces holes mirrored across the fold line, so the count doubles unless the hole lies on the fold.

Combining two shapes overlays them; the answer shows the union of their outlines, with no part removed.

When a transparent shape is placed over another, overlapping regions may change fill; trace each region separately.

A shape rotated 180 degrees looks the same as a flip only if the shape is symmetric; for asymmetric shapes the two differ.

Verify an answer by mentally reversing the operation (unfolding, un-rotating) and checking it returns the original figure.